What is modern slavery?
The number of modern slaves in the UK has increased by 300% over the past 6 years, last year 3,805 people were identified as potential victims of slavery. The term 'modern slavery' that is now commonly used in articles and news reports is defined by the National Crime Agency as: "Modern Slavery is the term used within the UK and is defined within the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The Act categorises offences of Slavery, Servitude and Forced or Compulsory Labour and Human Trafficking."
Slavery has evolved through time and the law has been changed accordingly, but slavery still exists in one form or another in every country. The act of slavery is prohibited under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude: slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."
Hundreds of years after slavery was officially prohibited in the UK, people are still found as modern-day victims. Contemporary slavery takes different forms, from child labour to women forced into prostitution, agriculture supply chains or an entire family working for nothing to pay off generational debt.
Here are some helpful slavery definitions: Forced labour: Where people are forced to work with either little or no payment, through means of violence or intimidation. Many find themselves trapped, after being trafficked into a different country they have no papers or money to get back home.
Debt Bondage: This is when a person is under false pretences that they were being smuggled into the UK for a better life. The people that are trafficking them suggest that they owe them for the journey, corruption of a government official, transport etc and suggest a sum of money that the person smuggled into the country now owes. The trafficker then gives them a job where there is zero chance of them ever making headway, with the threat of a severe consequence if they attempt to leave. Child Slavery: Children that are forced to work in an industry or business against their will. They are often referred to as child soldiers and exploited sexually or through forced labour. Human Trafficking:
The action of illegally transporting a person into another country, which typically is followed by forced labour. The trafficker will either choose people to pick up and take to another country or the victim knows of the person and is under a false impression that they are going to another country for a better life.
Forced Marriage:
This is more common in countries outside of the UK, where a person is married without consent and forced into sexual or domestic servitude. Young girls in particular are more vulnerable to give free, full and informed consent to marriage than adults, even if they appear to ‘agree’ or don’t express refusal.
