If someone is in immediate danger in the UK, call 999. For confidential advice about suspected exploitation, contact the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline when it is safe to do so.
A locked door is easy to recognise. Dependence can be harder to see. If one household controls your passport, your pay and the roof over your head, what does it really mean to say that you could walk out? That question runs through Siliadin v France, the case of a young woman from Togo who was brought to France as a teenager.
What kept her there?
Her passport was taken. She worked long hours in a private household without pay, doing domestic work and caring for children. She was young and feared the consequences of her immigration situation. The European Court of Human Rights examined those circumstances together. In 2005 it found forced labour and servitude within the meaning of Article 4. It did not classify her situation as slavery in the strict legal sense. The distinctions in terminology did nothing to diminish the harm she had endured.
The case in Strasbourg was against France. The Court found that the criminal law then in place had failed to give her practical and effective protection. That is one reason the judgment matters to people beyond that household. A formal prohibition achieves little if the law cannot protect somebody experiencing coercion behind a private front door.
What can someone who is worried do?
Living with an employer can be a genuine choice. The concern is how much freedom the person actually has. Who holds their identity documents? Can they keep their earnings, leave the house, or speak to someone privately? What do they believe will happen if they refuse a task? You do not need to decide which criminal offence fits before asking a specialist organisation for help.
If you are worried about someone else, seek specialist guidance before intervening. Confronting the household or sending a message to a monitored device could increase the danger. If the person can speak safely, ask what kind of contact works for them. The French judgment explains a Convention principle. Protection and referral arrangements in the UK follow domestic procedures.
Read Siliadin v France, application 73316/01.
Get specialist advice from the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline. For background on the Court’s role, see our ECHR guide.
