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[Text on screen]: Freedom From Slavery: Article 4 of the Human Rights Act.

Whether slavery or forced labour, everyone has a right to be free from being enslaved.

What does the Human Rights Act officially say?

“No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.”

But what exactly does it mean?

Basically, we cannot be forced. To work against our will. Any suspected case of slavery or forced labour must be properly investigated.

Freedom from slavery is absolute, it cannot be taken away.

But some restrictions to labour can apply, such as when:

- Work is part of prison or community service.
- The government requires you to help after a national emergency
- Part of civic duty, like jury service

But where does it come from?

The Slave Trade Act in 1807 abolished slavery in the UK. The Modern Slavery Act in 2015 made amendments to laws around human trafficking.

Here are three key examples of what it does for us:

1. Suspicions of human trafficking must be investigated. (OOO v Met, 2011)
2. Labour and human trafficking must be made illegal. (CN vs UK, 2012)
3. Trafficked children are victims, not criminals. (L v Children’s Commissioner, 2013)

We all have a right to live without fear of being enslaved or forced into labour against our will.

Learn more about your rights at www.eachother.org.uk
Discrimination, Justice

The right to freedom from slavery explained in 2 minutes!

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Published on 22 Feb 2022

This video is about Article 4 of the Human Right Act (HRA), which is the right to freedom from slavery and forced labour. The right to freedom from slavery protects us from being forced into slavery or forced to work against our will.

This video is part of a wider series showcasing the protections the HRA provides us and why they are so important in our daily lives. We’ve also curated a week of written content surrounding the proposed reform of the HRA so that you can stay informed and up to date on the latest developments.

The Human Rights Act is central to ensuring we can all live a safe and secure life. It sets out a range of principles that the government, and public bodies, must follow and uphold for all of us. If they fail to follow them, we have the ability to take our case to a UK court and, if our rights have been violated, we may be fairly compensated. The Human Rights Act has given us the ability to stand up to those in power.

But the Human Rights Act is under threat.

The government has announced plans to reform the HRA into a new British Bill of Rights, which lawyers and campaigners are concerned will shift more power in favour of the government, and weaken the protections we have available to us. We need to ensure that human rights are accessible and available for everyone, but we may risk losing those protections if the government’s reform comes into effect.

Want to learn more? Head on over to our spotlight page to read more about the proposals to the HRA.You can find more videos in this HRA series on our Youtube playlist.

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