CPD module: Identifying and tackling modern slavery

Modern slavery is a widely misunderstood issue that often slips below the radar, especially as many professionals are not trained in identifying and dealing with it.

This CPD article will explain what modern slavery is and how it can manifest. It will explore how modern slavery might take place in a social housing setting, the ‘red flags’ that staff should look out for to identify potential victims, and how housing teams can support victims while taking action to deal with perpetrators.

What is modern slavery?

Modern slavery is when an individual is exploited and controlled for someone else’s personal or commercial gain, and cannot refuse or leave the situation due to threats, violence, coercion, debt, deception or abuse of power.

It is more prevalent than most people realise, and happens in everyday settings, including houses, workplaces and communities; it is often described as “a crime that happens in plain sight”.

• Human trafficking: Transporting or coercing people in order to benefit from their work or service (typically through forced labour or sexual exploitation)
• Forced labour: Extracting work or a service from someone which they have not offered voluntarily, under the threat of a penalty
• Domestic servitude: A form of modern slavery that takes place in private homes, where someone is exploited for their labour and cannot leave the employment arrangement of their own free will
• Sexual exploitation: A form of sexual abuse where someone is coerced, forced or manipulated into engaging in sexual activities for someone else’s benefit – often through threats, bribes or violence
• Criminal exploitation: A sub-category of forced labour that encompasses acquisitive crimes such as forced begging, forced theft (eg shoplifting and pickpocketing), cultivating cannabis, selling or moving drugs, and financial exploitation

What is the scale of the problem?

A record 19,125 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office in 2024. This was a 13% increase on the preceding year, and the highest number of referrals since the government’s national referral mechanism (NRM) for modern slavery began in 2009.

However, the actual number of victims could be much higher than this, according to trafficking and modern slavery charity Unseen, which estimates that 122,000 people in the UK could be victims of modern slavery.

Under-reporting of the issue is likely down to several factors, including victims being afraid to identify themselves or not realising that they are victims of modern slavery, a lack of ‘bespoke’ modern slavery agencies in the UK, and taboos around the subject.

What is the link between modern slavery and housing management?

The prevalence of modern slavery in social housing is unknown due to misunderstanding and under-reporting.

However, while it is not widely acknowledged as a ‘housing issue’ in the way that domestic abuse and homelessness are, exploitation can happen in both private and social homes – and can easily be missed or misrepresented by landlords if staff aren’t properly trained to spot the signs.

Housing management teams are in a powerful position to identify and tackle modern slavery, for multiple reasons:

• There is often an overlap between modern slavery and other housing-related issues, including anti-social behaviour, overcrowding, domestic abuse, safeguarding, and tenancy management issues/breaches of tenancy.
• Housing officers are among the few professionals who enter people’s personal environments and are therefore well-placed to identify and raise concerns that office-based professionals might not spot.
• Social housing providers are seeing increases in the number of residents in situations that may put them at higher risk of being targeted for manipulation and exploitation by bad actors/perpetrators of modern slavery.

How can housing staff identify victims of modern slavery?

Higher-risk groups

Anyone – of any gender, ethnicity or nationality – can be a victim of modern slavery. However, exploitation is often more prevalent among certain ‘higher-risk’ groups.

In a housing context, people are ‘higher risk’ if they:

• Are homeless or at risk of homelessness
• Have substance abuse issues or are in recovery
• Are neurodivergent or have learning difficulties
• Have mental health issues or emotional regulation problems
• Are care leavers

People in these groups may be more socially excluded and may lack a support network, making them more vulnerable to being targeted, for example by organised crime networks.

Modern slavery ‘red flags’

There are a number of ‘red flags’ that could indicate someone is a victim of modern slavery. These include:

• Physical indicators, such as signs of neglect, physical abuse, malnourishment or unsuitable/unkempt clothing
• Social indicators, such as social isolation/a tendency not to interact with other people, or relationships that do not seem right (eg a young teenager in a relationship with a much older adult)
• Behavioural indicators, such as avoidance of eye contact, hesitancy to talk to strangers/appearing unable to speak freely, reluctance to seek help and fear of authorities
• Financial indicators, such as financial issues and debt
• Signs of controlling behaviour, such as a resident appearing not to have control over their own keys/fobs, money or decision-making, or someone else answering for them
• Poor living conditions, such as dirty or overcrowded accommodation, lots of people coming and going, or working and living at the same address
• Unusual living arrangements, such as someone saying they’re staying with a resident temporarily, but it appears to be ongoing
• Unusual travel arrangements, such as always being dropped off/collected from work, and at unusual times like early in the morning or late at night

You can find a more expansive list on Unseen’s website.

