Everything about this unfolding story is alarming:
A 30-year-old British woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 69-year-old Malaysian woman are believed to have walked to their freedom from a property in south London after media coverage on forced marriages gave them the courage to contact a support charity.
A man and a woman, both aged 67, were arrested at the home on Thursday morning as part of the investigation into slavery and domestic servitude, Scotland Yard said.
Freedom Charity, which supports victims of forced marriages or honour-based violence, contacted police after receiving a call from one of the women following television coverage on forced marriages
She told the charity she had been held for 30 years.
The women are reportedly highly traumatized—police are even investigating if the 30-year-old victim was born into forced servitude. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the women had “some freedom” and that “officers said there was no evidence of sexual abuse.” Stay tuned.
