✅Research was led by @ecpatuk.bsky.social w. support of Freshfields LLP.
✅It was commissioned by the UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and @modernslaverypec.bsky.social at @ox.ac.uk, in turn funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
www.modernslaverypec.org/resources/de...

The report calls on the UK Government to introduce a clear, statutory definition of child exploitation and a national child exploitation strategy.

☝️Age is a factor which clouds practice, for example the legal age of sexual consent being a barrier in the identification of child sexual exploitation for 16- and 17-year-olds.
👉85% of the children who had their NRM cases rejected on the definitional grounds were aged 15-17

☝️In contrast to the international definition, domestic legal definitions of human trafficking focus on travel, which leads to UK practice often applying narrower thresholds and excluding children exploited online or locally.

☝️Statutory definition of CSE and guidance definition of CCE include coercion, deception or manipulation
☝️International definitions of trafficking underline children can never consent to being exploited.
☝️It means children often treated as making ‘choices’

Definitions of different forms of child exploitation (criminal, labour, domestic, sexual) entail different elements in separate parts of legislation & statutory guidance, causing confusion:
👉 children not identified
👉investigations & prosecutions affected.

For example...👇

The report found that out of 1,396 negative decisions for child referrals into the NRM in 2024, over 61% were rejected on the grounds that the case did not meet the definitional threshold required to proceed.

Our funded research project, led by @rightslab.bsky.social with @sophiehayesfnd.bsky.social, evaluates how SHF's employability programme providing women survivors with employment skills works to prevent re-trafficking amongst survivors of modern slavery.
👇
www.modernslaverypec.org/research-pro...

Read more about the research on children with SEND being at a higher risk of exploitation below.

Prof. Anita Franklin, who led this study, was one of the signatories of the letter to the Guardian.
www.modernslaverypec.org/latest/gaps-...

It’s important to note that - as PEC-funded research led by
@manmetuni.bsky.social points out - children with SEND are exposed to greater risks of grooming & exploitation. The report called for a strategy to prevent children with SEND from being exploited and increased support resources.

The team, incl. a worker consultant, spoke on benefits & challenges of survivor engagement, and on strategies to mitigate potential risks.

The project is by @bsmsmedschool.bsky.social, @newcastleuni.bsky.social‬, Impactt Limited &
@unseenuk.bsky.social
👇
www.modernslaverypec.org/research-pro...

In her speech, Jane will touch on the need to include people with lived experience of exploitation in policies on modern slavery in a meaningful way, with adding lived experience councils at the heart of organisations as one of the first steps towards it.