50 million people are estimated to be trapped in some form of modern slavery in the world today*.

There are estimated to be over 122,000 victims in the UK*.

The real numbers could be much higher – victims are hidden from us.

Victims are men, women and children of all ages, ethnicities and nationalities.  Those we know about are just the tip of the iceberg – many victims never come forward to the authorities and continue to live miserable lives with no freedom or dignity.

In 2024, over 25,000 potential victims were rescued from modern slavery in the UK.  Of these, 19,125 chose to engage with statutory organisations and are now being supported to rebuild their lives, 5,598 declined to engage.  The following data is known about them **:

Adults

• 13,100 potential victims were adults
• 28% were female, 72% male
• The most common form of exploitation – labour

Children

• 5,999 potential victims were children
• 22% female, 76% male
• The most common form of exploitation – Criminal
• All referrals 23% UK (75% of these are children), 13% Albanian, 11% Vietnamese

*Global Slavery Index 2023

**Modern Slavery: National Referral Mechanism and Duty to Notify statistics UK, end of year summary 2024