A new report has revealed a shocking surge in the number of suspected modern slavery victims in the UK, reaching over 10,000, marking a 52% increase in reported cases of slavery in 2019. The figures were first released by NYDailyNews.
It is reported that Britain is home to at least 136,000 modern slaves, with four in 10 cases allegedly involving child victims, according to the Global Slavery Index.
Data from the Home Office shows that 10,627 potential trafficking victims were referred to the UK’s framework for identifying modern slavery abuses in 2019, compared with 6,993 in 2018. “We need to think about how the system is working in practice for the people it was set up to identify and help,” said Kate Roberts, manager at Anti-Slavery International.
The independent anti-slavery commissioner, Sara Thornton, expressed concerns about the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on slaves, stating, “I am concerned that for those trapped in a situation of exploitation, potentially with their abusers, self-isolation will leave vulnerable victims at significant risk.”
Research from the Walk Free Foundation based on the Global Slavery Index estimated that there were about 40.3 million slaves around the world in 2016, with the most common nationalities referred being British, Albanian, and Vietnamese.