Methods of coercive control of people for trafficking and exploitation through slavery, servitude, forced labour and the trade in human organs is frequently acknowledged within key strategies and policies produced by different governments and their agencies, but rarely is it described or explained in any detail. This contrasts with the attention that is given to the trafficking and abuse of primarily women and girls, in the context of sexual exploitation.

The aim of this chapter is to examine the evolution of current strategies and its influence on policy and practice specifically in relation to the problem of modern slavery and human trafficking. By so doing I will identify, then discuss, some of the underlying assumptions that have informed or contributed to the present state of policy and professional practice, the identification, pursuit and prosecution of offenders, and the development of prevention and safeguarding strategies.

When the Modern Slavery Bill was introduced, leading the way to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 in the UK, the then Home Secretary (later Prime Minister) Theresa May commended the legislation as ground-breaking and evidence of the UK leading the world in the fight against modern slavery. Some may feel that by 2023, the UK was leading the retreat from that battle. I shall begin by setting the UK's strategy and policy development in the wider context of international efforts through a broad overview of relevant conventions and protocols; these are crucial to understanding some of the key concepts that underpin local strategies and legislation.

I shall also review social research data and associated strategies and policies that contributed directly to the development of the current UK Modern Slavery Strategy and development of similar legislation elsewhere and examine practice guidance that has been influenced by it. With an overview established of the research that has led to the strategy and subsequent policies and procedural guidance established, I set out a working definition of ‘exploitation’. This provides terms of reference for the critical evaluation of criminal justice and safeguarding responses to the problem.

The evolution of definitions and descriptions

The formal abolition of slavery in the 19th century was undeniably a major achievement in the face of stubborn resistance from an establishment that had become dependent upon the trade's huge economic rewards.