Is the woman doing your nails a slave? How you, the consumer, can help

Britain's modern slavery laws are now almost 18 months old. They send a strong message to people who trade in human beings - you will be pursued, arrested, and brought to justice.

But in practice, there have only been a small number of prosecutions under the laws, even though there are somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 victims of modern slavery living in the UK. Now the Salvation Army is reporting a five-fold increase in the number of victims it has assisted since 2012.

In July, following concerns that the number of crimes being reported was falling well short of the real number of cases, the government pledged £33m to boost the fight against modern slavery. Its current approach relies heavily on public cooperation to tackle this crime. There have been numerous high profile calls for the British public to open their eyes and ears to spot slavery around them.

If they suspect a case of modern slavery, they are asked to report it in a number of ways - online, by calling the police, or by calling a helpline. Yet, my recent research reveals that the public's understanding of what this crime looks like and whether it actually affects them on a day-to-day basis is dangerously muddled.

In the West Midlands, where the number of potential victim referrals is particularly high, the vast majority of people who completed a 30 question survey for our research did not believe modern slavery affected them. They didn't understand what psychological coercion was and were largely unaware of why victims were trafficked. They often confused trafficking with immigration, thinking that it was the smuggling of illegal immigrants, and that victims allowed themselves to be trafficked to enter the country.

This suggests that the general public is likely to see victims as willing partners in criminality. That makes things worse for the victim and even fuels the potential idea that they somehow deserve their fate.

Psychological abuse, coercion and mental manipulation play a powerful role in recruiting and controlling modern day slaves. Perpetrators typically live and work with their victims, watching and managing their movements, taking them to work and collecting them. Victims do not travel alone, and their identity papers, driving licence and passport are taken away.

They are denied access to healthcare and living conditions are cramped and unclean. Aggressive, credible threats are used to create anxiety, despair and humiliation, thereby ensuring compliant behaviour. The insidious, non-physical nature of this type of control means that modern slavery is easy to conceal. We cannot see it, and so we do not ask questions because we assume a victim will show physical signs of abuse and restraint.