One victim, whose ordeal spanned more than 25 years, was made to dig his own grave. The head of the family, Martin Rooney Senior, was jailed for 10 years, while two of his sons were each jailed for more than 15 years. The traveller family were described as “chilling in their mercilessness”. More on this … Read more
Josephine Iyamu, a British national, accused of trafficking women from Nigeria to Europe for sexual exploitation Josephine Iyamu was arrested after she landed at Heathrow on a flight from Nigeria in August. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian Wednesday 6 September 2017 11.48 BSTLast modified on Wednesday 6 September 2017 12.16 BST A woman suspected of being a ringleader … Read more
The number of calls to the modern slavery hotline has doubled in a week after the National Crime Agency’s report on the “shocking” scale of the problem. The helpline, for people to report suspicions of modern slavery, received 150 calls in seven days this week, up from a weekly average of 75. The surge came after the … Read more
Modern slavery and human trafficking are much more prevalent than previously thought, the National Crime Agency has said. There are cases in “every large town and city in the country”, the NCA said, with the organisation currently assisting 300 live police operations targeting modern slavery. The cases involve alleged victims as young as 12 being … Read more
The European migrant crisis is forcing a sharp rise in human rights risks in European supply chains. This includes the UK and Germany, which have moved up from ‘low’ to ‘medium’ risk in the annual Modern Slavery Index, released by global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft. In fact, modern slavery risks have risen in 20 of … Read more
Donald Trump’s plans to sharply reduce undocumented migrantscoming into the US. However, the president’s harder line on deporting these immigrants is likely to increase the number of people at risk of modern slavery, says a human rights analyst. Alexandra Channer of risk-management consultancy Verisk Maplecroft says that the number of people at risk of becoming a modern … Read more
As a nation, we need to be better educated about the illegal trade happening in our own backyard, award-winning actor Rachel Griffiths says. The star of iconic Australian film Muriel’s Wedding, as well as hit TV series Six Feet Under and Brothers & Sisters, has thrown her support behind a push to bring in new … Read more
When Elvira arrived at Heathrow in 2014, she thought she had escaped the abuse she’d faced as a domestic worker in Qatar. Yet the exploitation the Filipino woman was about to suffer would surpass anything she experienced in the Middle East. The 50-year-old was taken to a luxury flat in Kensington, where her boss, the … Read more
Acare home is raided by the Border Agency. Staff are removed as they have no identity documents and are working long hours in poor conditions. The home, it turns out, is being used as a conduit for trafficking women into the UK. This is a true story, told recently by a social care professional to … Read more