No Identity, No Protection: How lack of documentation drives modern slavery – Report by UNU-CPR and Freedom Fund 

Today marks International Identity Day 2024. Lack of identification is a significant risk factor in vulnerability to modern slavery and human trafficking. 850 million (1 in 9) people globally lack official documentation. This population is therefore out of reach of government protection from exploitation and abuse, as well as access to essential services including education and healthcare.

These risk factors are investigated by  United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), in collaboration with the Freedom Fund. Reliefweb highlights important findings:

  • New research reveals the links between lacking official documentation and modern slavery. Without legal identity, people struggle to access basic services and are often forced into informal, dangerous and exploitative work.

  • An estimated 850 million people around the world do not have legal identity. Women, children, rural dwellers, migrants, refugees and stateless individuals are most affected.

  • Bureaucratic inefficiencies, high costs and legal gaps prevent people from securing documentation while social isolation, discrimination and stigma further worsen the situation for marginalised groups.

  • People without identity documents are often confined to informal, low-wage work where exploitation and abuse frequently go unreported due to fear of approaching authorities.

  • Government actions are urgently needed to address this global issue, including legislative reforms, community engagement and international cooperation.

See the full Freedom Fund report here.

National Referral Mechanism statistics UK, First Quarter 2024 (January to March)

Statistics for the National Referral Mechanism in the UK, for first quarter in 2024 (January to March) includes a summary and breakdown of the number of potential victims of modern slavery referred into the (NRM) or via the Duty to Notify (DtN) process.

Key Results:

  • 4,524 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office from January to March 2024, representing a 9% increase compared to the period from October to December 2023 (4,134) and a 5% decrease compared to the period from January to March 2023 (4,738)
  • 73% (3,291) of potential victims were male and 27% (1,226) were female; this is the highest quarterly number of referrals for females since the NRM began
  • 80% (3,628) of referrals were sent to the Single Competent Authority (SCA) for consideration and 20% (896) to the Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA)
  • the most common nationalities referred this quarter were UK (24%; 1,105), Albanian (17%; 791) and Vietnamese (11%; 493)
  • 5,161 reasonable grounds and 3,893 conclusive grounds decisions were issued this quarter; of these, 55% of reasonable grounds and 48% of conclusive grounds decisions were positive
  • the number of reasonable grounds decisions and conclusive grounds decisions issued by the competent authorities were both at their highest for a quarter since the NRM began
  • the Home Office received 1,125 reports of adult potential victims via the DtN process

 

See the full Home Office Report here.

Overview: 2023 National Referral Mechanism Statistics

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the United Kingdom’s system that identifies  potential victims of modern slavery. Annual statistics for 2023, as well as the 4th quarter October – December 2023 have been released in March 2024. The increases in referrals to the NRM are likely due to increased awareness of modern slavery, as well as potential increases in exploitation. Major findings detail:

4th Quarter, October – December 2023

  •  4,142 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office, a similar number to the previous quarter (4,131) and a 6% decrease from the same quarter in 2022 (4,413).
  • The most common nationality referred in the quarter were UK nationals (27%; 1,139). Albanian nationals were the second most commonly referred with 802 referrals (19%), with Vietnamese nationals third with 268 referrals (6%).
  • Of the 4,142 potential victims referred, 48% (1978) were potential victims who claimed to have been exploited when they were adults, whilst 47% (1,945) claimed to have been exploited when they were children. Of these, 75% (3,097) were male and 25% (1,041) were female.
  • Regarding the type of exploitation most commonly seen amongst referrals, the highest proportion of referrals were for criminal exploitation only (28%; 1,172). For adult potential victims, labour exploitation was most commonly reported (34%; 680), whereas child potential victims were more commonly referred for criminal exploitation (43%; 844). Though referrals flagged as county lines partly drove the increase in referrals for children within the criminal exploitation category between 2020 to 2022 (average of over 550 referrals each quarter), in 2023, the number of referrals flagged fell to an average of around 390 each quarter.

