Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Modern day trafficking and exploitation is a pervasive global crime, involving an estimated 50 million people worldwide trapped in situations of forced labour and forced marriage. It is an umbrella term encompassing various forms of control and exploitation for personal or commercial gain, often hidden in plain sight within communities.
We have created this area to increase understanding, knowledge and protection for victims of this practice. The Scottish Government passed the The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act in 2015 which introduced a single offence for all kinds of trafficking for the first time, consolidating and strengthening existing law. Visit the Scottish Government site to find out about what is being done to tackle this in Scotland.
Find information below on:
CWSS Resource
Combatting Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery & Exploitation in the Scottish Adult Social Care Sector
This document outlines the legal and ethical considerations surrounding certain employment practices, such as requiring workers to purchase cars, imposing excessive relocations, and making legal deductions from pay. It highlights that while some actions may not be automatically illegal, they can become unlawful or unethical if used coercively or without proper authorisation, especially under the Employment Rights Act.
What is human trafficking and exploitation
Modern slavery takes many forms, where victims are controlled through coercion, deception, threats, and abuse of power, rather than necessarily physical shackles. Key types include:
- Forced Labour Victims are coerced into working long hours for little or no pay in poor conditions, often in industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and food processing.
- Sexual Exploitation This involves victims, predominantly women and girls, being forced into commercial sex work or sexually abusive situations, often after being tricked with false promises of legitimate jobs or relationships.
- Domestic Servitude Victims are forced to work in private households, performing domestic chores and childcare duties, often isolated and working long hours with minimal or no pay.
- Criminal Exploitation Perpetrators force victims to engage in illegal activities for their benefit, such as drug cultivation (e.g., cannabis farms), pickpocketing, shoplifting, or begging.
- Forced Marriage Individuals, often children or vulnerable adults, are forced into marriage against their will and cannot leave the situation.
- Organ Harvesting In some cases, victims are trafficked for the purpose of removing their internal organs for illicit transplant sales.
Visit the following resources to find out more about the types of modern slavery that exist:
The current situation
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a UK wide framework for identifying victims of human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. The National Crime Agency (NCA) publishes annual statistics on adults and children who have been referred to the NRM. Adults need to give their consent to entering the NRM and, for a variety of reasons, some refuse to do so. Thus, the NRM statistics will only ever provide a partial picture in respect of adults.
At the time of drafting the The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act in 2015, there were 150 potential victims of trafficking identified in this way in Scotland in 2016. This is a 3.4% increase on 2015. 75 were females and 75 males, 103 (69%) were adults and 47 (31%) were children. 67% were women or children.
Key Figures & Trends (Based on 2024 NRM Data)
- Total Referrals: 920 cases in Scotland for 2024.
- Exploitation Types:
- Adults: Labour (64%), Criminal (32%), Sexual (15%).
- Children: Criminal (highest), Labour, Sexual.
- Nationalities (Adults): Vietnamese (306), Albanian (103), UK (94).
- Nationalities (Children): UK nationals (82), Vietnamese (79).
- Gender: More men referred for labour/criminal exploitation; women more likely for sexual exploitation.
Scotland’s second Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy takes a public health approach to trafficking. Find out more on this but visiting Key Findings - Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy 2025: equality impact assessment - gov.scot
Spotting possible signs
Signs of modern-day slavery and exploitation often involve control, coercion, and abuse. Key indicators may include the victim's restricted freedom, isolation, poor physical appearance, and unusual working conditions. Some key indicators, although not an exclusive list, are:
- Restriction of movement
- Isolation
- Poor physical condition
- Unusual work situations
- Fear and distrust
- Lack of personal belongings
- Deceptive recruitment
- Unfamiliarity with the area
Help from the public is crucial in identifying and reporting signs of human trafficking and modern slavery. Help to spot the signs within our workplaces and communities can be found below:
Reporting potentional cases
As stated earlier in this page, the public are crucial in identifying and reporting signs of trafficking and modern slavery.
If you suspect there are people who have been trafficked into your community or work with or are in contact with people you think may be being exploited, please report this to Police Scotland on 101.
Find other useful information at:
Victim support
Support for victims is available throughout Scotland.
If you are a victim of human trafficking or know someone who is, support can be found by speaking to the police. They will:
- talk to you about what has happened
- offer you protection from those that hurt you
- start an investigation
- keep you informed
You can request to speak to a male or female officer and will not be forced into a situation you are not comfortable with.
If you do not feel comfortable or wish to contact the police, alternative contact can be made to the Modern Slavery Helpline on 0800 0121 700 or fill out the Modern Slavery Helpline online form. An advisor will read your message within 24 hours and decide on the best steps to take.
Further resources for supporting the victims of trafficking can be found at:
- COSLA has published Guidance for Local Authorities
- NRM Toolkit
- Scottish Government Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy
- The Lord Advocate has published guidelines for prosecutors in dealing with potential victims of trafficking.
- Human Trafficking – Awareness Raising Presentation (PPT)
- Human Trafficking – Common Myths (doc)
- Indicators of Human Trafficking and Exploitation
Other relevant documents
Further useful resources and material can be found via the following links:
The Human Trafficking and Exploitation Working Group (HTEX)
Following the Modern Slavery Round Table in October 2023 there has been a discussion with the different parties working in human trafficking and exploitation in Scotland who agree that closer working is necessary in the social care sector.
It was agreed that a short life working group would be set up to look at how we work together at present and the Deputy Director of Adult Social Care, workforce and Fair Work Division would chair the meetings at the time.
The intention is for the Working Group members to work collaboratively to reach a better understanding of each other’s roles and put in place arrangements and systems to support each other and work to prevent human trafficking and exploitation in social care in Scotland.
The group considers any aspects of human trafficking and exploitation policy in Scotland that the group decide are pertinent, share information as to the role/remit/reach of each organisation and focus on collaborative working to build understanding and share good practice. It is concerned with building relationships with the different regulatory bodies who have a remit in this policy area.
Discover more about the Working Group and work carried out by referring to the following documents:
- HTEX reg group - Final Terms of reference ( Download, 219 KB)
- HTEX notes Junel 2025 ( Download, 40 KB)
- HTEX Meeting Notes January 2025 ( Download, 47 KB)