frequently asked questions for professionals

A person is “considered a victim of slavery, servitude or forced or compulsory labour if they are forced to provide a service for the benefit of their exploiter.” Modern slavery is a very serious crime, which can take many forms. This can include sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, as well as less common forms such as organ harvesting, financial exploitation, forced surrogacy and more.

Human trafficking is where a person is recruited or moved into a situation of modern slavery through deception or coercion. The terms ‘modern slavery’ and ‘human trafficking’ are often used interchangeably.

If someone has been forced to work, provide services or commit a crime against their will, they may have experienced modern slavery.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• What is modern slavery? (statutory guidance)

Unseen offers a range of training packages on modern slavery:

• Introduction to Modern Slavery e-learning
• Spotlight on Exploitation – child sexual exploitation and county lines e-learning for professionals
• CPD-accredited and bespoke training

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Spot the signs of modern slavery
• Modern slavery awareness & victim identification guidance
• Indicators of modern slavery (statutory guidance)
• Indicators of child victims and specific types of modern slavery (statutory guidance)
• Identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery: guidance for health staff

Unseen offers a range of training packages on modern slavery:

• Introduction to Modern Slavery e-learning
• Spotlight on Exploitation – child sexual exploitation and county lines e-learning for professionals
• CPD-accredited and bespoke training

When you are speaking to someone you think could be a potential victim, it is essential to create a space where the potential victim feels safe to speak about their situation freely. It is important to remember that they may have had negative experiences with professionals previously or been told by their exploiter that they will be criminalised if they come forward. It may take a number of interactions with professionals before they feel safe to make a disclosure.

• Establishing and maintaining good rapport is important, as a potential victim who has experienced trauma may find it difficult to trust and may have been threatened with repercussions by their exploiter(s).
• As the potential victim is likely to have suffered significant harm and long-lasting effects, it is important that you are trauma-informed in your approach. Be compassionate, empathetic and non-judgmental. Consider how trauma might affect their emotional wellbeing, behaviour and memory recall.
• Do not put undue pressure on them to make a disclosure. Instead build rapport and develop trust with them. Even if they do not make a disclosure to you in that moment, you will develop their trust in professionals which may lead to a disclosure to you or another professional at a later date.

You should always try to speak to a potential victim away from other people, who could be their exploiters. They are unlikely to speak openly about their exploitation, and you may be putting them at further risk if you do so.

• If they do not speak English, use a professional interpreter to communicate with them. Do not allow another person to speak on their behalf, as this could be an exploiter, or could lead to incorrect interpretation of information.
• If they are unable or unwilling to make a disclosure at that time, share the Helpline number with them if safe to do so. The Unseen UK app has a translatable front page, which can be used to signpost in multiple languages. Discreet pocket-sized cards with the Helpline number are also available.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Modern slavery self-identification tool
• Working definition of trauma-informed support
• Achieving best evidence in criminal proceedings
• Cultural information booklets
• Effects of trauma
• Unseen UK app
• Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline pocket-sized cards (downloadable)
• To order hard copies of Helpline pocket-sized cards contact [email protected]

It is important that you check your internal safeguarding policy and check with your designated safeguarding lead. Contacting the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline does not fulfil your safeguarding obligations. You may need to fulfil additional steps, particularly if you are a statutory agency.

If you are a First Responder, you have a duty of care to any potential victims you encounter. Find out if you are a First Responder here. You may need to find safe accommodation or provide support around urgent needs until NRM support begins (five days from application). If the potential victim is destitute (ie no recourse to public funds), the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) holder in the relevant UK country must be contacted when the NRM is submitted. These are:

• England and Wales – The Salvation Army (all victims)
• Scotland – Migrant Help (all victims) and Trafficking Awareness Raising (TARA) (female victims of sexual exploitation)
• Northern Ireland – Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid (female victims) and Migrant Help (male victims of labour exploitation and their female partners if also victims of labour exploitation)

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Mapping trafficking survivor services

If you are not a first responder, or the NRM is not available for the person you are working with you should consider other steps to ensure their safety, wellbeing and recovery. Human trafficking involves intersecting crimes that the survivor is subjected to, and many survivors have vulnerabilities that existed before their exploitation or as a result of it. Exploring the survivor’s unique situation can help to identify their current needs.

