Ten years. A decade. That's how long it's been since the Modern Slavery Actwas passed, a landmark piece of legislation meant to eradicate the horrors of exploitation. For survivors like us, those ten years have been a stark reminder of how far we've come, and how much further we have to go.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of this legislation, we - a small group of people with lived experience of modern slavery working for the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre at the University of Oxford - reflect on the past decade.
While the Act was hailed by many as a landmark achievement, it has failed to deliver meaningful justice and protection for many survivors.
Since the Act’s introduction, the number of people referred as potential victims to the UK’s authorities have skyrocketed to nearly 20,000 people in 2024. But the support system meant to protect them is breaking under pressure. Many survivors face delays of up to two years in receiving decisions identifying them as a victim and struggle to access basic services. Fewer than 2% of people affected see their traffickers prosecuted.
Worse still, recent immigration policies removing protections from some of the survivors undermined their trust in the system. Instead of offering safety and justice, the system is often retraumatising those it was meant to protect. It’s part of the reason why over 5,000 people last year declined the opportunity to be formally referred and supported.
Although the new Government has introduced a Bill passing now through parliament which repealed most of the modern slavery measures in immigration legislation and has cut some of the system backlog, it might take some time and effort to rebuild the trust of survivors in the system.
Looking ahead: what must change?
Going forward, we need to see a shift in focus. We need to invest in long term, holistic support that addresses the complex needs of survivors. Ensuring survivors have access to basic things in life such as safe housing, mental health care, education, or employment opportunities can go a long way in breaking up a vicious circle of people being put at risk of further exploitation. Similarly, fairly addressing the lack of legal status can enable many survivors on their road to recovery. We need to dismantle the systems that keep the exploitation going, including the demand that fuels it. A small investment in the grand scheme of things can make a huge difference in preventing exploitation and supporting survivors in their recovery.
But one of the biggest opportunities for the new decade is meaningfully including survivors in policymaking.
Too often, policies are crafted, and services are designed, without the voices of those who actually lived through this nightmare. We are treated as case studies, not experts. We are reduced to stories on legs, telling stories to raise money for organisations' fundraising events. Ask us for our expertise and solutions, not sensational stories.
Don’t treat us as defenceless victims and look at us through the prism of our stories. We have unique expertise no one else has and it’s frustrating when organisations or the Government ignores this resource. We might not always have formal education or qualifications, but that doesn’t mean our expertise is of any less value. All we need is the right opportunities to contribute.
At the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, we have developed detailed twelve principles for ethical engagement of lived experience experts by organisations working with them, which can be summarised in three key principles.
The first non-negotiable principle is preventing harm. Organisations are obliged to take proactive and serious steps to eliminate harm and barriers to engaging survivors, ensuring full and meaningful engagement. Barriers could range from the lack of housing, of mental health support, of financial stability or lack of immigration status – they all can prevent survivors from fully engaging in the organisation’s work.
Secondly, meaningful engagement must be trauma informed. This means being aware of potential triggers and subsequent harms often encountered by people who have experienced trauma and taking proactive steps to minimise them.
Thirdly, survivor engagement must be genuine, not tokenistic. Tokenism, which involves superficial engagement without real influence, undermines trust and hinders change. Meaningful opportunities, where survivors can contribute, challenge, and shape decisions, is essential. Fair compensation for their time and expertise is also crucial.
Real change is possible, but only if survivors are completely embedded in policymaking. The new Government has a real opportunity here, which is what we said to the Minister of Safeguarding Jess Phillips when we met her at our recent conference. The time for token gestures is over. For the next ten years the only real path is survivor inclusion. If not, the consequences will be devastating.
Authors Jane Lasonder, Ify Dibie, Rozina Faheem and Christine Mutshipay are lived experience experts, who are working at the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre at the University of Oxford.
