Modern Slavery Thriving in Britain: Report

In 2014, Britain's Home Office suggested there were 13,000 victims in the UK, a figure described at the time by the National Crime Agency as "tip of the iceberg." The latest 2018 Global Slavery Index confirms the comment by the NCA was true.

The scale of modern slavery in Britain is much higher than previously thought with more than 136,000 people treated as slaves and almost half of the victims are children, according to the latest 2018 Global Slavery Index.

"We cannot sit back while millions of women, girls, men and boys around the world are having their lives destroyed and their potential extinguished by criminals seeking a quick profit." Mr. Andrew Forrest, Founder of the Walk Free Foundation said.

The 2018 Global Slavery Index (GSI) is the most comprehensive study on the issue that's ever been published and measures the extent of modern slavery in individual countries and the steps governments are taking to respond to this issue and the steps they're taking to end it.

An important finding is that the prevalence of modern slavery is higher than previously thought in wealthier countries. "Even in countries taking the most action to respond to modern slavery, this does not mean these initiatives are in vain." The report states.

"There are critical gaps in protections for groups such as irregular migrants, the homeless, workers in the shadow or gig economy and certain minorities. These gaps, which are being actively exploited by criminals, need urgent attention from governments."

The top five nationalities of potential victims of modern slavery were UK nationals, Albanian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Nigerian. Forced labour was found to be prevalent in the fish and food packaging industries, car washes, nail bars, driveway paving, construction, agriculture and food processing.