Modern slavery
Modern slavery is a serious crime. Victims are:
- exploited
- controlled or held captive
- threatened or punished to stop them escaping or reporting the crime
Anyone can be a target for modern slavery. But some people can be at more risk because of money, social or health issues, or because of their age or immigration status.
Threats and punishments can often be violent, but not always. They can include threatening to tell the authorities about the victim's immigration status in order to get them deported from the country.
Modern slavery includes human trafficking. This is when victims are taken between countries or around a country so they can be exploited.
Find out more about human trafficking
How criminals exploit their victims
Forced labour
Forced labour is when victims are threatened or physically forced into working in someone's home or business. Criminals might also trick their victims by promising real work in another place or country, then forcing them into slavery once they arrive.
Even if a victim seemingly agrees to the work, we can still prosecute if the work and conditions aren't acceptable. Nobody can agree to being exploited.
Victims can work very long hours for little or no pay. They are often kept and work in terrible conditions. But it is still modern slavery if the victim is kept in decent conditions, but is not free to leave or live their lives as they want.
Victims can be forced to do any kind of commercial work. Common examples include:
- on a fishing boat
- in fields
- as a builder
- in a hotel
- in a factory
- as a cleaner in an office or shop
- in nail bars
- in car washes
- in the care sector
But they can also be forced to work in people's homes, cooking and cleaning as domestic slaves.
Criminal exploitation
Criminal exploitation is when victims are made to commit crimes like:
- shoplifting
- pickpocketing
- stealing fuel from cars
- benefit fraud
Drugs
Some victims in the drug trade are forced to work as cannabis growers. Others are used to distribute or sell drugs.
County lines is one form of criminal exploitation. This is where vulnerable people, often children, are used to carry drugs from cities to sell them in nearby towns and the countryside.
Find out more about county lines
Sexual exploitation
Victims are forced into sex work or to perform sexual acts against their wishes and without their consent. This includes escort work, pornography or making indecent images of children.
Most victims of sexual exploitation are women and children, but men can also be affected.
Organ trafficking
Victims are moved from one place to another so they can have their body parts removed. These are then sold for surgical transplants. Body parts include tissues and organs, for example, kidneys.
Spotting modern slavery
Modern slavery can happen anywhere in any situation. Each case is different, and may not fit the stereotype of groups of people being forced to work in fields or on fishing boats.
The signs of forced labour, and criminal or sexual exploitation can be very different. Victims might look helpless and afraid, but they can also seem to accept their situation, be completely unaware of it, or even defend the people who are exploiting them.
Report it and get support
If you think modern slavery is happening, tell someone as soon as you think it’s safe to. This could be about a victim, a suspect, or a particular business or place. You will always be taken seriously, and protection and support is available.
You can report modern slavery to us using our online crime reporting service.
Or call us on 101 at any time. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use our textphone service on 18001 101.
If you suspect someone is in immediate danger, call 999 now.
To report a suspicion or get advice you can contact the Modern Slavery Helpline confidentially on 08000 121 700.
If you want to to remain anonymous you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
The Salvation Army provides specialist support for all adult survivors of modern slavery in England and Wales.