AN EXHIBITION on human trafficking which attracted more than 65,000 visitors in London has now gone on show in York.

Slave Britain was originally produced as an installation for St Paul’s Cathedral, London, in 2007, and has now been re-built on a cage-like structure at York St John University.

It sheds light on the stories of people enslaved by trafficking from countries such as Uganda, India and Lithuania, who tell of broken promises, shattered dreams, exploitation, intimidation, violence and fear. The opening in the city follows display in Edinburgh, Hull and Warsaw which attracted 200,000 visitors.

The exhibition will be in York St John’s Fountains Learning Centre, in Clarence Street, until November 21, depicting through words and photography the effect of human trafficking on lives in Britain.

It was officially launched this week at an event with a lecture on contemporary slavery and human trafficking with Nick Kinsella, head of the UK Human Trafficking Centre and Prof Gary Craig, associate director of the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE).

The exhibition is free to view and will be open Monday to Friday from 9am to 9pm; Saturday from 10am to 4pm and Sunday from 2pm to 6pm.

Meanwhile, the university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Dianne Willcocks, has been honoured by the Queen in recognition of her services to higher education.

Prof Willcocks has received her CBE (Commander of the British Empire), which was announced in the Birthday Honours List earlier this year, at an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Prof Willcocks came to York St John in 1999 and led the university status in 2006. During her time in the city, she has also led the transformation of the institution’s approach to teaching and learning supported by an investment of more than £60 million in the campus.