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This year sees the bicentenary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

However slavery was not abolished in Britain until 1883. Nevertheless, both dates were to have a profound and unique place in our history.

Many contributed to the unimaginable struggle for the very basic of human rights – freedom.

Our Black mothers and sisters were raped, brutalised, stripped of their dignity and had their beautiful spirits broken.

Yet are we to assume we live in a society where modern day slavery plays no part, where freedom is something that is still battled against like an incurable disease?

The ‘African Holocaust’ left deep scars from the disease of enslavement and oppression of our Black ancestors, and sadly we can find many examples in ‘modern day’ society of how this continues.

The treatment of our female migrant workers from the African continent and many other countries, forced to live a life of prostitution and poverty is prevalent in modern society.

Many arrive with the promise of work and accommodation with their children, only to be subjected to the same plight as our ancestors.

Many have little understanding of British culture or their rights. This sexual enslavement to satisfy the pleasure and profit of their captors ensures the Black woman is stripped of her identity and her strength.

This is further exacerbated by the notion that Black women love sex as a means to justify their treatment.

In 2001 McKenzie, a London based consultant psychiatrist stated African Caribbean women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as white women.

According to a 2005 study carried out for the Healthcare commission, Black African and Caribbean people are three times more likely to be admitted to hospital and up to 44% more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act.

Additionally, according to the UK 2001 census, Black men and women make up only 2% of the population, yet as at September 2005 Black men and women accounted for almost 15% of the prison population.

In June 2002, the proportion of Black female prisoners serving sentences for drug offences was 46%.

Modern day slavery wears many disguises. It is there for us all to see if we take the time to open our eyes, to listen and raise our awareness to what is happening around us.

If the bicentenary holds any significance to us as human beings, then we all need to take deliberate personal responsibility to challenge what we know for sure is unjust.

Theresa Peltier

Chair, Derbyshire Black Police Association