What is modern day slavery?

Someone is in slavery if they are:

• Forced to work through mental or physical threat
• Owned or controlled by an 'employer', usually through mental or physical abuse or the threat of abuse
• Dehumanised, treated as a commodity or bought and sold as 'property'
• Physically constrained or have restrictions placed on his/her freedom

The following definitions are encompassed within the term 'modern slavery' for the purposes of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

These are:

• Slavery is where ownership is exercised over a person
• Servitude involves the obligation to provide services imposed by coercion
• Forced or compulsory labour involves work or service extracted from any person under the menace of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself voluntarily
• Human trafficking concerns arranging or facilitating the travel of another with a view to exploiting them

Further information

• London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Statement on Slavery and Human Trafficking (2018-19) (pdf, 225 KB)
• Modern Slavery Awareness and Victim Identification Guidance (Home Office) (pdf, 239 KB)
• Modern slavery in the UK: March 2020 (ONS) (pdf, 1.1 MB)
• Typology of Modern Slavery Offences in the UK (Home Office) (pdf, 1.5 MB)
• Guidance on how to report modern day slavery
• Find out about organisations that can help and support victims of modern day slavery