Exploitation is hidden in plain sight

This is when someone is deceived, coerced or forced to take part in sexual activity. Places where someone could be sexually exploited:

• Prostitution
• Brothels – massage/sauna
• Escort agencies
• Pole/lap dancing
• Forced marriage
• Stripping on a web cam
• Phone sex lines
• Internet chat rooms
• Pornography
• Mail order brides
• Sex tourism

This refers to situations where people are coerced to work for little or no remuneration, often under threat of punishment. There are a number of means through which a person can be coerced, including:

• Use of violence or intimidation
• Accumulated debt
• Retention of identity papers
• Threat of exposure to immigration authorities

All types of labour, within every industry, are susceptible to labour exploitation. Some common sectors and industries that are identified as vulnerable include:

• Manufacturing
• Factory work
• Hospitality
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Fishing
• Car washes
• Nail bars

A domestic worker or helper is a person who works within their employer’s home, performing a variety of tasks. This arrangement becomes exploitative when there are restrictions on the domestic worker’s movement, and they are forced to work long hours for little pay. They may also suffer physical and sexual abuse.

Domestic servitude can be particularly hard to identify as it happens in private households but it is estimated that 16 million people are exploited in the private sector which includes domestic work.

This is when a person is put under pressure to marry someone. They may be threatened with physical or sexual violence or placed under emotional or psychological distress to achieve these aims.

Situations where you may find forced marriage used:

• To gain access into a country
• To gain access to benefits

This is when somebody is forced to carry out criminal activity through coercion or deception. Forced criminality can take many forms, including:

• Drug trade, e.g. cannabis cultivation, drug distribution
• Begging
• Pick-pocketing
• Bag snatching
• ATM theft
• Selling of counterfeit goods

We have seen a significant rise in the trafficking of children into forced criminality (sometimes referred to as Child Criminal Exploitation or CCE). The most prevalent form of CCE is related to ‘County Lines’ gangs who coerce children into participating in the movement and sale of drugs. Children can be coerced with gifts, money or perceived status, or they can be threatened with violence or blackmailed.

Forced criminality also encompasses social welfare fraud. This takes place when exploiters falsely apply for tax credits and other welfare benefits using the victims’ details. It is not only the state that is the victim of social welfare fraud, there is often horrific abuse used against the individual in order to coerce them into falsely applying for benefits.

The trafficking in organs involves removing a part of the body, commonly the kidneys or a lobe of the liver, to sell often as an illegal trade. Organs can be taken in a number of ways:

• Trade – a victim formally or informally agrees to sell an organ, but are then cheated because they are not paid for the organ, or are paid less than the promised price
• Ailments – a vulnerable person is treated for an ailment, which may or may not exist, and the organs are removed without the victim’s knowledge
• Extortion – a victim may be kidnapped from their family and organs removed without consent

Significant signs for individuals potentially selling sex:

• Is the person closely guarded?
• Does the person have any signs of physical abuse, such as cigarette burns or tattoos indicating ownership?
• Is the person allowed to keep the money they make? A trafficked sex worker will have restricted or no access to earnings
• Is there any evidence that the person has been forced, intimidated or coerced into providing sexual services?
• Does the person have an English vocabulary of only sexualised words?
• Are there any signs the person is experiencing emotional trauma as a result of the work they are doing?

Significant signs at a location:

• Do the letterbox or any doors of the property appear to have been sealed from inside?
• Do the people potentially selling sex also sleep on the premises? Brothels are not normally used as accommodation for sex workers
• Are the people potentially selling sex being moved between suspected brothels?

• Do workers show signs of psychological or physical abuse? Do they appear frightened, withdrawn or confused?
• Do workers have restricted movement on leaving or entering the premises? Are they always accompanied?
• Are workers forced to stay in accommodation provided by the employer? Is the accommodation overcrowded?
• Are workers forced to give incorrect information or claim to not know personal details?
• Is the employer or somebody other than the worker holding the employee’s passport and legal documents?
• Do workers lack the necessary protective equipment or suitable clothing? Have they received basic training?
• Is there a group of workers of a similar nationality/age/gender who have a representative by whom they appear ‘coached’?

• Does the person seem held in the employer’s home and forced to provide household support, such as care for children, cleaning and cooking?
• Does the person appear to be working in excess of normal hours?
• Does the person ever leave the accommodation unaccompanied?
• Is there any indication the person has been subject to abuse, insults, threats or violence?
• Does the person interact much with the family? Are they forced to eat alone?

• Has the person given their consent, or are they able to give their consent, to marry?
• Has the person become withdrawn? Do they spend less time with loved ones?
• Are there any signs of physical or psychological abuse?
• Does the person seem scared of their partner or another member of the family?

Significant signs of individuals trafficked into forced street crime, such as forced begging, drugs trade and pickpocketing:

• Is a large group of adult or child beggars moved daily to different locations but return to the same location every night?
• Is a large group of children guarded by an adult?

Significant signs at a property of cannabis cultivation:

• Are there metal grills over the windows, or are they permanently covered on the inside?
• Are there visits to the property late at night or early in the morning and are they irregular?
• Is there a pungent smell coming from the property?
• Has electricity been tacked on from neighbouring properties or directly from power lines?