Modern Slavery

Modern Slavery is a largely secretive crime and victims tend to be controlled and hidden away.

Slavery is when someone is: 

• Forced to work through mental or physical threat
• Owned or controlled by an ’employer’, usually through mental, physical or sexual abuse, or the threat of abuse
• Dehumanised, treated as a commodity, or bought and sold as property or for the purposes of sexual exploitation
• Physically stopped from doing things or has restrictions on his or her freedom of movement. 

Slavery is something that is happening today in the UK.  It is an issue that affects men, women and children.

Human trafficking involves finding, moving, keeping or receiving a person through a use of force, or control for the purpose of exploiting them. A common misconception is that victims are transported from another country into the UK, however people can still be trafficked from one Town to another within the UK even room to room. 

What is Sex Trafficking? 

Sex trafficking is the finding, moving, transfer, keeping or receipt of persons who are under threat through force, coercion, fraud, deception or abuse of power and are sexually exploited for the financial gain of another.

Forced labour is any work or service which people are forced to do against their will, under threat of punishment. 

It is most often found in industries with a lot of workers and little regulation such as:

• Agriculture and fishing
• Domestic work
• Construction, mining, quarrying and brick kilns
• Manufacturing, processing and packaging
• Prostitution and sexual exploitation
• Market trading and illegal activities 

Domestic Servitude is a specific type of forced labour and takes place in a private establishment. People may be promised employment and instead find themselves trapped in someone’s home with little or no money and made to stay for fear of punishment to themselves or their family. 

Signs that you or someone may be exploited are: 

• Physical appearance – victims may show signs of physical or psychological abuse, look malnourished or unkempt, or appear withdrawn, scared or frightened.
• Isolation – victims may rarely be allowed to travel on their own, rarely interact or appear unfamiliar with their neighbourhood or where they work.
• An unknown person may appear to be monitoring the movements of a worker or appears to be controlling them in some way. This may include the worker being collected and dropped off at work each day.
• Poor living conditions – victims may be living in a dirty, cramped or overcrowded accommodation, and/or living and working at the same address.
• Few or no personal effects – victims may have no identification documents (including access to their passport, which may be being held by someone else), have few personal possessions and always wear the same clothes day in, day out. The clothes that they do wear may not be suitable for the work they are doing, or be appropriate for the season/weather.
• The person may not have been provided with the appropriate personal protective equipment linked to the work they are doing, for example, safety gloves, goggles or boots.
• Reluctance to seek help – victims may avoid eye contact, appear frightened or hesitant to talk to strangers and fear law enforcers for many reasons, such as not knowing who to trust or where to get help, fear of deportment, fear of violence to them or their family.
• The adult has old or serious untreated injuries and they are vague, reluctant or inconsistent in explaining how the injury occurred.
• They are inconsistent in the information they provide, including basic facts such as the address where they live.
• They rarely interact or appear unfamiliar with their neighbourhood or where they work. Many victims will not be able to speak English.
• The adult perceives themselves to be in debt to someone else or in a situation of dependence.
• Outside the property- there are bars covering the windows of the property or they are permanently covered on the inside. Curtains are always drawn.  Windows have reflective film or coatings applied to them.  The entrance to the property has CCTV cameras installed.  The letterbox is sealed to prevent use.  There are signs the electricity may have been tacked on from neighbouring properties or directly from power lines?
• Inside the property- access to the back rooms of the property is restricted or doors are locked. The property is overcrowded and in poor repair. 

Reporting Concerns 

If you are concerned that you or someone you know is being exploited or is at risk of exploitation then you should act straight away.

If you believe the alleged victim to be a child you should make an immediate safeguarding referral to Children’s Social Care. If in any doubt about age you should always treat the victim as a child if there is any reason to think the victim might be under 18 years of age.

If you or the alleged victim is an adult with care and support needs you should report the abuse to the First Response Team -  click here , or to the Police– they will make a referral through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). 

Support 

If you think you are a victim of Modern slavery you can call the modern slavery helpline on 0800 0121 700 and talk through your concerns or visit: http://www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/ 

If you think you’ve identified a trafficker or illegal gangmaster call the police on 101 or 999 in an emergency. 

The Salvation Army provides specialist support for adult victims of Modern Slavery. Their confidential referral helpline 0800 808 3733  is available 24/7. 

You can also download the Unseen App to report slavery:

Slavery is closer than you think – watch the new Modern Slavery TV advert to find out more