People often think of slavery as a thing of the past but this is far from the truth. Modern slavery and human trafficking are still an issue nowadays.
Recent figures show that over 5,000 cases of people who could potentially be victims of human trafficking and modern slavery were reported to the authorities. The figures have also brought to light the fact that the largest national group of victims was that of UK citizens.
The figures have also revealed the worrying fact that of those over 5,000 cases that have been reported 41% are children under the age of 18. Children exploitation is on the rise – crime gangs and organisations often use the internet to reach and entrap them. Children are mostly used for drug trafficking purposes and sexual exploitation.
The steepest rise in cases reported was registered in big cities – and were mostly related to crime gangs.
The director of the National Crime Agency, Will Kerr, has expressed his belief that the figures of cases reported through the national referral mechanism are just the tip of the iceberg – there are bound to be many cases that go unreported meaning the situation could be much worse than that revealed by official numbers.
After the UK, Albania, Vietnam, China, Nigeria and Romania were the next largest national groups of reported victims of modern slavery.
> Naomi Round
Cases of UK Victims of Modern Slavery on the Rise
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