A determined group of women are fighting to highlight the dangers of modern slavery which they say often go "ignored".

The Soroptimist International Norwich branch, which marks its 70th anniversary this year, met at St Peter Mancroft Church on March 8, International Women's Day, to hear about the global problem.

As an international organisation, the Soroptimist movement started a century ago to boost the lives of women through education and employment.

However now it tackles issues including domestic abuse and has a voice within the United Nations.

The Norwich talk took place amid a warning from the European Freedom Network - a Christian organisation aimed at tackling human trafficking - that some people fleeing the Ukraine war may be targeted by traffickers.

Group member Annette Conn, 78, from Bracondale, said: "People think they are being taken to safety.

"Traffickers are looking for people already. We have women across the world who are in a bad enough situation and this exacerbates it. That shocked me."

To mark International Women's Day, the Soroptimist group was given a talk by retired police officer Mark English who trains people to become aware of modern slavery and organised crime through Norfolk Police.

Miss Conn, who has been a member of the Norwich Soroptimist branch for 20 years, said modern slavery was something the group was keen to highlight.

She said: "Most of us ignore it. We as a society tend to be frightened of being whistleblowers."

But Miss Conn added it was important to raise any concerns about someone you might think is in danger to the police because trafficking is linked to crime.

She said women were often victims of modern slavery because they were trying to better the lives of their families.

The former civil servant is one of 23 women in the Norwich branch and said: "We have thought of ourselves as mostly fortunate people and we are trying to make things better for the community.

"We shouldn't sit in our comfortable homes thinking things should be better. We should be trying to make a difference and supporting people who can help others."

To get involved visit https://sigbi.org/norwich