Who Unseen is#
Unseen was founded in Bristol in 2008, first to give survivors of trafficking a safe place to live. It opened the South West's first safehouse for women in 2011 and now runs one for women and one for men; in 2025 they supported 47 survivors between them. Its outreach team supports survivors living in the community, with help that ranges from counselling, medical care and benefits to housing, budgeting, education and work, legal help and the immigration and asylum system. It also advises businesses on slavery in their supply chains.
Its best-known service is the Modern Slavery and Exploitation Helpline, which marked ten years in October 2026. In 2025 it handled more than 11,000 calls, web reports and app reports.
Calling or writing to the Modern Slavery Helpline#
The helpline is for victims, the public and professionals anywhere in the UK. It is normally open every day of the year; on 26 October 2026 its site said that, because of demand, hours were reduced to 8am to 6pm until further notice. It is independent of the police and government, does not investigate, and does not give legal advice. Interpreters are available by phone; the online report form is in English only. The free Unseen app explains the signs of slavery and how to contact the helpline in 16 languages.
You do not have to give your name. Unseen says the helpline can advise you anonymously, though passing your situation to another agency may need it. Each call begins with a safety check and an agreement on how, and whether, they can contact you again.
What Unseen says about your documents#
Unseen publishes nothing about changing your name, but its FAQs for potential victims are direct about identity papers:
- An employer may take a copy of your passport or ID, but should never keep the documents themselves, whatever reason they give.
- If you are planning to leave, pack a small bag with your passport and other important papers, bank cards, money, medication and written-down contact details, kept where the exploiter cannot find it.
- Use a friend's phone if yours may be checked, clear your history and turn off location sharing.
One of its articles adds that many survivors arrive with no documents at all, which makes the evidence the Home Office asks for harder to gather.
The referral system in brief#
Unseen's September 2026 guide explains the National Referral Mechanism. You must be referred by a First Responder, such as the police, a local authority, the Home Office or a charity (Unseen is one, though the helpline is not). A positive reasonable grounds decision brings at least 30 days of support, with safe housing, money, healthcare, legal advice and interpreters; a positive conclusive grounds decision is followed by at least 45 days of move-on support. Unseen stresses that a positive decision does not by itself give you the right to stay, so take specialist immigration advice.
Papers and a new name later on#
A deed poll records a change of name but does not prove who you are: banks and others ask for an identity document beside it. Is a deed poll proof of identity? explains why. If you are not British, the Home Office wants your passport or national identity card changed first, apart from some refugees; the handbook's page for people who are not British sets out the order. Some banks also want photo ID in the new name, as our bank comparison shows.
This page describes what Unseen publishes on its own websites, read on 26 October 2026. Unseen has not reviewed it, and listing a charity here does not mean it recommends this handbook or any deed poll service.
