Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Child Exploitation

Human Trafficking is criminal activity in which human beings are coerced, forced, or deceived into an exploitative situation, for another person’s monetary gain. It is the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Most commonly, the purpose is for sex and/or labour. The UK deals with Human Trafficking under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which states that it is illegal to monetarily benefit by exploiting a person.

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. It takes various forms, such as slavery, servitude, forced and compulsory labour and human trafficking, all of which have in common the deprivation of a person's liberty by another in order to exploit them for personal or commercial gain. The Company have a zero tolerance approach to modern slavery and we are committed to acting ethically and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships; to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure modern slavery is not taking place anywhere in our own business or in any of our supply chains.

Child Exploitation is where young people, both males and females, under the age of 18 are encouraged/forced into a sexual relationship or situation by an adult. It often involves young people being offered something in return for performing sexual acts, for example: Alcohol, Cigarettes, Mobile Phones, Gifts, Money, Drugs, Love/affection, and Accommodation. Young people can be groomed and sexually exploited at a variety of premises and locations such as: Parks, Shopping Centres, Taxi ranks, Restaurants, Takeaways, Gyms, Leisure Centres, Hotels, Hostels, Pubs/bars/clubs.