The anti-slavery helpline has received record numbers of calls, with the number of potential victims in the care sector increasing by almost a third.
According to anti-slavery charity Unseen, the number of calls to the modern slavery and exploitation helpline increased by more than 19% in 2023, from 9,779 in 2022 to 11,700 last year.
Labor abuse remains the main form of exploitation, with an 11% increase from 464 cases in 2022 to 516 in 2023.
Potential victims in the care sector increased by 30%, from 708 to 918 in 2022.
The number of potential victims of criminal exploitation has also increased by 21% to 385 by 2023.
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Justin Carter, director of Unseen and co-author of the report, said: “Modern slavery and exploitation are heinous crimes that have no place in a modern, progressive Britain that cares about human rights.
“It’s encouraging that we continue to see an increase in calls and contacts to our helpline, which shows we are successfully raising awareness of the issue and mobilizing more people to take action.”
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Forced surrogacy was first reported last year and three potential victims were named.
Following one case of organ harvesting in 2022, four more cases of organ harvesting were reported.
The figures are part of the helpline’s annual review, which covers potential victims from 106 different countries, up from 99 in 2022.
The most common are Indian, Albanian, Romanian, Vietnamese and Chinese nationals.
The number of potential victims was 5,876, down 10% on 2022 (6,516), while the number of modern slavery cases lodged was 2,185, down 16% on 2022.
Ms Carter added: “We remain concerned about the UK’s increasingly hostile environment for immigrants and foreign workers, which means fewer people feel able to raise concerns and seek the help and support they desperately need.
“More needs to be done to encourage victims to come forward and provide appropriate resources to end modern slavery and exploitation for good.”
A government spokesman said: “Modern slavery is a brutal crime and we are committed to ensuring needs-based support is provided to victims to help them rebuild their lives, and working with first responders to ensure victims are aware of the support and protection available. “
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