Disturbing data from Safe Car Wash App
Modern slavery is real, the latest data from the BritishSafe Car Wash App proves. Almost 300 reports were submitted in the first half of 2023. 92 reports scored over the threshold of concern for modern slavery and exploitation.
The Safe Car Wash App was developed by The Clewer Initiative, an organization which is part of the Church of England and wants to combat modern slavery.
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Identify
There are thousands of hand car washes across the UK. While many of these are legitimate businesses, reports suggest that many more are run by unscrupulous people, determined to exploit their workers to make as much money as possible. In these instances, workers may be victims of modern slavery.
The Safe Car Wash App enables anyone who uses hand car washes to identify and report slavery. The app asks a series of questions related to the indicators of modern slavery and then assesses the answers.
If there is a high likelihood that modern slavery is occurring at the hand car wash, users are invited to send a report to the Modern Slavery Helpline at the touch of a button. All reports submitted through the app are also sent to a back-end data website, where they are made available to police officers and data analysts.
Big turnover
Hand car washes are commonplace in streets and communities across the UK, with estimates ranging from 8,000 to 20,000 locations, with annual turnover estimated to be £1.8 billion. The HCW industry has been identified as a high-risk sector for labour abuse. The workforce can include illegal migrants who have been trafficked to the UK.
Romania
67 per cent of the workers are male and between 18-34 old, CWA found. The men are mostly from Romania and Albania. Though nationals from Asian countries are featuring more prominently in recent years. The Car Wash Association has been campaigning for several years to raise public awareness about the crimes associated with the HCW industry.
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