"Modern slavery is a brutal form of organised crime in which people are treated as commodities and exploited for criminal gain. The true extent of modern slavery in the United Kingdom, and indeed globally, is unknown. Modern slavery, in particular human trafficking, is an international problem and victims may have entered the United Kingdom legally, on forged documentation or clandestinely, or they may be British citizens living in the United Kingdom. Modern slavery takes a number of forms, including sexual exploitation, forced labour and domestic servitude, and victims come from all walks of life. Victims are often unwilling to come forward to law enforcement or public protection agencies, not seeing themselves as victims, or fearing further reprisals from their abusers. In particular, there may be particular social and cultural barriers to men identifying themselves as victims. Victims may also not always be recognised as victims of modern slavery by those who come into contact with them" - (Extract from Explanatory Notes to the Modern Slavery Act 2015).
International concern about exploitation has resulted in a number of significant actions: the UN Palermo Protocol 2000; the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking in Human Beings (Warsaw 2005) and the European Union's Directive 2011/36/EU.
In the UK, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (mostly) came into force on 31st July 2015 - Explanatory Notes and Commencement Order. The following selection of articles make for interesting reading and they draw attention to some of the perceived deficiencies in the legislation. Examination of the considerable amount of legal detail must await another occasion but the Act is to be welcomed as a major step in combating this serious problem.
