To mark Anti-Slavery Week 2024, the NCA is announcing that 31 financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and government departments have joined forces to tackle sexual exploitation.
The project – co-led by the NCA and Barclays Bank, and facilitated by the Agency’s Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) – was launched in January. It is the first of its kind, solely focussed on the threat of sexual exploitation in the UK, and brings together subject matter experts from some of the UK’s largest financial organisations.
Its aims are threefold: to improve understanding of the financial activity indicative of sexual exploitation, and therefore the detection and reporting of it; to identify lines of enquiry in both new and ongoing law enforcement investigations; and to strengthen the UK financial sector’s response to sexual exploitation in order to better identify victims and offenders.
Kathryn Davies, Deputy Director Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking at the NCA, said:
“In 2023, the Home Office received 8,377 referrals related to exploitation solely in the UK.
“Victims of sexual exploitation are controlled through fear, violence and debt bondage, and many endure long-term psychological distress as a result of their exploitation, in addition to physical harm.
“They are controlled and exploited by offenders seeking profit, who treat human beings as commodities.
“Our work with the private sector is crucial; we can help spot and safeguard victims, identify and disrupt organised crime groups, and make the UK a safer place.
“This project, which involves 31 different organisations, demonstrates our commitment to tackling sexual exploitation together – our dedication to protecting those vulnerable to exploitation, and ensuring that this abhorrent crime has no place in our country.”
Using existing legislation, members from the financial sector have shared intelligence with the NCA, and have worked directly with law enforcement and government to identify trends, patterns and case studies.
11 intelligence packages have been shared with the Metropolitan Police Service, to support an existing investigation into the sexual exploitation of Romanian nationals into, and around, the UK.
Seven events – specifically designed to raise awareness of the signs of sexual exploitation, identify emerging trends, and share best practice – have been delivered to over 900 personnel from across the public and private sectors. A number of organisations, including The Passage, have run bespoke sessions for the group.
Simon Kingsbury, Head of Financial Crime Barclays UK, said:
“Effective collaboration across public and private sector partners is integral in combating financial crime.
“Financial institutions can add significant value to law enforcement investigations with our collective understanding of criminal threats.
“By working together to share data-driven insights and analyse trends holistically across the industry, we can vastly enhance our ability to detect, disrupt and prevent financial crime, safeguarding the exploitation of the most vulnerable in our society and creating a safer and more resilient financial system for all.”
A spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police Service, said:
“Modern slavery is a crime where unscrupulous criminals exploit some of the most vulnerable in society, disregarding basic human decency, in order to fund the disproportionately lavish lifestyles of the exploiters.
“We remain dedicated to working alongside partners, such as the NCA to tackling modern slavery wherever we find it.”
Sexual exploitation occurs when someone is deceived, coerced or forced to take part in sexual activity, including through prostitution, escort agencies, webcamming, phone sex lines and sex tourism.
Victims of sexual exploitation are typically women and girls, many of whom are controlled by organised crime groups within the commercial sexual services marketplace. The majority of these organised crime groups are also involved in other criminal activity – in county lines drug supply, organised immigration crime or money laundering.
Natasha Mitra, Head of Helpline Services at Unseen, said:
“Sexual exploitation continues to devastate lives, with 827 potential victims indicated to our Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline in 2023, making it the second most common form of exploitation recorded by the Helpline.
“Signs to look out for include individuals who seem fearful or intimidated, show signs of physical abuse, have a limited but sexualised English vocabulary, or live in a location with frequent visitors at all hours.
“If you suspect someone may be a victim of exploitation, please contact the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline for free, confidential support in over 250 languages. Call 08000 121 700 or visit www.modernslaveryhelpline.org.”
The project will run until the end of this month, but work to counter exploitation continues to be a priority for the NCA. Other projects run by the Joint Money Laundering Taskforce are ongoing and focussed on a number of different serious and organised crime threats.
16 October 2024
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