Christina McKelvie MSP has written to secondary schools in Hamilton and Blantyre to invite students to join the fight against human trafficking during Start Freedom Week, 8 to 14 March.

Start Freedom is a campaign for schools and young people across the world to raise awareness of human trafficking, how it affects their lives and what they can do to fight it. Schools and individual young people can sign up to the campaign at www.startfreedom.org.

Central Scotland MSP Christina said:

“Human trafficking is one of the worst violations of human rights taking place in the world today. It is a crime committed against human beings by other human beings out of greed and profit.

“Human trafficking is a massive global issue – between two and four million men, women and children are trafficked every year and the equivalent of one person a minute is trafficked across international borders.

“Trafficked people are not only ripped away from their homes and their families, they are also almost always subjected to physical and psychological abuse, threats and even torture.

“Human trafficking is not just a problem on the other side of the world – it also happens right here in Scotland, on our own doorsteps.

“Children and young people make up a large proportion of the victims of human trafficking. Start Freedom Week is an opportunity for young people here to learn not only about the impact that trafficking has on their peers across the world, but also to find out how to spot and report signs of trafficking in their own communities and to join the global fight against trafficking.

“I hope that school students in Hamilton and Blantyre will sign up to the Start Freedom campaign and make their voices heard.

“If they speak out together, young people have the power to Stop the Traffick for good.”

Start Freedom Week is a campaign of Stop the Traffik, the worldwide coalition against human trafficking. Further information can be found at www.stopthetraffik.org and www.startfreedom.org.