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Mende Nazer is from the Nuba mountains of Sudan. As a child in the early 1990s, she watched as unidentified men on horseback set fire to her village, raping and slaughtering as they went.

This was a period of immense instability, and the Nuba mountain region, between the north and south Sudan, was frequently raided.

Mende was abducted and sold as a slave in an auction. After seven years as the property of a wealthy family in Khartoum, she was sent to London as a 'gift' to a diplomat.

After six months, she managed to escape but her application for asylum was turned down. With the help of a journalist Mende then wrote a book about her experience.

She was allowed to stay in the UK when authorities realised that the publicity around the book could put her life in danger. Mende now lives in London as a free woman and continues to raise awareness about domestic slavery.