You may want to explore alternative avenues of support including but not limited to general victim of crime support, immigration advice, legal advice and counselling. We also recommend considering the type of exploitation the survivor was subjected to and finding relevant support organisations eg domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual abuse/violence. It is important to take a person-centred approach, building a plan with steps the survivor believes will best suit their needs. They know their situation and needs best.

The National Referral Mechanism is the government framework for identifying and ensuring support for potential victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK. Adults must give informed consent to being referred into the NRM however consent is not required for children.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• What is the National Referral Mechanism?
• A simple guide to the National Referral Mechanism
• Modern Slavery statutory guidance for England and Wales and non-statutory guidance
• Your guide to the National Referral Mechanism (Scotland)

Statutory agencies who are designated First Responders have a duty to notify the Home Office if they ‘reasonable cause to believe’ they have encountered a potential victim of Modern Slavery. If the potential victim is an adult and does not consent to referral into the National Referral Mechanism, a Duty to Notify referral must be completed instead. This is done by completing the National Referral Mechanism form without inclusion of the potential victim’s name and highlighting that they have not consented to a referral.

The information submitted via a Duty to Notify referral helps to inform the picture of modern slavery nationally to improve police response. This does not fulfil any safeguarding obligations and you should ensure the potential victim has access to support options.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Mapping trafficking survivor services

Only designated organisations known as ‘First Responder Organisations’ can refer a potential victim into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Statutory agencies who are First Responders have Duty to Notify (DtN) the Home Office if they encounter a potential victim. See if you are a First Responder here.

If a potential victim is under 18, consent is not required, and they must be entered into the National Referral Mechanism by a First Responder for support. Police should be contacted if there is risk of immediate harm and the Local Authority with safeguarding responsibility should also be contacted urgently. If you are not a First Responder, ensure the police or Local Authority enter the child into the National Referral Mechanism.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Child victims (statutory guidance)

The Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline cannot act as a First Responder, however we can help you establish who could be an appropriate First Responder for your client. We can also advise you on what your responsibilities are if you are a First Responder.

Unseen’s Frontline team, who deliver support services to potential victims within the National Referral Mechanism, can act as First Responders for potential victims within Avon and Somerset.

Yes, a potential victim can be entered into the National Referral Mechanism regardless of where the exploitation took place as long as they are currently in the UK.

Yes, a potential victim can be entered into the NRM regardless of their nationality as long as they are currently in the UK. This includes foreign nationals that do not have status in the UK or those who have been detained. The potential victim must give informed consent once they have been made aware that by being entered into the NRM their details will become known to the Home Office.

The Home Office is responsible for National Referral Mechanism decision making. There are two competent authorities that can decide if a potential victim is recognised as a victim of modern slavery. All National Referral Mechanism applications are initially sent to the Single Competent Authority (SCA) who allocated the case to the relevant competent authority.

The Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) is responsible for cases relating to adults who are Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), those detained in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs), and those in the Third Country Unit (TCU).

The Single Competent Authority (SCA) is the competent authority responsible for cases relating to all other adults and all child cases apart from in areas taking part in the pilot scheme for devolved decision making.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Devolving child decision making pilot programme: general guidance

To check the status of an NRM application, or to check if an application has already been made for a potential victim, contact the Single Competent Authority:

• England and Wales: [email protected]
• Scotland and Northern Ireland: [email protected]

First Responder organisations are authorised to refer potential victims into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). As a First Responder you are responsible for:

