Modern slavery is a human rights violation. The Human Rights Act 1998 was laid out in the European Convention on Human rights. It sets out basic rights that every individual is entitled too. These include: Article 2 – the right to life, Article 3 – Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, Article 4 – Freedom from slavery and forced labour. There are severe impacts and consequences for victims of these. Slavery is illegal in all countries and has been prohibited by international conventions. For this reason, modern slavery has become a hidden crime.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 defined it as “An Act to make provision about slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and about human trafficking, including provision for the protection of victims; to make provision for an Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner; and for connected purposes.” So it is important to recognise what the essential crimes are which are laid out in the definition of modern slavery. Any individual that falls into any category in the definition has been a victim.

One of the widely tools that is used in the combat with modern slavery is the universally recognised Palermo Protocol, Article 3a focuses on Trafficking in Persons. This Protocol was passed by the United Nations as a “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.” The Protocol is built around the concept of the three P’s. These are known as prosecution, prevention, and protection.

Human Rights Act 1998
Ibid, article 2
Ibid, article 3
Ibid, article 4
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/introduction/enacted
https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/protocoltraffickinginpersons.aspx