There has been a dramatic rise in the number of overseas workers in the care sector contacting a national helpline for victims of modern slavery, a new study has revealed.
Unseen UK said that in in 2021 its helpline was contacted about 15 cases of modern slavery in the care sector, involving 63 potential victims.
The following year there were 106 cases, involving 708 potential victims.
The numbers for 2023 have continued to rise, according to the charity.
Unseen UK’s new report, Who Cares? A Review of Reports of Exploitation in the Care Sector, also found that nearly one in five potential modern-slavery victims identified by the charity in 2022 worked in the care sector.
The foreward to the report said: ‘With the care sector’s substantial growth in recent years and its over-reliance on the use of temporary labour, we must be aware of the potential for exploitation to increase.’