 

Overall in 2023, 15,247 reasonable grounds and 9,825 conclusive grounds decision were made. Of these, 55% of RG decisions and 66% of CG decisions were positive. The number of CG decisions was the highest annual number made since the NRM began.

The full Home office report can be found here, Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, quarter 4 2023 – October to December.

Impacts of the Nationality and Borders Act on Modern Slavery in the UK

This month, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, with Human Trafficking Foundation and the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group released a report to assess the impact of the UK Nationality and Borders Act. After passing in April 2022, the provisions relating to modern slavery came into effect in January 2023. The report examines impacts over the last year on decision making outcomes, people with lived experience of modern slavery, and on organisations in the modern slavery sector. 

As detailed further in this report, the Nationality and Borders Act made critical changes to processes addressing Modern Slavery in the UK, including: 

  • new definitions of ‘victims’ of modern slavery and human trafficking
  • changes to the definition of the ‘reasonable grounds’ decision within the National Referral Mechanism 
  • the introduction of a procedure to exclude modern slavery protections on grounds of public order and bad faith

See here for or the full report Assessing the Modern Slavery Impacts of the Nationality and Borders Act: One Year On.

 

Home Office National Referral Mechanism Statistics – 1st Quarter 2021 (January – March)

The Home Office has released the most recent statistics for the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) covering the first quarter of 2021.

Between January 2021 and Marh 2021, 2,945 potential modern slavery victims were referred into the NRM. This is a 3% decrease in referrals compared to the preceding quarter (3,041) and a 3% increase from quarter 1 in 2020 (2,862). 49% (1,431) of the referrals were for potential victims who claimed exploitation as adults (compared to 50% in the preceding quarter), whilst 45% (1,330) claimed exploitation as children.

Overall, of the 2,945 potential victims referred in this quarter, 75% (2,197) were male and 25% (745) were female. The Home Office notes that the proportions are similar to recent quarters, although male potential victims have formed an increasing proportion of NRM referrals over the years.

As in previous quarters, overall, potential victims were most commonly referred for criminal exploitation only, which accounted for 37% (1,097) of all referrals. For those exploited as children, an increase in the identification of ‘county lines’ cases has partially driven the increase in referrals within the criminal exploitation category.

There has been a sharp drop in referrals for overseas exploitation, likely due to the COVID-19 restrictions on travel, with 64% (1,897) of potential victims claiming exploitation in the UK only, compared to 57% in the last quarter, and with only 23% (691) claiming overseas only exploitation. The statistics show, however, that despite ongoing restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the first quarter of 2021 saw the third-highest number of quarterly referrals to the NRM since it began.

Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, end of year summary 2020

The UK Home Office has published an end of year summary for 2020 modern slavery statistics. The statistics cover both referrals into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and those referred via the Duty to Notify (DtN) process.

In 2020, 10,613 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the NRM, compared to 10,616 in 2019. This is the first time when the NRM referrals had not increased since the preceding year. The summary prepared by the Home Office points out that this may be a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that lockdown measures may have resulted in victims being less likely to interact with first responders.

In 2020, number of adult referrals was 5,087 (48%) whilst child referrals amounted to 4,946 (47%). 5% of referrals were of unknown age. Out of the potential victims, 26% (2,752) were female and 74% (7,826) were male. For adult potential victims, 70% (3,540) were male and 30% (1,538) were female, whilst for child potential victims, 78% (3,843) were male and 22% (1,079) were female.

The most common type of exploitation for adults was labour exploitation and for minors was criminal exploitation. Overall, criminal exploitation only, accounted for 34% (3,568) of all referrals, and an additional 15% (1,590) of cases referred for criminal exploitation combined with other exploitation types.

UK, Albanian and Vietnamese citizens remain the most common nationalities referred to the NRM.

