The Story

Migrant Help is a UK charity that supports people who have been affected by displacement or exploitation to thrive as individuals.

According to the Office of National Statistics Modern slavery in the UK: March 2020 report, “the Modern Slavery Helpline received a 68% increase in calls and submissions in the year ending December 2018, compared with the previous year”.

This statistic, and others in the report, make it clear that Migrant Help, and organisations like them, are sorely needed. As well as offering support to survivors of slavery and trafficking support, Migrant Help’s services also include asylum support, refugee resettlement services and EU settlement support.

The Approach

During our initial discussions we explored how a podcast would be a brilliant way of engaging and educating a new audience. It became clear that an episode focused on modern slavery and human trafficking would present an opportunity to challenge myths and negative perceptions around the topic.

As a one-off project, it was decided during pre-production stage that the episode should give a brief overview of the definitions of modern slavery and how exactly it manifests in the UK. In order to do this, it was decided that the podcast should be led by Jackson Harms, Communications Officer at Migrant Help. Guests would include Sam Lakesmith, Regional Operations Manager of Migrant Help’s trafficking and slavery support services, and Tatiana Gren-Jardan, Head of the Modern Slavery Policy Unit at the Centre for Social Justice. These fantastic speakers would be able to clearly and concisely take the audience through the complex issue of modern slavery.

During the recording session, Jackson did a fantastic job of guiding the conversation. Using data, case studies and evidence from their extensive careers each of the guests spoke eloquently about the topic. A really important question was raised during the episode; how can the general public help people who they suspect may be a victim of modern slavery?

On that final point, the session was concluded, and the raw audio content was taken away to be edited, mixed and mastered by our team. The audio content was then delivered back to Migrant Help for approval.

You can learn more about Migrant Help UK’s work here.