Reports of suspected modern slavery in Britain rose by more than a third in 2018, according to government data released on Tuesday, but campaigners said even that was likely only “the tip of the iceberg.”
Police, charities and other first responders referred 6,993 potential modern slavery cases to the government’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) last year, 36% more than in 2017, Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said in its annual report.
The NRM is a national scheme whereby victims are identified and can receive support ranging from healthcare and housing to legal aid.
Anti-slavery campaigners said it was unclear whether the figures represented an increase in modern slavery or resulted from a rise in awareness, but that the true scale of the problem was likely much larger.
“The true scale of modern slavery in the UK is simply unknown,” Justine Currell, executive director of the anti-slavery charity Unseen, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“But it is fair to say that the numbers we see through the government’s National Referral Mechanism and Unseen’s Modern Slavery Helpline are potentially the tip of the iceberg.
“Modern slavery is everyone’s responsibility and we need to ensure that the public, frontline professionals, law enforcement agencies and businesses can spot the signs and know what to do if they think someone is in a situation of modern slavery.”
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Britain is home to at least 136,000 modern slaves, according to the Global Slavery Index by rights group Walk Free Foundation, with labour exploitation – from men working in car washes to children forced to carry drugs – the most common form.
British authorities have already launched several initiatives to enlist help from the public, including an app to report possible signs of modern slavery at car washes and guidance for hotel staff on what to look out for.
Jakub Sobik, spokesman for Anti-Slavery International, said authorities also needed to make it easier for victims to come forward.