Disentangling the Profile of Those Engaged in Modern Slavery Offenses

Modern slavery research has tended to focus on the victims/survivors, thus facilitating protection, support, and prevention measures. Despite this, the UK has witnessed an increase in identified victims/survivors each year, from 552 in 2009 to 12, 727 in 2021. Although those engaging in these offenses play an integral role in modern slavery, there is limited knowledge of these people. Understanding who is engaging in these offenses would facilitate better and more effective responses to modern slavery. The chapter draws on existing literature and data collected in the author’s doctoral study to identify the push/pull factors for engaging in modern slavery offenses and whether primary prevention measures could address such factors. The chapter categorizes the individuals engaged in modern slavery as falling within three narratives. The current literature identifies two narratives: (1) those who go straight to engaging and (2) those who are victims first and then engage. The author introduces a third narrative: those who alternate between victim and engaging. The existing literature conceptualizes the individual within the first two narratives as being at their “final destination”, that of engaging. However, the primary data revealed evidence of another narrative, one that alternates between victim and engaging, a continuum with no “final destination”.