At any one time, victims may be exhibiting all, some or none of these modern slavery ‘red flags’ – and, on their own, none of them confirm that someone is a victim of modern slavery.

However, they should prompt professional curiosity from housing staff (see below).

Housing staff are well-placed to notice ‘red flags’, patterns of unusual behaviour or worrying changes in people over time.

Professional curiosity involves noticing things that are out of the ordinary and asking the right questions to understand them – for example, a housing officer might notice that there are regularly a large number of takeaway boxes outside a single-tenancy property.

It could just be that the resident has recently had several parties. On the other hand, it could indicate something more sinister involving non-tenants, so the housing officer should investigate further to understand the situation.

How can social housing providers help tackle modern slavery?

Responding effectively to modern slavery starts with awareness and culture. Below are four key steps that social housing providers can take to help tackle modern slavery.

Cultivate a victim-centred approach

Often there is a traumatic and convoluted journey that has led someone into modern slavery. A victim-centred, trauma-informed approach involves properly listening to residents, being empathetic, believing (not blaming) residents for tenancy issues that might be linked to exploitation, and asking careful questions to understand what is going on, while making reasonable adjustments where possible.

“There is often a misconception in modern slavery cases that people can ‘just leave’ a situation if they do not like it. It is never that simple, and this attitude amounts to victim-blaming”

Housing providers can also adjust their policies to be victim-centred, by ensuring victims are not inadvertently penalised through punitive approaches/tenancy enforcement action when they actually need support and protection (for example, someone’s rent arrears may be linked to the fact that they have been working cash-in-hand).

Finally, avoid victim-blaming. There is often a misconception in modern slavery cases that people can ‘just leave’ a situation if they do not like it. It is never that simple, and this attitude amounts to victim-blaming.

Establish robust reporting and safeguarding pathways

Recording and reporting: any concerns should be properly recorded, shared appropriately and flagged at the earliest opportunity.

Housing providers should have clear safeguarding pathways, including a clear policy with directions for staff to follow if they suspect a modern slavery case; relevant, up-to-date modern slavery statements; and established safeguarding routes with buy-in from external agencies.

Build strong multi-agency links

To tackle modern slavery effectively, housing providers need to build relationships with critical partners including safeguarding teams, the police, charities and specialist support services.

Ensure awareness training

All resident-facing staff, including repairs staff and call centre staff, should have training to recognise modern slavery ‘red flags’. They should understand the government’s national referral mechanism (NRM), which is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery, and should have a clear pathway to raise any safeguarding concerns.

What should I do if I suspect a case of modern slavery?

How to handle modern slavery depends entirely on the case in question, as there are different types of exploitation.

All suspected cases of modern slavery should be reported to a line manager so that a plan of action can be agreed on how to handle them.

Housing teams should then have good knowledge of where to get specialist support – whether that might be approaching the police to escalate a suspected county lines case, contacting the council about a safeguarding case, or reaching out to a charity for advice.

There are 18 designated ‘first responder’ organisations that can support potential victims of modern slavery. You can find them on the government’s website.

Crucially, nobody should carry the burden and risk on their own.

A socially isolated resident in their 30s, with complex mental health needs and a history of childhood abuse, was groomed over a period of years by individuals linked to organised drug supply.

This began with ‘gifts’, including food and clothing, which gave the resident a sense of belonging. It gradually transformed into coercive behaviour; the resident was forced to store drugs and sell them across multiple locations. As expectations escalated, they worked increasingly long hours and were forced to hand over all the money they earned.

Eventually, the resident’s home was taken over and used to store drugs and weapons (a phenomenon known as ‘cuckooing’). The resident felt unable to refuse access, and the exploiters encouraged substance-dependency, then used it to maintain the resident’s compliance. Debt bondage – a form of exploitation where someone is told they owe a debt and must “work” to repay it, often linked to drugs – was used as a significant control mechanism, reinforced by threats and extreme violence (including, at one point, kidnap and assault).

The resident had a history of offending and inconsistent engagement with services, which shaped professional perceptions and initially obscured the underlying issue of long-term criminal exploitation.

However, with training and professional guidance, their housing association was able to identify the exploitation. A successful referral was made to the NRM to access specialist trauma-informed support, which helped the resident to gradually disclose the extent of control and coercion.

Housing staff carefully documented the resident’s situation to justify a managed move, which was progressed as a safeguarding measure to disrupt access by their exploiters. The resident is now settled in their new home.

Further resources 

• Unseen, UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline
• National referral mechanism guidance
• Designated organisations (a list of 18 designated ‘first responder’ organisations to support potential victims of modern slavery)

Next, answer the questions below. Get all the questions correct and you will receive a certificate confirming your award of 30 CPD minutes within 10 working days via email. Get any questions wrong and you can retake the test by refreshing your web browser.

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