Almost 8,000 people have been modern slavery victims in UK in just six months this year, study claims

CLOSE to 8,000 people are said to have been victims of modern slavery in the UK in the first six months of 2022, according to a leading independent body.

Such slavery includes a range of exploitative practices including forced, compulsory and child labour, to debt bondage and human trafficking.

The criminal practice affects more than 40 million people worldwide, 24.9 million of which are said to be exploited through forced labour, with 16 million in global supply chains.

And crooks profiting from this make approximately £128 billion annually as a result.

In response, on Anti-Slavery Day, The British Standards Institution have announced the launch of its world’s first national standard to help organizations across the UK and abroad to eradicate modern slavery.

With companies facing increased scrutiny over supply chain issues regarding social responsibility, organizational impact and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) reporting, the modern slavery standard provides guidance for businesses to identify risks, and potential victims, while offering advice on how to combat the issue.

Susan Taylor Martin, CEO of BSI, said: “Global disruptions such as COVID-19 and the return of war in Europe have changed the game and created greater risks of modern slavery than were faced in 2015 when the Modern Slavery Act was enacted.

“Far more can and must be done to bridge the gap between policy and practice.

“BSI is committed to helping organizations understand what they can do in practical terms to eliminate this corrupt, criminal behaviour which continues to plague the global economy.”

Rights and duties concerning modern slavery already exist in UK legislation, notably through the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as through international UN and ILO frameworks.

However, in the UK the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred to in the National Referral Mechanism rose from 2,340 in 2014 to more than 12,700 in 2021.

Quarter-on-quarter referral numbers increased into 2022 with 3,777 in Q1 2022 and 4,171 in Q2 2022.

Such trends indicate 2022 could become the worst year so far for modern slavery referrals in the UK.

While existing legislation provides duties for organizations with an annual turnover of £36 million or more to report on modern slavery, the new standard is applicable to organizations of any size or type.

This is critical given small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up 99 per cent of businesses and three-fifths of employment in the UK.

A survivor of modern slavery, who can only be referred to as Mr. K for safety reasons, helped create the standard and said: “To contribute to such an important standard and knowing my experience will help so many people affected by modern slavery in the future, is both empowering and an integral part of my own personal recovery.

“Also, being part of Survivor Alliance has been a lifeline for me and I hope this important piece of work produced is embraced by all so we can create a greater awareness of modern slavery and help put an end to it once and for all.”

The national standard provides guidance on managing the risk of modern slavery through prevention, identification, response, remediation, mitigation, and reporting, to encourage organizations to close this gap and meaningfully address the problem.

Scott Steedman, Director-General Standards, BSI, added: “Too many organizations, large and small, do not understand the prevalence and locations of modern slavery in their supply chains and they also lack knowledge on how to protect themselves from its risks.

“With this new National Standard BSI is providing much-needed guidance to help organizations act decisively to understand, identify risks, and combat modern slavery.”