This report has been produced by a consortium of leading anti-slavery organisations that have come together to produce a joint strategic vision for the UK Government’s fight against modern slavery in the UK. It focuses on key interconnected priority areas that we believe are foundational to moving the UK forward to achieve meaningful progress in the fight against this crime. However, we recognise that in the longer term, a holistic vision and strategy on modern slavery requires a whole society and whole of government approach that makes tackling this issue everyone’s business with a strong focus on holistic prevention before the harm is done, including early intervention, and after it is done.
Modern slavery is a profound violation of human rights and a serious economic crime that undermines the rule of law and the integrity of our economy. Despite the landmark Modern Slavery Act 2015, the UK’s response has faltered. A lack of a strategic approach to prevention, ineffective business regulation, fragmented policing, siloed safeguarding and support systems, and harmful immigration policies have created a low-risk, high-reward environment for perpetrators, as has been the case for years. It has left survivors with restricted access to the protection and long-term support they are entitled to under international obligations.
The status quo is untenable; it fails victims, emboldens criminals, and tarnishes the UK’s reputation as a global leader in the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT). This document presents a strategic vision for the next decade supported by a roadmap to place the United Kingdom at the forefront of the global fight to eradicate modern slavery. Our vision for 2036 is of a UK that has a dual approach: tackling the root vulnerabilities, drivers and causes of MSHT and responding appropriately when it occurs. A UK where criminal networks are consistently dismantled, where businesses are held accountable for exploitation in their supply chains, where every exploited child is safeguarded, and where all survivors are heard, protected and supported towards a life of dignity and sustainable recovery.
This strategic vision focuses on four key priorities which make it realistic and attainable with the right level of leadership and prioritisation. It provides a clear, evidence-based, and phased roadmap for action over the next decade, focusing on leveraging existing resources and efforts of government departments. It focuses on four of the key interconnecting priorities, which should be underpinned by ethical and meaningful inclusion of those with lived experience:
Priority one: Building a new legislative foundation for corporate accountability
We call for the introduction of a new, standalone “Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence and Forced Labour Act” within two years. This Act will replace the ineffective Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 with legally binding obligations, including mandatory human rights due diligence, a ban on goods tainted by forced labour, and upgraded transparency reporting with substantial penalties for noncompliance. As the UK seeks stable growth, higher productivity, and renewed global competitiveness, eliminating human rights abuses and forced labour from supply chains is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity.
Priority two: Dismantling criminal networks through a strengthened justice response
We urge the government to treat modern slavery as a core policing priority and a serious economic crime that impacts national security. This requires sustained investment in specialist MSHT teams, financial investigators, and advanced data analytics. By embedding a trauma informed approach, enhancing civil remedies, providing specialist support throughout the criminal justice journey, for example, by providing access to Victim Navigators, and strengthening police-CPS collaboration, we can reverse the high-reward, low-risk calculus for traffickers and ensure victims receive justice.
Priority three: Ensuring a dignified life and sustainable recovery for all survivors
A survivor-centric support system is fundamental to breaking the cycle of exploitation. We call for systemic reform to create a safeguarding-led infrastructure, provide needs-based, long-term support, and remove legal and policy barriers to recovery. This includes repealing harmful immigration legislation and guaranteeing survivors have access to safe accommodation, legal advice, compensation, and a pathway to settlement that enables effective recovery and reintegration, reducing the risks of re-exploitation.
Priority four: A coherent national strategy for child exploitation
We advocate for the creation of a cross-government UK-wide Child Exploitation Strategy to end the current fragmented and siloed response. This strategy must establish a unified framework, align existing policies, and be grounded in children’s rights. It will ensure every child at risk is identified early and protected through consistent safeguarding processes, regardless of their location, immigration status, or the type of exploitation they face.
Longer term, a strategic approach must place emphasis on a holistic prevention approach with a greater priority on tackling the root causes, vulnerabilities and drivers of MSHT. This takes a local, national and international approach, tackling harm before it occurs and enabling intervention as early as possible afterwards, in addition to tackling the issue after the harm is done. This includes, but is not limited to, investment in international development; multi-lateral and bilateral approaches to tackling MSHT; protection of all workers regardless of immigration status, ensuring access to remedies and recourse to public funds and addressing existing recommendations to reduce risks of MSHT for migrant workers, particularly those on short-term visas. Survivors, children, young people, families and communities can play crucial roles as agents of change who can often be best placed to fight MSHT if they are equipped to prevent
it, recognise and respond to it.
Meaningful and ethical survivor inclusion for a sustainable strategic response
To ensure the UK’s 2036 vision remains grounded, the proposed strategic vision mandates that meaningful and ethical survivor inclusion is the cornerstone of all policy design, implementation, and evaluation. By placing survivors and communities at the heart of the strategy as key experts, this approach ensures lived experience is the foundation that drives and informs every strategic pillar. From informing the development of MHRDD legislation to refining the tools used to “go after the money”, driving the shift from a restrictive, immigration-led response to a trauma informed safeguarding model.
This survivor-centric perspective is essential for achieving a high return on investment (ROI); by directly addressing the needs of those protected, such as through the provision of independent advocacy e.g. access to Independent Modern Slavery Advocates (IMSAs) and Victim Navigators, culturally appropriate therapy, and the right to work, the system will effectively break the cycle of re-trafficking and reduces the long-term economic burden of exploitation. Ultimately, prioritising the voices of those who have experienced exploitation and communities at risk is the only way to improve the efficiency of the justice system and ensure that every intervention is both humane and rights based.
As a consortium of leading anti-slavery organisations, we stand ready to partner across multiple sectors, with the Government and people with lived experience to implement this agenda and build a future free from exploitation. The time for renewed leadership is now.
(Image from ‘Decade of Dignity: A Strategic Vision for Eradicating Modern Slavery in the UK’ report)