An East Barnet church group will hold the first of a series of social justice lectures on the dangers of sex trafficking on April 22.

The East Barnet Social Justice lecture, Sex Trafficking: 21st Century Slavery?, will take place at 8pm at St Mary's Church, in Church Hill Road, organised by the East Barnet Anglican-Methodist Partnership.

It is the first of a series of annual lectures designed to provoke discussion about controversial issues affecting the community.

Speaker Dr Timothy Brain has been chief constable of Gloucestershire since 2001 and is the spokesperson for the Association of Chief Police Officers on prostitution and related vice matters. He has also taken a leading part in framing the Government's policy dealing with child prostitution.

Sex Trafficking has recently been highlighted as a local issue by an investigation commissioned by Enfield Council, which exposed criminals smuggling women and children into the borough and forcing them into prostitution.

Speaking on behalf of the Anglican-Methodist Partnership, Reverend Richard Watson said: "We are holding these annual lectures to provoke not only the congregation but other people in the country to pick up pertinent issues and do something about them.

"We are very pleased that Dr Brain is able to be with us to help highlight this major issue. Human trafficking is an unseen evil, and on our doorsteps almost every day.

"We are aware of many anecdotal stories that traffickers use the M25 to drop people off. It is a fairly major transport route.

"It seems perverse to celebrate the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery last year and then pretend it doesn't exist this year. We need to bring home to people the reality of slavery today."

Helen Bamber will also be at the event with information on "The Journey" art installation, created by a group of renowned artists under the leadership of sex emporium owner Sam Roddick and actor Emma Thompson.

The Helen Bamber Foundation is a UK-based human rights organisation that provides medical consultation, therapeutic care, human rights advocacy and practical support to survivors of gross human rights violations and other forms of extreme cruelty.

Further information is available at www.stmarys-eastbarnet.org.uk or on 020 8361 7524.