The Impacts of the Cost of Living Crisis on Exploitation and Modern Slavery in the UK

Globally there are 50 million people living in modern slavery and estimates in 2016 suggest 136,000 of them live in the UK. This article explains how the upcoming financial crisis is going to cause that number to grow by making people more vulnerable and at risk of exploitation.

It seems that every week the UK is being thrown further into chaos; the combination of fuel poverty, food insecurity, poverty, the cost of living and the financial crisis are going to massively change the way we live for the foreseeable future. 

This winter and over the coming few years we are going to enter what the Bank of England predicts will be the longest recession since the global financial crisis.

The impacts of the recession will be exacerbated by the fuel crisis which have caused energy bills to rise by 70% meaning 1/3 of UK households will experience fuel poverty this winter.

As the struggle to survive increases, the 14.5 million living in poverty who are already barely making ends meet are going to find themselves further below the poverty line.

The recession will not have a clear end in sight until mid 2025 at least and according to the IMF it is going to hit low income households the hardest, with a record 15.2 million people in the UK expected to be in poverty during 2022 and 2023.

With less security than ever over how they will afford electricity, food and heating, millions will be forced to turn to extreme measures to ensure they and their loved ones can survive the upcoming winter. They will be vulnerable and struggling to survive which will make them easy targets for modern slave masters to groom and exploit.

There will be more crime

The millions who cannot afford to spend £20 on a new kettle to help them save money, as Boris Johnson suggested, are being forced to consider turning to extremes and breaking their moral boundaries to ensure their survival.

In a police contingency plan investigated by the Sunday Times, it was reported that because of the ‘prolonged and painful economic pressure’, the police expect to see an increase in crimes of acquisition and exploitation over the coming winter.

Crimes of acquisition include burglary, shop lifting and fraud, and crimes of exploitation include modern slavery.

Modern slavery, defined by the Child Regional Protection Services, is when, ‘An individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or adult and exploits them….in exchange for something the victim needs or wants.’

As one becomes more vulnerable and stays vulnerable for a long time they become more desperate for stability and security which makes them easier to exploit. Slave masters are aware of their victims desperation and use means like cash, violence or blackmail to groom and exploit the vulnerable. 

As we enter a cost of living crisis like no other, millions from different demographics in the UK are going to be more desperate for money and a way out of their crisis, and thus more exploitable.

Drug Gangs Grooming Children

Since the early 2000’s children as young as 12 have been used by UK drug gangs to act as drug runners and carry drugs across county lines. During lockdown it was estimated that 50,000 minors were used to rake in £3 million every day.

Gangs prefer to use minors as they are inconspicuous and less threatening and therefore less likely to get caught, and if they did they face much tamer legal consequences. 

Gangs identify and target vulnerable children and exploit them into becoming drug runners. These children come from struggling families and are drawn to quick and reliable cash.

All these children want is the chance for a better life than their own, and the gangs entice them with a way out. A lifestyle where money is no longer a limiting factor which previously seemed so unattainable is suddenly within grasp. 

Once committed, the gangs control children using threats of violence, sexual abuse and blackmail, leaving them traumatised and trapped into modern slavery

Knife wounds and ‘DIY injuries’ (like puncture wounds with screw drivers) are becoming tell-tale signs of gang debt enforcer retribution and are likely to be reported to A&E but not the police due to fear of further violent retribution from the gang.

Sexual blackmail is also commonly used to ensure children continue to comply with their bidding, wherein ‘elders’ film the child engaging in sexual acts and threaten to leak them if they do not comply. 

There are many instances where joining a gang may appear consensual, but it is vital to remember the power imbalance and exploitation involved in grooming the child in the first place. These decisions are being made by minors who do not have free will, their vulnerability is being exploited and their commitment is being upheld by violence or blackmail. 

By 2023 there are predicted to be as many as 1.1 million children living in poverty and as they become more desperate to escape poverty, they become easier to exploit. There is no doubt we will see more children being exploited by drug gangs and trapped into modern slavery.

The Exploitation of Sex Workers

The sex industry contributes a whopping £5.4 billion each year to the UK economy, which is one reason that many are drawn to it, especially upon times of financial uncertainty and hardship.

Over the summer the English Collective of Prostitutes, a national helpline that advises women on safe and legal sex work, reported that the number of calls to them has increased by a third. They explained that so many more women were joining the industry because they needed money.

Niki Adams, a spokeswoman for them, explained that ‘people are coming to that work from a place of desperation.’ ‘Survival sex’ is becoming more and more common, as women are entering the industry because there are no other options for a reliable income, not because they want too. 

Sex work itself is not the problem, there are places all over the world where safe sex work is practised because the work is regulated and the workers are protected by the law.

The English Collective of Prostitutes explains that ‘It’s legal to be a sex worker in the UK . . . but working together and virtually anything you need to do to contact a client, is illegal.’

The lack of regulations and protection for workers means they are ‘less able to protect themselves from violence and exploitation … And the conditions of sex work are deteriorating to a point where they are putting women’s lives at risk.” 

This is because ‘clients know they are in a position where they [the women] can’t say no’, said Nikki McNeill, a women’s support officer for Beyond the Streets.

Ms Adams said ‘some of the women are expected to provide sex with out protection’.

As more women turn to sex work, safety is decreasing and vulnerability is increasing. Clients know that these women desperately need the money, and therefore will use their power imbalance to manipulate the woman into doing what they want. 

Unregulated and unsafe sex work in the UK has already started increasing as more people are being pushed into poverty. As the crisis gets worse there will be more sex workers who will be easier to exploit.

Is there an end in sight?

The cost of living crisis is going to make many groups across society more vulnerable and susceptible to exploitation such as the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, small business owners, migrants and refugees. 

The vulnerability is caused by the worsening cost of living crisis, and arresting slave owners is not going to help people out of their financial situation. They will still be vulnerable, and desperate to break out of poverty and susceptible to exploitation.

Immediate and effective government intervention seems to be the only option which would help those vulnerable to exploitation. 

In fact the police contingency plan mentioned earlier stated fear that without significant government intervention there could be a return to the ‘febrile conditions’ which helped spark the London 2011 riots.

Without immediate and severe aid or intervention from the government the amount of people who become vulnerable and desperate for a way out will undoubtedly increase. Intervention strategies must try and help those at risk to become financially independent and less vulnerable.