Modern Slavery? Closer Than You Think!

Slavery is not an issue confined to history or an issue that only exists in certain countries - it is something that is still happening today!

It’s a growing issue, affecting men, women and children. 1,746 cases were reported but these are just the victims we know about. Slavery’s hidden nature means actual numbers are likely to be far, far higher. 

Modern Slavery is an international crime, affecting an estimated 29.8 million slaves around the world.It is a global problem that transcends age, gender and ethnicities  and it’s important that we bring this hidden crime into the open. It can include victims that have been brought from overseas, and vulnerable people , being forced to illegally work against their will in many different sectors, including brothels, cannabis farms, nail bars and agriculture. 

SLAVERY TYPES AND WHO IS AFFECTED

Victims found in the UK come from many different countries, including Romania, Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam and the UK itself, 90 were UK nationals in 2013. Poverty, limited opportunities at home, lack of education, unstable social and political conditions, economic imbalances and war are some of the key drivers that contribute to trafficking of victims. What’s more victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation.

 

 

Types of slavery include:

• CHILD TRAFFICKING 

Young people (under 18) are moved either internationally or domestically so they can be exploited.

• FORCED LABOUR/DEBT BONDAGE

Victims are forced to work to pay off debts that realistically they never will be able to. Low wages and increased debts mean not only that they cannot ever hope to pay off the loan, but the debt may be passed down to their children.

• FORCED LABOUR 

Victims are forced to work against their will, often working very long hours for little or no pay in dire conditions under verbal or physical threats of violence to them or their families. It can happen in many sectors of our economy, from mining to tarmacking, hospitality and food packaging. 

• SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

Victims are forced to perform non-consensual or abusive sexual acts against their will, such as prostitution, escort work and pornography. Whilst women and children make up the majority of victims, men can also be affected. Adults are coerced often under the threat of force, or another penalty.  

• CRIMINAL EXPLOITATION 

Often controlled and maltreated, victims are forced into crimes such as cannabis cultivation or pick pocketing against their will.  

• DOMESTIC SERVITUDE

Victims are forced to carry out housework and domestic chores in private households with little or no pay, restricted movement, very limited or no free time and minimal privacy often sleeping where they work.

 

THERE IS NO ONE FACE OF MODERN SLAVERY

There is no typical victim of slavery – victims can be men, women and children of all ages and cut across the population. But it is normally more prevalent amongst the most vulnerable, minority or socially excluded groups.

 

Victim of sexual exploitation

Serena from Gambia

When her family arranged for her to marry a man living in the UK, she hoped to find a better life. Instead she found rape and abuse. She was only 15 when she arrived and was met by her new ‘husband ‘at the airport. She was disappointed to see that he was much older than herself. On their first night together, he forced himself on her and from that point on she was raped on a daily basis. It soon became clear that this was not the marriage that her parents or she had hoped for. Her trafficker kept Serena prisoner in the flat. Groups of men and women would arrive, money would exchange hands and she would be forced to have sex with them. She was drugged to ensure she didn’t fight back and beaten if she disobeyed or closed her eyes as she suffered. One time she woke up to find herself chained to the bed and being gang raped.
Serena’s living conditions were woeful – she was often locked in a room with no heating, no light and little food. She was eventually taken to different locations in Birmingham and Manchester. She would be driven to isolated buildings, where her suffering continued. She and other young girls would be sexually exploited, often made to dress up and pose for sexual photographs.
After a number of years, she eventually found the courage and opportunity to escape. She found help through the National Referral Mechanism, where The Salvation Army arranged care for her at a safe house run by Hestia, where she stayed for six months. Since then she has lived with friends. She was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. Various charities have helped her work through her trauma and find accommodation.

 

Victim of domestic servitude

Brenda from Uganda

Brenda is from Uganda. She was arrested after a member of the community became suspicious that she was having a same-sex relationship, which is illegal in Uganda. She was transferred to a detention centre where she was repeatedly raped by the guards, had stones and chillies rubbed in her eyes and barrels of water poured over her mouth and nose. Following eight months of rape and torture Brenda became pregnant and was released.
A friend put her in contact with Imelda, an agent who she was led to believe organised well-paid work abroad. Brenda was told she could work in the UK as a cleaner and send money back to Uganda for her daughter’s education. Her child was left in the care of a family member. On arrival in the UK Brenda was told she would be working for ‘Missus’, the female owner of a house. The ‘Missus’ informed her that she now owed her money for bringing her to the UK and had to work to repay her debt.
Brenda had to clean the entire house every day, with no breaks and no pay. She was locked in the basement at night with nothing to sleep on. She was beaten, had no food and was not allowed outside. Due to the cold conditions Brenda lived in, her limbs became stiff and painful and her damaged eyes deteriorated further from long exposure to darkness. After a few months, a young girl who was visiting the house unlocked the door, discovered Brenda and helped her to escape. Brenda was able to get help, support and medical treatment through the UK’s National Referral Mechanism. Brenda was allowed to remain in the UK and now works part-time and has been reunited with her daughter in the UK.

 

Victim of forced labour

Albert from Britain

Albert is a British national. For a lot of his life Albert lived with his mum and worked for a cleaning company. His mother died when he was 57 and it changed everything. He wasn’t able to cope with the responsibilities and, after suffering an emotional and mental breakdown, he eventually became homeless.
Whilst waiting for a bed at a night shelter, he was approached by two men. They offered him work, accommodation, food and alcohol. Albert was vulnerable and desperate, so he went with the men. Albert was made to share a damp caravan with three other men. He was forced to lay concrete slabs and do other hard landscaping work from 6am to 10pm. He never got the money he was promised. If he complained about his conditions, he was physically assaulted. Sometimes he was forced to sleep outside with no shelter.
Albert was sold to another family for £3,000 and moved to a different area. He suffered for four more years. He was forced to do many things against his will, such as knocking on doors cold calling for business.
Whilst working on a tarmac drive, he eventually managed to escape and made his way to London. He asked the transport police for help and they directed him to a homeless unit. Albert was malnourished, disorientated and scared. He was moved to a safe house thanks to The Salvation Army and the Medaille Trust and was eventually able to start the process of recovery. Albert now spends his retirement time volunteering in a charity shop and enjoys the clubs and entertainment where he lives. He is helping police with an ongoing investigation of his trafficking.