Spotting the signs of modern slavery and child exploitation
January 2018 saw the first successful UK prosecution for child labour exploitation and child trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act.
Three people were sentenced to nine years imprisonment, for exploiting, and physically and verbally abusing four Vietnamese teenagers, who were forced to work in nail bars for no money in Bath and Burton on Trent.
The government published a report in October 2017, which highlighted that modern slavery is a growing problem.
A total of 1,277 children were exploited in the UK in 2016, 20% of whom were UK nationals.
The Home Office Report 2017 included a typology of distinct types of exploitation, designed to show the different ways modern slavery manifests itself in the UK and to enable recognition of potential victims.
The typology describes 17 types of exploitation across four categories, which are labour exploitation, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation.
For each type, the report outlines the characteristics of the typical victims and offenders, and the nature of the offence, including the recruitment, transportation and exploitation involved.
The report highlights how the typology can be used to inform the policy and operational response to modern slavery.