Crimestoppers
Fearless - our youth service
Modern slavery in plain sight
The side we never see: modern slavery in our communities.
In the heart of our care sector, where compassion and care should thrive, a disturbing reality unfolds. Behind closed doors, vulnerable people almost invisible to society, with muted voices, labour tirelessly as carers, tending to our loved ones. Yet, they remain uncared for.
Criminal networks are exploiting people from abroad to migrate to the UK and works as carers. They arrive with hopes of improved standards of living but many end up enduring 12 hour shifts, seven days a week, for much less than the minimum national wage and endure years of control and abuse, surviving in fear. They are modern day slaves.
If something doesn't seem right, tell us, 100% anonymously. Call free on 0800 555 111 or fill in our online form:
Modern slavery is happening in our communities, in plain sight, and is deeply intertwined with our lives, without us realising it. All across the world people are coerced and forced into exploitative situations which they can’t refuse or leave. We may be interacting with, buying products from and/or receiving services from victims, without realising We don't know the hidden cost of their suffering.
Modern slavery takes many forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude, debt bondage and forced criminal and commercial sexual exploitation.
Essentially, it is the removal of a person’s freedoms, including their freedom to accept or refuse a job or even to leave their employer, in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain.
Our campaign aims to inform the public that modern slavery is taking place in plain sight, and that victims have a side to them we never see because they are forced into silence, through coercive, manipulative, abusive and violent means.
If you suspect someone is being exploited, tell us, 100% anonymously. Call free on 0800 555 111 or fill in our online form:
In recent times, there has been an alarming surge in modern slavery within the social care sector. High numbers of critical vacancies have inadvertently led to a distressing wave of exploitation of migrant workers. Many are subjected to unfair treatment, financial abuse, and deplorable living conditions.
Vulnerable workers face harrowing circumstances, including substandard living conditions, with some reporting to sleep in cold, cramped rooms, enduring squalor, and struggling to maintain their dignity.
Many face debt bondage due to borrowing for recruitment, visa and travel costs, and are further exploited by criminal handlers into paying high rates towards food and board, ending up receiving only a fraction of their rightful pay. Originally hoping to save money and send what little they can back home to their loved ones, many are trapped in unending difficulty.
Modern slavery in the UK isn’t limited to just care settings, but also exists across our high streets in beauty therapists, nail bars, barbers, treatment centres. In some cases, these businesses will also act as a front for other criminal activities such as drug cultivation and dealing, unsafe and forced prostitution, and money laundering.
Statistics around modern slavery are stark - however, they merely scratch the surface of the reality in the UK. Victims are often coerced, controlled and abused into silence, unable to speak out against the criminals and perpetrators.
If you have witnessed something not quite right or have information on someone who may be involved in the criminality behind modern slavery and illegal immigration, then tell us what you know, 100% anonymously - guaranteed. No one will ever know you got in touch, and your voice could help shed the light of justice onto people who live half their lives hidden in the shadows.
Learn the signs to spot in someone who may be a victim of modern slavery by visiting our dedicated Keeping Safe page:
Report modern slavery 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or fill in our online form:
15 May 2024