• Identifying potential victims of modern slavery and recognising the indicators of modern slavery.
• Safeguarding potential victims by ensuring their immediate safety.
• Gaining the informed consent of adult potential victims to be entered into the National Referral Mechanism.
• Conducting an interview with the potential victims to gather information and evidence of what happened to them in exploitation.
• Completing the National Referral Mechanism application for consenting adult potential victims to access support or informing the Home Office through Duty to Notify if they do not consent (only statutory agencies need to submit Duty to Notify referrals). Consent is not required for child victims.
• Advocating for potential victims and providing a point of contact for the competent authorities to assist with the Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions or to request reconsideration for negative decisions.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Roles and responsibilities (statutory guidance)
• Working with vulnerable people (statutory guidance)
• Accessing support as a victim of modern slavery (adult) – English, Bengali, Russian, Tagalog, Polish, Punjabi, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Roma, Vietnamese, Chinese

Unseen offer a range of training packages for First Responders:

• Tackling Modern Slavery for First Responders e-learning
• CPD-accredited and bespoke training

All adult potential victims must consent to an NRM application, therefore before conducting the interview you must explain:

• What the NRM is.
• What support is available through the NRM.
• What the possible outcomes are.
• That information may be sought from and/or shared with public authorities such as the police, Home Office and local authorities to gather further evidence.
• That immigration advice should be sought if simultaneous claims are in progress such as an asylum claim.

To help them feel safe and able to disclose their experience, the following best practice is recommended:

• Conduct interviews in person where possible.
• Wear civilian clothes rather than uniform.
• Use informal/comfortable environments rather than formal police interview rooms. Use a room in which the potential victim has identified they feel safe.
• If an interpreter is required, use an approved professional service.
• If the potential victim has children, arrange care for them so the potential victim can disclose their experience privately away from their children.
• Introduce yourself, your role and what you are trying to achieve. If there are other people in the room, explain who they are.
• Demonstrate an interest in the potential victim’s immediate safety, health and practical needs, providing signposting/referrals to any appropriate organisation for additional support.
• Tell the potential victim that they have time to be heard and do not rush the interview. Conduct the interview at their pace and encourage them to take breaks if needed.
• To gather the information required for the NRM application, you may need to ask questions about traumatic incidents. Explain why you are asking these questions and need this information.
• Use open-ended questions that do not assign blame (eg “What made you feel that you could not leave your exploiters?”), rather than questions which may come across as victim-blaming and judgmental (eg “Why didn’t you leave your exploiters?”).
• Ensure your tone of voice remains empathetic and your body language is open.
• Ensure you are culturally sensitive to the potential victim’s religion, ethnicity and gender (eg a female potential victim may not feel comfortable being interviewed alone by a male First Responder).
• If the potential victim has been extracted or urgently placed into secure accommodation, it may be appropriate to schedule an interview at a time when they feel comfortable to further discuss their exploitation.

As a First Responder, it is important to be aware of the effects of trauma:

• No two potential victims will respond in the same way of trauma and may present very differently. Potential victims may get upset, angry, frustrated or emotionless whilst speaking about their exploitation.
• Trauma or shock may mean that a potential victim recounts their experience in a non-linear fashion. They may not be able to disclose all that they have experienced in their first meeting or recall all the details of events.
• A potential victim may not recognise that they are a victim. They may feel tied to an exploiter through trauma-bonding and may feel uncomfortable or unwilling to give details of the exploiter(s).

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Modern slavery self-identification tool
• Working definition of trauma-informed support
• Achieving best evidence in criminal proceedings
• Cultural information booklets
• Effects of trauma

To complete an NRM application, fill out the online form. If you do not have access to a computer for the interview or you need to gather information and consent before completing the referral, you can download and print the NRM prompt sheet to help you and fill in the online application later.

It is important to note that it is not a First Responder’s responsibility to decide whether the individual is a genuine victim. Your role is to present facts and evidence clearly so that the Home Office can make an informed decision. The NRM form may ask for opinion on how the potential victim presents, however this should be presented as fact based on all information available.

