Modern Slavery

Child modern slavery is identified as child abuse and requires a child protection response. It is an abuse of human rights, and all children, irrespective of their immigration status, are entitled to protection under the law.

 

1. Introduction

1.1 Modern slavery is a form of organised crime in which individuals, including children and young people, are treated as commodities and exploited for criminal gain. Victims of Modern Slavery are recruited for the purposes of exploitation and forced into work. Boys and girls of all ages can be affected. Grooming methods are used to gain the trust of a child and their parents. This often means that the victim does not recognise that they have been exploited or forced and believe that they have chosen or consented. However, children are not considered able to give 'informed consent' to their own exploitation. Modern slavery is therefore identified as child abuse and requires a child protection response.

1.2 The work that children are exploited into can take many different forms, such as:

  • Being forced into sexual acts for money, food or a place to stay.
  • Domestic servitude
  • Drug carrying
  • Begging
  • Pick-pocketing
  • Benefit fraud
  • Organ harvesting

1.3 Victims have been found in brothels or saunas, farms, factories, nail bars, car washes, hotels and restaurants and commonly are exploited in cannabis cultivation. Victims often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example they may be sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation. Any child who is considered a victim of modern slavery may also (but not always) be a victim of trafficking.

1.4 Children and young people may also be exploited by parents, carers or family members. Often the child or young person will not realise that family members are involved in the exploitation.

 

2. Risk Factors and Vulnerable Circumstances

2.1 Victims may not always be recognised by those who come into contact with them. They may be unwilling to come forward to agencies, not seeing themselves as victims, or fearing further reprisals from their abusers. There are a number of factors which may make children more vulnerable to modern slavery:

  • Poverty;
  • Lack of education/Learning Disability;
  • Discrimination;
  • Cultural attitudes;
  • Escaping familial situations of harm and abuse;
  • Homelessness
  • Unaccompanied / Asylum-seeking children;
  • Grooming;
  • Dysfunctional families;
  • Private Fostering arrangements; and
  • Political conflict and economic transition.

(NB: This is not an exhaustive list)

2.2 Children who are victims of modern slavery are victims of serious crime and this will impact on their health and welfare. Exploiter's commonly subject their victims to physical, sexual and emotional abuse. They will use any means to coerce and control them.

　

3. Indicators and Identification

3.1 Signs and indicators of Modern Slavery may not be obvious. Spotting the potential signs of child slavery/trafficking in referrals and children you work with can include:

  • A reluctance to seek help - victims may be wary of the authorities for many reasons such as not knowing who to trust or a fear of deportation or concern regarding their immigration status and may avoid giving details of accommodation or personal details;
  • The child seeming like a willing participant in their exploitation, e.g. involvement in lucrative criminal activity - however this does not mean they have benefitted from the proceeds;
  • Discrepancies in the information victims have provided due to traffickers forcing them to provide incorrect stories;
  • An unwillingness to disclose details of their experience due to being in a situation of dependency;
  • Brought or moved from another country;
  • An unrelated or new child discovered at an address;
  • Unsatisfactory living conditions - may be living in dirty, cramped or overcrowded accommodation;
  • Missing - from care, home or school - including a pattern of registration and de-registration from different schools;
  • Children may be found in brothels and saunas;
  • Spending a lot of time doing household chores;
  • May be working in catering, nail bars, caring for children and cleaning;
  • Rarely leaving their home, with no freedom of movement and no time for playing;
  • Orphaned or living apart from their family, often in unregulated private foster care;
  • Limited English or knowledge of their local area in which they live;
  • False documentation, no passport or identification documents;
  • Few or no personal effects - few personal possessions and tend to wear the same clothing;
  • No evidence of parental permission for the child to travel to the UK or stay with the adult;
  • Little or no evidence of any pre-existing relationship with the adult or even an absence of any knowledge of the accompanying adult;
  • Significantly older partner;
  • Underage marriage.

 

3.2 Physical Appearance - Victims may show signs of physical or psychological abuse, look malnourished or unkempt, or appear withdrawn. Physical illnesses - including work-related injuries through poor health and safety measures, or injuries apparently as a result of assault or controlling measures. There may be physical indications of working (e.g. overly tired in school or indications of manual labour).

3.3. Sexual health indicators - sexually transmitted infections, or pregnancy; injuries of a sexual nature and /or gynecological symptoms.

