Survivors of Modern Slavery in Prisons: The Blind Spot of the UK Anti-Slavery Regime

This project examines whether the UK government has established an appropriate regime to identify and assist survivors of modern slavery in prisons in line with its international obligations and the responses to survivors of modern slavery justifiably in prison for crimes unrelated to their status as a victim but who still have a legitimate request for identification, protection, and assistance both within and outside prison. .
This research is important and timely because there is almost no knowledge about the number and treatment of survivors of modern slavery in UK prisons, nor whether the current legislation and policy allow for their identification and adequate support. The statutory guidance for the implementation of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act expressly notes that prisons 'have responsibility for identifying and supporting victims and raising awareness of this crime amongst prisoners . . . and staff.' Yet, there is to date no understanding about whether and how this responsibility is implemented.

This gap in our knowledge is striking given that in 2020 more than one third of the adults referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) - the UK framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery - reported that they had been compelled to commit crimes while they were a victim of modern slavery. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in many instances their status as a survivor of modern slavery has not been considered or deemed relevant during criminal proceedings resulting in their imprisonment. Such practices are contrary to legislation and policies introduced to ensure that people who commit crimes under the compulsion of traffickers or as a direct consequence of being a victim of modern slavery can be protected from being punished for those crimes.

Not only do such practices contradict national and international law established to protect victims of modern slavery, but they also result in those responsible for subjecting them to modern slavery going unpunished- both for subjecting victims to modern slavery and for crimes that the latter are compelled to commit. This undermines the UK's efforts to fight modern slavery and the importance of the legislation and policies it has introduced towards this goal, including the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.

The suitability of the current regime is assessed by both reviewing the existing law and policy on victim identification and by interviewing survivors of modern slavery with the experience of imprisonment, alongside other stakeholders, such as prison officials, defence lawyers, and NGO representatives supporting survivors.

The research will help us to understand what happens to victims of modern slavery who end up in prisons, and whether existing policies and legislation provide the opportunity for them to be identified and access the necessary support and assistance they are entitled to. These findings will inform future policy and legal frameworks to improve the identification and responses to survivors of modern slavery.

Beyond such immediate contribution to the UK's regime on modern slavery, the research will enable the issue of modern slavery to be adequately mainstreamed within the policy and legal frameworks for the administration and oversight of prisons. The research will consider the extent to which the current lack of consideration of the issue of modern slavery within the prison regime stems from the absence of the adequate training of prison officials. By combining empirical data and a comprehensive legal analysis of the relevant laws and policies, the research will provide a solid evidence base to inform the required reforms, shape future practices, and stimulate further research.