An Assessment of the UK Modern Slavery Act, Five Years On

Modern slavery occurs all over the world, including here in the UK, often right under our noses and unbeknownst to us. The Global Slavery Index estimates that in 2016, there were 40.3 million people worldwide living in slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour. Of these 24.9 million, it is estimated that 16 million were exploited in the private sector. In 2018, the Index estimated that there were 136,000 victims of modern slavery or forced labour in the UK.

In 2015, the UK passed the Modern Slavery Act, with the goal of eradicating modern slavery. The law provided new means of support for victims and required multi-national companies to be transparent and public about their efforts to stop the abuse of workers in their supply chains. How well have these new legal structures worked? In this panel discussion, three experts provide fresh perspective on what the Modern Slavery Act has accomplished and what still needs to be done.

Panel members:

Justine Currell , Executive Director, Unseen UK; Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire

Genevieve LeBaron , Professor of Politics, Co-Director of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute (SPERI), University of Sheffield

Virginia Mantouvalou , Professor of Human Rights and Labour Law, Faculty of Laws, UCL

Chaired by: Dr. Colin Provost, Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy, UCL