Kate Garbers (born 1981) is a founder and former managing director of the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, UK-based

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

organisation and charity

Unseen Unseen or The Unseen may refer to: cannot to be seen Film and television * ''The Unseen'' (1945 film), an American film noir directed by Lewis Allen * ''The Unseen'' (1980 film), an American horror film directed by Danny Steinmann * ''The Uns ...

. 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 The Modern Slavery Act 2015 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is designed to combat modern slavery in the UK and consolidates previous offences relating to human trafficking, trafficking and slavery. The act extends e ...

and the National Referral Mechanism Review.

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 Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, which local police had difficulty dealing with. Garbers teamed up with Andrew Wallis, an anti-trafficking campaigner, to establish Unseen UK in November 2008 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 Bristol East is a constituency recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the City of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Kerry McCarthy of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Bristol East cove ...

Kerry McCarthy Kerry Gillian McCarthy (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bristol East since 2005. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, she was Shadow S ...

and

Bristol North West Bristol North West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Darren Jones of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The seat covers northwest parts of Bristol, extending to the Severn Estuary. ...

Darren Jones Darren Paul Jones (born 13 November 1986) is a British politician who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024, having previously been Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from September 2023 to July 2024. A member of ...

. As well as campaigning against exploitation of employees working in nail-bars, Garbers has highlighted exploitation of workers in car-wash facilities, 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. In 2018, Garbers spoke at the

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

Exeter conference about modern slavery.

Awards

In 2012, Garbers received a Citizenship Award from the McWhirter Foundation. 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

and the National Referral Mechanism Review. On International Women's Day in March 2018,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

recognized Garbers as one of six "ordinary women who are changing the world" by campaigning against modern injustices. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garbers, Kate Living people 1981 births People from Bristol British activists British women activists British women in business 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 21st-century English women 21st-century English people English company founders Leaders of organizations