Abuse and neglect of adults with care and support needs

Modern slavery is an umbrella term encompassing activities where one person obtains or holds another human in compelled service. Modern slavery includes (but is not restricted to) servitude, slavery, forced labour and human trafficking. The following definitions are held within the term 'modern slavery' for the purposes of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

These are:

• 'slavery' is where ownership is exercised over a person
• servitude' involves the obligation to provide services imposed by coercion
• 'forced or compulsory labour' involves work or service extracted from any person under the menace of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily
• 'human trafficking' concerns arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploiting them.

Read more about the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Types of Modern Slavery

There is no typical victim of modern slavery, victims can be male or female, from any and all backgrounds, countries and communities. Although it’s impossible to know exactly how many people are victims, Modern Slavery is on the increase. Some victims have been trafficked from overseas and some are British victims who have existing vulnerabilities. Despite their individual circumstances, all are susceptible to the promises of well-paid work and good accommodation, which turns out to be a deception.

Vulnerable adults may experience multiple types of exploitation and may not disclose all forms of exploitation to professionals. Please find below examples of some forms of exploitation, but note there are many more not listed here:

• Labour exploitation (nail bars, car washes, catering, agricultural work, factory work)
• Forced criminal activity (cannabis cultivation, pick-pocketing, cashpoint/credit card theft, drug dealing)
• Sexual Exploitation (rape, sexual assault, being forced, tricked or manipulated into performing a sexual act, escort work, prostitution and pornography)
• Domestic Servitude (excessive levels of household work, including childcare)
• Benefit Fraud (including pregnant women exploited for maternity benefits)
• Forced marriage
• Bonded labour/debt bondage – being forced to work to pay off debts that realistically they never will be able to
• Organ harvesting
• Human Trafficking

Victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery for example if they are sold to different traffickers or are forced into several forms of exploitation (prostitution, domestic servitude or involvement in criminal activity).

Possible indicators of modern slavery

• Signs of physical or emotional abuse
• Appearing to be malnourished, unkempt or withdrawn
• Isolation from the community, seeming under the control or influence of others
• Living in dirty, cramped or overcrowded accommodation and or living and working at the same address
• Lack of personal effects or identification documents
• Always wearing the same clothes
• Avoidance of eye contact, appearing frightened or hesitant to talk to strangers
• Fear of law enforcers

Real life example of modern slavery

In 2014 a Filipino woman named Elvira arrived in the UK to start her new job as a domestic worker – via an agency. Elvira was taken to a luxury flat in Kensington, where her boss, a woman, made her work 20 hours a day, allowing her only one piece of bread and no wages. She was trapped in a life of servitude, while metres away central London bustled with shoppers. Elvira said “I had to work all the time, without a day off, and I slept on the floor by her bed. She’d shout at me, saying I was stupid or calling me a “dog” in Arabic. I was rarely allowed outside the house, and only with her. I was given just a piece of bread and cup of tea for the whole day. I became emaciated. I felt like a slave, like I was in prison. I wanted to run away, but they had my passport.” Eventually Elvira managed to make her escape, waiting until her “employer” was taking a nap before running to a nearby church for sanctuary. She is still waiting for justice.

Statistics show that approximately 41 million people are trapped in slavery across the world today, and the estimate is that in the UK a minimum of 13,000 people are modern slaves.

The industries identified as most at risk from using modern slaves in the UK are:

• Construction
• Agriculture
• Hotel and restaurants
• Care homes
• Car washes
• Nail bars

In 2019, the Modern Slavery Helpline received 493 reports of potential cases of labour exploitation in hand car washes across the country with 2,170 potential victims. Of these referrals, only one case led to an arrest. Albanians were the largest group of adult victims, followed by China, Vietnam, Romania and then the UK. Most Albanian victims were women who had been sexually exploited. Adult victims from other countries were most likely to have faced forced labour or other forms of labour exploitation.

Report modern slavery

If you are concerned about a potential victim, or suspicious about a situation that is potentially exploitative, you can call the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or submit a modern slavery report online. The helpline is operated by Unseen, open 24/7 and entirely confidential. They also operate the Unseen Mobile App

If you believe a person is being trafficked and is in immediate danger, you should call 999 straight away.

You can also report suspicions of trafficking by calling 101 or visiting your local police station.

The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking or modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.

Further resources

• The Palermo Protocol
• Unseen UK
• The Modern Slavery Helpline
• The National Crime Agency
• Turnaround West Midlands                     
• West Midlands Anti Slavery Network