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Abstract
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An estimated 49.6 million people live in conditions of modern-day slavery, the most common forms of which are forced labour, domestic servitude, forced sexual exploitation of adults and commercial sexual exploitation of children, forced criminal exploitation, and forced marriage.
The best estimate for the number of victims in the UK is 122,000, though the nature of the crime means that far fewer people are actually identified and supported each year. For example, in 2022, the last full year with available statistics, 16,938 potential victims of modern slavery were identified and reported via the UK Government's 'National Referral Mechanism' system (547 of them in Northern Ireland). This was a 33% rise on the previous year's figure, continuing a nearly uninterrupted trend of annual rises since the current system launched in 2009. There were also 4,580 potential victims in 2022 referred via the separate 'Duty to Notify' process.
Under the UK's Modern Slavery Act 2015, modern slavery is an umbrella term encompassing the offences of slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour, and human trafficking. In practical terms, it means a person being controlled by another, usually through threats, violence, manipulation, deception and/or coercion. The exploiter's aim is usually financial profit, but it may also include sexual gratification or acting in line with a perceived cultural belief.
Human trafficking is distinct from people smuggling. While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably by journalists and politicians, they are not synonymous. Human trafficking is when someone is moved within a country or across a border specifically for the purposes of exploitation, and is a crime against a person, not the state. ...
Language: en |