Plight of the sex slaves

The suffering of women trafficked as sex slaves will be highlighted in a Trafalgar Square art installation.

Transport containers like those used to smuggle people into Britain have been set up by artists including Turner Prize winner Anish Kapoor for London charity the Helen Bamber Foundation, which cares for human rights victims.

Actress Emma Thompson, foundation chairman, said it would show how prostitution had become a massive criminal industry.

England is now thought to be Europe's sex-slave capital, with three quarters of London's prostitutes coming from abroad. "It's such a dreadful thought that you could be next door to a place where young girls are sitting there crying and servicing six men a day in a state of utter enslavement," she said.

The Journey is on show for eight days from Sunday. Visitors will be invited to sign a petition asking the Government to ratify the European Convention Against Trafficking.