Celebrating International Women's Day - Juliet's story

Women are subjected to forced labour, modern slavery and exploitation, and it is a crime often hidden in plain sight. The GLAA is committed to identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery. We will continue to build prosecution cases against offenders in our pursuit to reduce serious and organised crime. 

Each year on the 8 March, International Women’s Day is celebrated. This year the GLAA is celebrating some of the amazing women who have shown enormous resilience, triumphing over adversity, and standing up to their exploiters by reporting them to us. 

The names of the women have been changed to protect their identity. 

Our third woman who came forward and reported her experience to the GLAA is Juliet, who alongside a group of other women, reported how they were being exploited and agreed to enter the National Referral Mechanism, a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery to ensure they receive the appropriate support. 

Nearly 1.6 million people work in the care sector, and in 2023, the UK was short around 150,000 workers.  There are almost 17,000 care homes supporting more than 430,000 people, with a further 951,800 people receiving domiciliary care. 

The GLAA has the power to investigate reports of worker exploitation, forced labour and illegal labour provision, as well as offences under the National Minimum Wage and Employment Agencies Acts. We work closely to enhance international law enforcement and judicial co-operation through our continued work alongside other agencies to target, dismantle and disrupt serious and organised crime. 

Juliet said: “The GLAA came to visit us after receiving information that we were being treated poorly. There were 15 of us being treated very badly by the company we were working for. 

“We were living in an overcrowded house that was full of mould, and we were pressured to work long hours. If we complained, we were given more hours to work and threatened with deportation. It was an awful situation to be in.” 

Juliet and nine other people were being housed by their exploiter, and the GLAA supported them by safeguarding them. They agreed to enter the NRM, where they were able to access safe housing and financial support, amongst other support. 

Through Justice and Care the GLAA Victim Navigator was able to support the nine people including Juliet, into finding a new sponsorship and find a new home.  

Juliet said: “I can’t thank the GLAA enough for their efforts. I feel so happy. As a woman it is scary to stand up for your rights, but this experience has shown me that by taking action, we can break down systematic barriers.” 

If you know of a business operating outside the law, exploiting workers, then you can call 0800 432 0804 or email us at contact@gla.gov.uk.