Justice for those vulnerable to exploitation

This briefing paper was prepared to support the third event of the Justice for All conference series, ‘Justice for Victims and Survivors.’ RAND Europe is a research partner for this series, which is a year-long programme of events that examines the challenges facing modern justice systems. This paper reflects on the roles and responsibilities public and private sector organisations, particularly in the City of London, have in preventing the exploitation of vulnerable people through modern slavery.

Modern slavery is defined under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 as encompassing slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. It is characterised by the coercive exploitation of individuals for the personal or financial gain of perpetrators, and occurs across numerous sectors in the UK, including agriculture, construction, domestic work, sex work and illicit markets.

This paper provides an overview of definitions and conceptual frameworks for understanding modern slavery; provide insights into factors that may contribute to making individuals vulnerable to abuse and exploitation through modern slavery, and into the financial costs of modern slavery; reflect on the role of government and businesses in protecting vulnerable people from modern slavery; and capture key recommendations from UK bodies for public and private sector actors, with examples of approaches from other countries to preventing modern slavery and supporting survivors.