Exploitation and trafficking

Every fact on this page comes from legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK and the helplines’ own websites. We last checked it on 6 October 2026. Each helpline shows the date we last checked it. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you’re in danger now

Call 999 for emergencies.

What it can look like

• being made to work for little or no pay, or to pay off a “debt” that never ends
• someone keeping your passport, ID or bank card
• being made to sell drugs, steal or carry things
• someone taking over your home and using it for crime
• being forced into sex, or into a marriage
• being threatened, or having your family threatened, if you leave

It can happen to anyone.

Sexual exploitation

Sexual exploitation is when someone uses their power over you to pressure, trick or force you into sexual activity. It is often in exchange for something you need or want, such as money, food or somewhere to stay, or it is for the other person’s gain.

For children, government guidance in England says sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse, and that a child can be sexually exploited even if the sexual activity seems consensual. It does not always involve physical contact: it can happen online.

Criminal exploitation

Criminal exploitation is when someone uses their power over you to make you commit crime, such as carrying or selling drugs, for their gain. For children, government guidance in England says it can happen through violence or threats, or in exchange for something the child needs or wants, and that it can happen through technology as well as in person.

It is common in ‘county lines’, where criminal networks move drugs from one area to another using a dedicated phone line. In ‘cuckooing’, criminals take over the home of someone vulnerable and use it as a base for crime.

Trafficking and modern slavery

Modern slavery is the term used for human trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. These are crimes in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, under each nation’s own law. In England and Wales, trafficking covers moving someone within the UK, not only across borders, and it makes no difference whether the person agreed to the travel.

Across the UK, the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is the framework for identifying victims of modern slavery and making sure they get support. Certain organisations, such as the police, can refer you. Adults have to agree to be referred; children do not.

Helplines you can call

You can call about yourself, or if you’re worried about someone else.

If you are under 19, you can also talk to Childline on 0800 1111, free from most landlines and mobiles in the UK, 24 hours a day, every day; calls do not show on your phone bill; 1-2-1 chat online too.

More support

Our Support Directory lists organisations for trafficking and modern slavery, forced marriage and victims of crime.

This page gives information, not legal advice.

Where this information comes from

• legislation.gov.uk: Modern Slavery Act 2015, section 2 (England and Wales)
• legislation.gov.uk: Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015
• legislation.gov.uk: Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015
• GOV.UK: Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 (England), glossary
• GOV.UK: Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines
• Welsh Women’s Aid: adult sexual exploitation
• GOV.UK: National Referral Mechanism guidance, England and Wales and Northern Ireland and Scotland
• Each helpline’s own website, linked on its card

Checked on 6 October 2026. Laws and helpline hours can change, so check the official pages before you act.