In 2023, modern slavery in the U.K. was reported at a record high. Now, according to advocacy groups, survivors are slipping through the cracks – in U.K. prisons. Instead of being connected with support systems, survivors are put in prison for crimes they were forced to commit according to the Geographical. 

Worse yet, since these survivors are not being identified and given help while in prison, many are picked up when released and sometimes re-trafficked by the same people who landed them jailed in the first place.

More survivors in UK prisons than perpetrators

Modern slavery in the U.K. has been documented in construction, agriculture and the care industry. However, as reported by the Independant, the most common form of modern slavery is criminal exploitation, which means victims are forced to work as drug dealers or to tend to cannabis farms.

Due to insufficient training and preconceived ideas, police are failing to identify workers as modern slavery victims during their cannabis farm raids. Instead, they are arrested as criminals and sentenced to jail time while their traffickers often remain free.

Victoria Tecca, from the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre says:

“The harsh reality of modern slavery today (is) that thousands of people are trapped in situations they can’t get out of, exploited in harsh conditions, facing threats, violence and intimidation.”

Advocate and human rights lawyer, Marija Jovanovic, interviewed prison staff and experts as well as survivors and found that no one knows how many victims of modern slavery are currently serving sentences in the U.K. These findings suggest that the problem is likely much larger than previously estimated. Prison staff were only issued with guidance on how to identify and support victims of modern slavery in 2022. In Jovanovic’s opinion, these facts combined with the low conviction rate for modern slavery charges point to the likelihood that there could very well be more survivors in UK prisons than perpetrators.

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