New data has revealed that record numbers of phone calls have been made to an ant-slavery helpline. Concerns have been raised about forced surrogacy cases, after three potential victims informed the support line.
There was a total of 11,700 contacts to the modern slavery and exploitation helpline in 2023, up by almost a fifth from 9,779 contacts in 2022. The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner described the cases of forced surrogacy as ‘alarming’, and this is the first time such an issue has been on the radar. One of the three cases was thought to involve various types of exploitation.
Figures have been released by Anti-Slavery charity Unseen, prior to their annual report. In the care sector – an area which has for some time been seen as one of concern for exploitation of workers – the number of potential victims rose by 30% to 918, up from 708 in 2022, Unseen reports.
The increased contact to the helpline was described by the charity’s director Justine Carter as “indicating that we are succeeding in raising awareness of the issue and mobilising more people to act”.
She also said that the “ever-increasing hostile environment” towards migrants and foreign workers in the UK could be deterring people from reporting due concerns of deportation.
London saw 259 cases, with 52 reported in Scotland and 11 cases in Northern Ireland, Wales had 19 potential cases.