For example:

☒ ‘Individual is presenting as verbally abusive to law enforcement and refusing to engage rationally with conversations; therefore I think they are lying and not a real victim.’

☑ ’Individual is presenting as verbally abusive and reluctant to engage in conversations with law enforcement officers. It is difficult to establish the reasons at this stage, however this should be discussed with them at another time when immediate danger is reduced due to concerns it could be linked to manipulation techniques used by exploiters to control them’

Since 2023 changes to the NRM decision-making process mean a potential victim’s testimony alone may not be enough for a positive Reasonable Grounds (RG) decision. Supporting evidence or corroborating information should accompany the application. If no evidence is available, it is up to the decision maker to consider whether ‘in the circumstances it is reasonable to expect supporting evidence or corroborating information’. This means you, as the First Responder, need to explore the potential victim’s account in full and look for evidence from the start, or outline why there isn’t any, otherwise it may be rejected.

The Modern Slavery statutory guidance identifies some examples of evidence that could support an NRM application:

• Country evidence – objective country of origin information and other published information from a trusted source relating to known or emerging patterns of modern slavery (eg news articles, academic journals, NGO reports, Home Office statistics). The exploitation type and location must correspond to the specific information in the referral.
• Indicators of modern slavery – all indicators should be included in the referrals (eg tied accommodation, poor working/living conditions, physical appearance, isolation, restricted movement, withheld documents, debt bondage, reluctance to seek help etc).
• Independent expert reports/support letters – reports from professionals such as police, medical or psychological experts can be used to corroborate an account.
• Travel records – can confirm a potential victim was in a country or location where the claim is centred (this alone will not usually be sufficient evidence).
• Vulnerabilities – any vulnerabilities the potential victim had/has which may impair their ability to protect themselves from modern slavery (ie physical or mental disabilities/illnesses; personal circumstances; age; family relationships).
• Witness statements from independent witnesses – eg police officers, support services, NGOs that the potential victim may have interacted with during the course of their exploitation or as a result of their trauma.
• Information from the First Responder – your professional opinion is important. Explain why you have referred the potential victim and advocate on their behalf.
• Views of trusted third parties – eg Designated Child Guardians, Adult Safeguarding or Child Social Services.
• Timing of claim – was the claim raised at the first opportunity? If a potential victim only brings the claim when immigration proceedings begin, according to the Home Office, this may damage the credibility of a claim.
• Physical indicators – evidence of violence, abuse or neglect (eg scars, injuries, health conditions, dental problems, neurological symptoms, non-specific symptoms, pain, malnourishment, unwanted pregnancies etc).
• Mental health and psychological indicators – manifestations of trauma as mental health problems (eg fear, anxiety, low mood, suicidal thinking, inability to emotionally regulate, relationship difficulties, memory difficulties, dissociative episodes etc) or diagnosable psychiatric disorders (eg PTSD, depressive or anxiety disorders, adjustments reactions etc).

There are a number of things to consider following the submission of an NRM application:

• Inform the potential victim about the next steps in the NRM process including timeframes, so they fully understand what is happening and what stage they are at.
• Explain who will contact them, so they know who to expect calls/emails from. The competent authority may contact them to communicate decisions regarding their application, and the MSVCC holder may contact them to arrange support. These organisations may call from withheld numbers which potential victims may be wary of.
• The potential victim should be given easy access to all NRM related documents (eg printed or emailed copies), either directly or through a third party they have consented to information being shared with (eg a legal representative).
• Provide the potential victim with contact details for other organisations that may be able to provide interim support while they await their Reasonable Grounds (RG) decision.
• It is important to advocate on behalf of the potential victim if the competent authority contacts you.
• The competent authority may contact you to gain further information about the potential victim’s situation. Be prepared to provide this within the five-day Reasonable Grounds window, otherwise the application is likely to be rejected.
• Ensure you have correct contact details for the potential victim, and any changes are communicated to the competent authority.

Here are some resources you may find useful:

• Mapping trafficking survivor services