The UK Government’s 2017 Annual Report on Modern Slavery (pdf) provides an overview of modern slavery in the UK, how the UK has responded to this threat over the last 12 months, and how it will respond in future.
Modern slavery is a highly complex and hidden crime, which makes it challenging to accurately measure its prevalence. It’s an umbrella term that covers human trafficking and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. The scale of modern slavery in the UK, last estimated for 2013, is between 10,000 and 13,000 potential victims.
This report builds on the UK Government’s Modern Slavery Strategy published in 2014, based on the ‘four Ps’:
- Pursue: Prosecuting and disruptingindividuals and groups responsible for modern slavery.
- Prevent: Preventing people from engaging in modern slavery.
- Protect: Strengthening safeguards against modern slavery by protecting vulnerable people from exploitation and increasing awareness of and resilience against this crime.
- Prepare: Reducing the harm caused by modern slavery through improved victim identification and enhanced support.
