Poverty and technology drive rise in modern slavery

A new report by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner identifies the issues driving an increase in modern slavery referrals in the UK, including poverty, conflict, and unsafe migration, as well as new technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The report entitled ‘Anticipating Exploitation: A futures based analysis’ has been written ten years after the passing of the Modern Slavery Act. In the decade since that groundbreaking legislation, however, referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for modern slavery and human trafficking have increased. In 2025 referrals hit a record high of over 23,000, an increase of 22% on the previous year.

The increase in referrals, according to the report, is not due to better detection alone, but a criminal network who are able to expand and adapt to new situations. The current geopolitical landscape with rising poverty, war, and instability can fuel the potential for human trafficking. At the same time, new technology can provide ways for exploiters to take advantage of victims.

The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, writes: “Artificial intelligence and digital platforms are transforming how traffickers identify, recruit, and control victims at scale. The rise of AI-enabled scams, deepfakes, synthetic identities, and new forms of digital labour exploitation are lowering barriers to entry for criminals, expanding the pool of victims, and making exploitation harder to detect.”

Digital technologies are particularly fuelling a rise in sexual exploitation, with recruitment, grooming, and control now operating through online platforms. Sexual exploitation of girls in the UK has risen 54% in the last five years.

The report identifies the pressures in the UK which increase the risk of modern slavery. UK nationals now form the highest proportion of victims of modern slavery in this country. Debt, insecure work, and the rising cost of living all drive conditions for exploitation to thrive.

With an increasingly complex landscape of modern slavery, the report urges the Government to respond by making changes to policies and legislation. They argue for a National Survivor Council to help shape policy decisions, a new Modern Slavery Strategy which takes into account inequality and emerging technology, and increased support for child victims.

Eleanor Lyons concludes: “The UK still can lead if it acts now. Ten years on, the question is no longer whether we recognise modern slavery as a serious crime. It is whether we are prepared to act with the urgency and ambition that the scale of the problem now demands.”