Kate Garbers
{{Short description|British anti-slavery activist (born 1981)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
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| name = Kate Garbers
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| birth_date = 1981
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| nationality = British
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| occupation = Non-profit director
Human-rights activist
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| organization = Unseen charity
| known_for = Fighting modern slavery
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| awards = Influencer Award
Amnesty International
McWhirter Foundation
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Kate Garbers (born 1981) is a founder and former managing director{{cite web |title=Kate Garbers moves on from Unseen |url=https://www.unseenuk.org/kate-garbers-moves-on-from-unseen/ |website=Unseen |access-date=11 June 2022 |date=23 July 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-slavery-children-idUSKCN1LE1JK|title=Child sex and drug trafficking cases 'tip of the iceberg' as UK...|author=|date=29 August 2018|publisher=|via=www.reuters.com}} of the Bristol, UK-based anti-slavery organisation and charity Unseen. She has developed projects to support survivors of slavery, and assists and advises survivors. She also works with law enforcement agencies and governments on how to tackle trafficking, including contributing to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the National Referral Mechanism Review.{{cite web|url=http://www.charitytimes.com/ct/social-change-awards-winners-announced.php|title=Social Change Awards winners announced|author=|date=|website=www.charitytimes.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/kate-garbers|title=Kate Garbers|publisher=Guardian|language=en|date=January 2018|access-date=2018-05-20}}
Career
Garbers became an activist after working with children in a Ukrainian orphanage and learning there would be no help or places for them to go. This gave rise to problems including alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, human trafficking and prostitution, which local police had difficulty dealing with.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dsc.org.uk/events/influencer-award/|title=Influencer Award – Directory of Social Change|work=Directory of Social Change|access-date=2018-05-20|language=en-US}}
Garbers teamed up with Andrew Wallis, an anti-trafficking campaigner, to establish Unseen UK in November 2008{{cite web|title=Unseen UK|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/06754171|website=Companies House|accessdate=20 May 2018}} and later opened southwest England's first safe house for women victims of trafficking in Bristol.
Unseen's "Let's Nail It" campaign was supported by Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy and Bristol North West MP Darren Jones.{{cite news|last1=Wallwork|first1=Ellen|title=MP Darren Jones Sports Red Nail Polish In Parliament To Raise Awareness Of Modern Slavery|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/lets-nail-it_uk_59f1ffb4e4b07fdc5fbc7de1|accessdate=20 May 2018|work=Huffington Post|date=26 October 2017}} As well as campaigning against exploitation of employees working in nail-bars,{{cite news |last1=Garbers |first1=Kate |title=Nail bars are havens for modern slavery. Here's how you can help tackle it |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/05/nail-bars-modern-slavery-discount-salons-booming-exploitation |accessdate=29 November 2018 |work=Guardian |date=5 January 2018}} Garbers has highlighted exploitation of workers in car-wash facilities,{{cite news |last1=Bulman |first1=May |title=Trafficked car wash workers suffering trench foot, chemical burns and illegally low pay, MPs say |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/car-wash-labour-expolitation-modern-day-slavery-trafficking-mps-home-office-a8633256.html |accessdate=29 November 2018 |publisher=Independent |date=14 November 2018}} including in 2016 when Garbers and Unseen staff participated in visits with 50 police resources dispatched to 24 business locations in Devon and Cornwall in a multi-agency operation across five forces, and led by the National Crime Agency, over possible labour exploitation.{{cite web|url=https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/news/newsarticle/|title=Modern slavery week of action|first=|last=|date=6 June 2016|website=Devon and Cornwall Police|access-date=29 December 2018|archive-date=13 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213092734/https://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/news/newsarticle/|url-status=dead}}
In 2018, Garbers spoke at the TEDxExeter conference about modern slavery.{{cite web|url=https://tedxexeter.com/author/stacey-hedge/page/2/|title=TEDxExeter Speakers – Page 2|author=Hedge, Stacey|date=|website=tedxexeter.com}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Awards
In 2012, Garbers received a Citizenship Award from the McWhirter Foundation.{{cite web|url=https://www.bishopstonvoice.co.uk/kates-dream-of-creating-a-world-without-slavery-puts-her-in-line-for-national-award|title=Kate's dream of creating a world without slavery puts her in line for national award|date=30 January 2017|publisher=Bishopston Voice|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-date=15 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215233940/https://www.bishopstonvoice.co.uk/kates-dream-of-creating-a-world-without-slavery-puts-her-in-line-for-national-award|url-status=dead}} In 2015, Unseen was given a Charity Times Award for Best Charity under £1 million. In 2017, Garbers received the Influencer Award, a UK national Social Change Award for her work combatting human trafficking, including contributing to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the National Referral Mechanism Review.
On International Women's Day in March 2018, Amnesty International recognized Garbers as one of six "ordinary women who are changing the world" by campaigning against modern injustices.{{cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/six-incredible-women-changing-britain-12145946|title=6 incredible women changing the world as we celebrate International Women's Day|first=Joshua|last=Barrie|date=8 March 2018|publisher=The Mirror}} She was also named as one of the 100 most influential women in the west of England for her work fighting modern-day slavery at a local, national and international level.{{cite news |last1=Thatcher |first1=Holly |title=The 100 most influential women in the West |url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/who-wests-most-influential-woman-1309449 |accessdate=29 November 2018 |publisher=Bristol Post |date=8 March 2018}}
References
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Category:British women activists
Category:British women in business
Category:20th-century English women
Category:20th-century English people
Category:21st-century English women
Category:21st-century English people