Additionally, in 2020, the Home Office was notified of an additional 2,178 potential adult victims via the DtN process. The DtN process requires public authorities in England and Wales to notify the Home Office of potential victims who do not consent to enter the NRM.

For the full summary, please see here.

National Referral Mechanism Statistics UK, 3rd Quarter 2020 – July to September

The UK Home Office has published the most recent Modern Slavery Statistics, covering quarter 3 of 2020 (July – September).

Home Office reports that 2,506 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the NRM. 1,224 (29%) of the NRM referrals claimed exploitation as adults whilst 1,159 (46%) claimed exploitation as children. For 5% of the referral their age at exploitation was unknown.

Overall, of the 2,506 potential victims referred in this quarter, 74% (1,853) were male and 26% (647) were female; these proportions are similar to the previous quarter. For adult potential victims, 69% (849) were male and 31% (374) were female, whilst for child potential victims, 79% (912) were male and 21% (242) were female.

The statistics flag the issue of ‘county lines’ exploitation of children – with 401 referrals flagged as county lines referrals, accounting for 16% of all referrals received in the quarter. The majority (82%; 328) of these referrals were made for male children.

UK, Albanian and Vietnamese citizens remain the most common nationalities referred to the NRM.

For detailed statistics please see the government website here. 

Prevalence of Minors in Kathmandu’s Adult Entertainment Sector

A report released last year by the Freedom Fund and John Jay College gives some of the first reliable estimates in relation to how many children are involved in the adult entertainment industry in Kathmandu. It has always been known that a significant number of young people and children work in the adult entertainment industry in Kathmandu, but until recently no reliable estimates existed as to the true scale of the problem.

The study found that approximately 1650 young people under the age of 17 are working in the adult entertainment industry, making up approximately 17% of those working in the industry. The study also found 62% of workers were working in the industry before the age of 18. The majority of underage workers in the adult entertainment industry were found to be working in sexually exploitative environments and 99% were considered to be held in the worst forms of child slavery as defined by the International Labour Organisation’s convention.

The full study can be found here.

Financing Organised Crime: Human Trafficking in Focus

The Centre for the Study of Democracy has released a paper looking at human trafficking within the EU and how it can be best understood by placing the financial proceeds of human trafficking at the centre of analysis. The paper recognises that there are substantial gaps in knowledge surrounding finances in trafficking in human beings in the EU, and this in part stems from local level law enforcement lacking specific experience in dealing with organised crime finances.

The report is broken into five main sections, including:

  1. A general overview of the state of criminal money management (CMM), and CMM within the specific context of human trafficking.
  2. Contemporary trends and market structures for human trafficking in the EU countries studied.
  3. The role money has to play in human trafficking.
  4. The role and implications ICT has for human trafficking.
  5. Survey of the role money laundering investigations can have in tackling trafficking in human beings.

The report concludes by summarising the main findings from each section and making policy recommendations for future research and practice.

Access to the full paper can be found here.

 

Behaviour change communications campaigns targeting the demand

The Freedom Fund have published a paper reviewing the use of Behaviour Change Campaigns, which have been used in healthcare and development sectors to try and influence and transform the behaviour of individuals. The paper reviews Behaviour Change Campaigns which have targeted issues such as child abuse, violence against women, and sexual violence in an effort to develop a future campaign that might tackle modern slavery and child sexual exploitation in Kathmandu.  This paper has drawn on 28 different studies.

The paper has reached several conclusions. The main findings are:

  1. The focus needs to be on injunctive not descriptive norms;
  2. Behaviour Change Campaigns are effective in a wide variety of mediums. However, this is not to say that they will be effective in every medium and context.
  3. Campaigns often succeed in bringing about positive change in the targeted individuals. However, there is some evidence that adverse effects can result.
  4. Evaluation must be embedded from the onset of the Behavioural Change Campaign. Since Behaviour Change Campaigns can have adverse effects the continual effectiveness of the campaign must be subject to constant evaluation.

 

The report was released in January 2019, and can be found here.