Lucy Mann, Senior Business Sales Manager, Unseen
Introduce us to Unseen, who are you and what do you do?
We are a charity that supports and empowers survivors of modern slavery. We run the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline, and we operate safe houses for victims of modern slavery and trafficking, providing them with needed accommodation and support. We also have an outreach service which supports survivors settle into their new communities and gives them access to legal support and counselling services. On the other side, we work closely with businesses to help them become more resilient to the risks of modern slavery, and conduct research to inform policymakers.
What is Modern Slavery?
Modern Slavery is effectively the illegal trade or exploitation of human beings where they're turned into commodities and used for personal or commercial gain.
Whether they've been tricked, coerced, or forced, they would lose their freedom and they're then stuck in that situation. And the problem is it's an incredibly hidden crime. Victims can often feel very fearful of coming forward and of the repercussions of doing so. Often exploiters will use a lot of threats, or keep them isolated, so they don't feel like they can go and say something to someone about their situation.
In terms of the figures from 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO), estimate 50 million people to be in modern slavery globally. And of that total, 28 million are estimated to be in labour exploitation with 17 million working in the private sector. So that just gives you an idea of the scale we're talking.
Our annual assessment came out recently with the figures from 2022, which really show a stark increase in the number of potential victims identified in the UK; there was a 116% increase from 2021 to 2022, with 6,516 potential victims identified. It really highlights that people are more vulnerable and more susceptible, especially given the current economic situation.
Who are the people who are most vulnerable to becoming a victim?
Anyone can be vulnerable at any point. There is no set profile, but there are key vulnerabilities; things like poverty, lack of speaking English, and where they're located geographically can have an impact - is there a larger number of exploiters in that area?
We see that people from war-torn countries are high risk, but also people from areas in poverty are high risk – the vulnerabilities are not one-size, but all can drive vulnerable people into the hands of exploiters. For example, we’ve seen an increase in numbers of Ukrainians from 2022, compared to 2021.
There are several different reasons that people can become susceptible or at risk, and it doesn't really make a difference who you are. If those who exploit are aware that you're vulnerable, they may attempt coerce you into doing things against your will.
How does it present itself in the UK?
Modern slavery unfortunately takes many forms.
We see criminal exploitation where people are forced to commit crimes, and sexual exploitation where people are forced to carry out sexual acts.
But there's also labour exploitation. This is continuously what we see the most of through the helpline, and it's important to consider the fact that there is a spectrum of exploitation. For example, there's labour abuse, where workers are denied their employment rights - not being paid minimum wage would fall under that bracket. And then at the other end of the spectrum you have people being threatened and their identification taken and stored so that they're unable to leave.
Debt bondage is another common form, whereby someone who has come from outside of the UK, and the trafficker/person exploiting them may have paid a big fee to get the job, or to cover travel expenses. The victim is then required to pay back the debt, with incredibly high interest, and are therefore unable to pay that money back. And that's when their ID is taken and they continuously work, but the work will never cover the cost of what they were originally charged. What we've seen again through the helpline is a lot of false promises and false adverts for jobs, where people will initially think it's a really good job that pays well, but the reality of the job will not be what they were sold and expecting.
What can businesses do to mitigate some of the risks?
There's a number of different things businesses can do.
The first and most important thing is to take modern slavery seriously, and make sure you've got buy in from the senior people in the business – allow resources to take this on.
The second thing is to raise the awareness of modern slavery as an issue, and the risks/warning signs of modern slavery. This is not only in your own business and operations, but also across your supply chain. Are you having conversations with your suppliers about the risk of modern slavery? And are you assessing where risks may lie? Map your supply chain, look at where the risks might be, and take action on any higher risk areas.
It’s vital that you engage with your suppliers on a regular basis, and have really close conversations with them. Allow them to talk about challenges that they're having, and encourage them to come to you if they do find anything. Support them, as opposed to panicking and immediately cutting them off.
Another way to mitigate risks is by having robust escalation and remediation routes in place, for if there is a case of someone in your supply chain being a victim of modern slavery. This might look like ensuring all staff know who to reach out to if the need to report a risk arises, making that the potential victim in the scenario is the top priority, and involving the correct people at the right time, who have the knowledge and understanding to respond and escalate the situation as necessary.
What help and services can Unseen provide?
We work with a large number of businesses, from SMEs right up to large corporations.
We work with you to find out where you're currently at and where you can be, with our support as a partner. We also have the Unseen Business Hub which offers ongoing engagement and support. So, for example, there’re businesses that we support by sitting on their quarterly Modern Slavery Working Group meetings, and others with whom we’ll have a monthly catch up; they'll talk us through what they're planning on doing and we give guidance and can support them with access to insights from our helpline.
We run different webinars and we’ve also set up a Construction Hub and Financial Hub so businesses specifically in those sectors can come together and talk about any difficulties they're having or emerging trends and Unseen can support them as well.
We really try and bespoke our services so definitely get in contact with us via our website or email us at business@unseen.org if you think that we might be able to support you.
How can we help
At Samtaler, we understand the importance of your social value commitment. You’re here because you care about your business's impact on society and want to improve. We want you to succeed, and we know from experience that achieving social value requires skill, strategy, and support.
To find out how we can help, send an email to hello@samtaler.co.uk
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