The invisible people - Modern Slavery in pictures | UK news

Modern slavery is a crime where the most vulnerable men, women and children are abused for criminal profit, with many victims forced to live and work in squalid conditions for little or no money. They are controlled with threats and abuse and have no means of escape. The National Crime Agency and photographers Rory Carnegie,

The invisible people - Modern Slavery – in pictures

Modern-day slavery in focus is supported by About this content

Modern slavery is a crime where the most vulnerable men, women and children are abused for criminal profit, with many victims forced to live and work in squalid conditions for little or no money. They are controlled with threats and abuse and have no means of escape. The National Crime Agency and photographers Rory Carnegie, Juliette Carton and Haitham Naser have recreated the lives of these ‘invisible people’, bringing them into view

Main image: Modern Slavery Agriculture. Photograph: NCA

Wed 17 Jan 2018 03.31 EST Last modified on Wed 19 Oct 2022 11.58 EDT

  • Agriculture

    Some workers in the farming sector – harvesting grains or root vegetables, tending livestock or fruit picking – are being exploited every day in the UK. Victims of this crime are often eastern European men and women who were promised a job by traffickers, or they could be on the fringes of society, homeless or destitute. Through threats, violence, coercion or forced drug and alcohol dependency, they’re enslaved, working for little or no money, living in squalid conditions having had their identity documents taken from them

  • Forced prostitution

    Each year, women from across eastern Europe and west Africa are lured to the UK by the dream of a better life. Whether by fake migration services or unscrupulous individuals who befriend and then betray them, women fall into a dark spiral of sexual exploitation and forced, unpaid prostitution, unable to escape

  • Food processing

    Polish or Slovakian men are brought to the UK with the offer of employment and, after arrival, gangleaders seize documents, opening multiple bank and utility accounts in their names – but refuse to hand over access to the accounts or bank cards. Hours are long and the work is gruelling and dangerous. Workers are abused and are controlled by threats of harm to their families at home

  • Cannabis farming

    The cannabis industry hides a dark secret in the house next door. Gangs bring young boys to the UK from countries such as Vietnam and deliver them to a house where, once in, they won’t be able to leave. Forced to tend cannabis plants that fill specially rigged houses, the boys are often locked in and forced to work, sleep and eat in one confined and dirty room. The chemicals used on the cannabis are poisonous, and often victims don’t know where they are or how to get help if they do escape. The eyes, ears and compassion of the local community are essential

  • Child trafficking for sexual exploitation

    Traffickers use grooming techniques to gain the trust of a child, family or community. The children are recruited, transported and then sold for sex, often returning to their homes immediately afterwards, only to be picked up by the same people again. This happens in the UK, to migrant and British-born children

  • Forced prostitution

  • Maritime

    In the tough maritime industry, young men, often Filipino or Indian, eastern European or African, are promised a better life, but instead find themselves in a cycle of debt and exploitation. Unable to read, they are offered a job, given papers to sign and begin working on a trial basis, only to be told they have failed and owe money, and have to work more to settle the debt. They may be forced to work for long hours in intense, hazardous and difficult conditions

  • Agriculture

  • Maritime

  • Construction

    Labour-intensive sectors such as construction, where temporary and irregular work are common, are high-risk sectors for forced labour. With new homes, offices and buildings being constructed or upgraded in great quantity, labour exploitation is the second most common type of modern slavery, after sexual exploitation

  • Food processing

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