In April 2015, the UK Government's much-anticipated Modern Slavery Act received Royal Assent. This, and the appointment of the first ever Anti-Slavery Commissioner, had been key components of the Modern Slavery Strategy (HM Government, 2014) which was subsequently reviewed 12 months after its implementation (Haughey, 2016b). The purpose of the review was to evaluate whether the Act was achieving its objectives. It also examined the extent to which it was assisting investigators and prosecutors in combating modern slavery in the UK context and, to a lesser extent, abroad. It represents the evolution of understanding, responses and current practices by all UK agencies to the problem. It also identified limitations, uncertainties and constraints on investigators and the need for further development of responses and statutory systems. Subsequent reviews such as the Independent Parliamentary Review of 2019 (Field, Butler-Sloss, and Miller, 2019) and evidence of Professor Dame Sara Thornton who was the former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Baroness Butler Sloss (2023), Dr Caroline Haughey OBE, KC (5 July 2023) and others to the UK House of Commons Home Affairs Committee on Human Trafficking (2023) suggest that there has been very little development of responses to the problem of modern slavery and the UK's statutory systems. If anything, it is suggested, there has been a regression. It is not only the UK that seems to be retreating from the fight against human trafficking. The latest biannual global report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicated that there is a worldwide decrease in the number of victim identifications and convictions of traffickers and the EU's 2022 ‘Report on the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings’ also noted a significant reduction in identification of victims and the number of prosecutions (European Commission, 2022, p 9).

Despite this, around the world law enforcement agencies, health agencies and protective services, lawyers, third-sector organisations and academics strive to combat human trafficking, to understand its aetiology and processes, protect and support victims, identify, disrupt and prosecute perpetrators. It's been my pleasure and privilege to work with many colleagues from diverse disciplines and backgrounds at home and abroad to further this endeavour. And this book is a small contribution to that end.