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Vulnerabilities and Risks

Multiple factors can make a person or group of people vulnerable to exploitation. For example:

Age

Someone is automatically vulnerable as a minor because they do not have capacity to consent to such acts; age may affect someone's knowledge of their rights or ability to assess or respond to risky situations.

Debt and Poverty

The need to, for example, have an income if someone is in a desperate situation or feels there are few other options available to them for legitimate employment.

Disability

Abuse of someone's disability can be a means of control – it is important to assess whether consent is informed, particularly where the potential victim has a learning disability.

Family

If someone does not have familial support, or if their family member is being exploited, they may seek or become more dependent on individuals or organisations who can exploit that dependency.

Gender

Certain genders are more vulnerable to certain types of exploitation, such as females to sexual exploitation and males to labour exploitation.

Immigration Status/NRTPFs

Migrants and those who have come to the UK illegally are vulnerable to having their status used as a means of coercion and struggle to access support services because of their status.

Mental Health

If someone is experiencing mental health difficulties they may feel less able or willing to protect themselves from exploitation, and their struggles may be abused by criminals.

Neglect or Abuse

If someone has been neglected or abused in their life, they are considered more at risk of abuse or neglect later, as they may may believe that those actions are normal.

Race and Ethnicity

There are increased risks for people of minority ethnicities who may find it more difficult to find work and to access community opportunities.

Religion and Faith

Honour-based or religious-based abuse, or factors manipulated to make someone believe that they should be treated in such a way, e.g., belief in rituals or in nature of relationships.

Repeat Victimisation

If someone has been a victim of modern slavery or human trafficking before, they have an increased risk of being re-victimised as a result of the links to and the vulnerabilities from their previous exploitation.

Sexuality

The threat of being outed may be a means of control.

Social Exclusion

The pressure of providing or of overcoming feelings of despair and isolation are manipulated.

Unstable Housing

If someone is at risk of losing their home or forced to take shelter in unsafe accommodation, then they become a target to criminals who can offer them a place to live as a means of coercion.

This does not mean, however, that if you do not have one of these vulnerabilities that you are not at risk of exploitation. Anyone can be victim to modern slavery. In fact, now more than ever, organised criminals target those from low-risk backgrounds to escape the assuming eye of authorities.