Despite the UK’s Modern Slavery Act being groundbreaking and globally leading legislation, it is still a prominent issue within the UK that needs to be addressed at a preventative stage. This report updates the 2012 research relating to the prevention of human trafficking. Findings problematise the tendency to frame the anti-trafficking response through a criminal justice lens.
The report concludes that
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The UK continues to lack an overall strategy to prevent trafficking in adults and children;
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This leads to an inconsistent and fragmented approach to the prevention of trafficking;
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The UK’s lack of a strategic response means that prevention is often seen through the prism and policies of immigration and crime, hindering effective preventative action;
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The result of this approach and the wider policies of austerity, a hostile immigration environment and the threats posed by Brexit, is that the vulnerability of adults and children to exploitation is not reduced and the UK risks contravening its positive obligation to prevent trafficking.