3.4 Psychological indicators - suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder which may include symptoms of hostility, aggression and difficulty with recalling episodes and concentrating. Depression/self-harm and/or suicidal feelings; an attitude of self-blame, shame and extensive loss of control; drug and or/alcohol

3.5 Identification may be difficult, as children might not show obvious signs of exploitation. Some children may be unaware they have been exploited; while other children may appear to participate in hiding that they have been exploited, however they must be considered as a victim.

3.6 Parents and relatives may also be involved in the exploitation of the child. Children are likely to be very loyal to their parents or carers so you must not expect them, of their own initiative, to seek protection against such people. They may also be cared for by adult/s who are not their parents (children in these circumstances are potentially being privately fostered) or who cannot prove they hold parental responsibility or have parents’ agreement.

3.7 All agencies should also establish whether any person involved in the exploitation　of children for any reason are themselves parents or carers of children. In which case an assessment of the needs of their own children, or those who they care for, should be undertaken by Children's Social Care. If the alleged exploiter　works in a position of trust with children and young people the Allegations Against Staff, Carers and Volunteers Procedure must be used.

3.8 Adults accompanying potentially exploited children may themselves have been exploited or coerced, consideration must be given to this and referrals as vulnerable adults made as necessary.

 

4. Response

4.1 Modern slavery is child abuse, and any potential victim of child slavery, servitude, or forced or compulsory labour should immediately be referred to Children's Services as they may be suffering significant harm.

4.2 Practitioners should not do anything which would heighten the risk of harm or abduction to the child, such as consulting with or informing those suspected of exploitation that a referral is being made.

4.3 Once a potential victim has been identified, practitioners should inform them of their right to protection, support, and assistance in any criminal proceedings against offenders. Practitioners should meet any urgent health needs and arrange emergency medical treatment if appropriate.

4.4 Approved interpreters should be used when the child's preferred language is not English; under no circumstances should the interpreter be the sponsor or another adult purporting to be the parent, guardian or relative.

4.5 Where it is found that the child is not a member of the family with whom they are living and is not related to another person in this county, consideration should be given to whether the child needs to be moved from the household and /or legal advice sought on making a separate application for immigration status.

4.6 Any criminal action regarding fraud, trafficking, deception and illegal entry to this county is the remit of the Police, where appropriate Children's Social Care should assist the Police in this process and refer both children and adults at risk.

　

5. National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify - Referring a Potential Victim of Modern Slavery to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)

5.1 The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a victim identification and support process which is designed to make it easier for all the different agencies that could be involved in a trafficking and now modern slavery cases (e.g. police, Home Office UK Visas and Immigration Directorate, Local Authorities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) to co-operate, to share information about potential victims and to facilitate their access to advice, accommodation and support.

5.2 Referring children into the NRM encourages the sharing of information between agencies and can help to ensure an appropriate safeguarding response. It also helps the UK collect evidence and build an understanding of the patterns of child slavery. This helps to shape policy and can aid police investigations into modern slavery and trafficking. Nationality and immigration issues should be discussed with the United Kingdom Visas and Immigration (UKVI) only when the child's need for protection from harm has been addressed and should not hold up action to protect the child. There should also be liaison with the embassy / consulate for the child's nationality to help establish their identity and if appropriate, their safe return home.

5.3 Since 1 November 2015, certain frontline staff, who encounter a potential victim of modern slavery have been required to notify the Home Office under Section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act. This requirement applies to the Police, Local Authorities, the National Crime Agency and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

5.4 For potential child victims, the duty to notify should be discharged by referring the child into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). All cases of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking must be notified to the Local Authority Lead for recording and monitoring.

5.5 The NRM does not supersede child protection procedures, so existing safeguarding processes should still be followed in tandem with the notifications to the NRM.

5.6 There is no minimum requirement for justifying a referral into the NRM and consent is not required for children. Communicate honestly with the child about your concerns and reasons for referring them into the NRM.

5.7 If the child or anyone connected to them is in immediate danger the police should be contacted as normal.

5.8 Where there is reason to believe a victim could be a child, the individual must be given the benefit of the doubt and treated as a child until an assessment is carried out. An age assessment should only be carried out if appropriate to do so, and should not cause a delay in referring into the NRM.

 

6. Useful Practice Tools (on this website)

 

7. Useful links and resources (on this website)

　

8. Other Information (external website)