Modern slavery in UK hits record high in 2025: Report

Modern slavery in the United Kingdom reached record levels in 2025, with more than 23,000 potential victims referred for monitoring, a 22% increase from the previous year, according to a report by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner.

UK nationals now account for the largest single group of victims at 21%, followed by individuals from Eritrea at 13% and Vietnam at 9%. The report underlines "how exploitation is increasingly affecting people within the UK", said Eleanor Lyons.

"We used to think that this was predominantly something that happened on far-flung shores," Lyons said, but it is happening across the UK.

The rise has been driven by economic pressures, global instability and the increasing use of digital tools by traffickers. Rising living costs, debt and insecure work have made more people vulnerable, while conflicts and displacement have expanded the pool of potential targets, says the BBC.

"The most harrowing forms of exploitation are becoming more widespread in this country and evolving faster than we can respond," Lyons said, adding the UK's response is "not keeping with the scale and complexity of the threat".

Traffickers are using artificial intelligence (AI) and digital platforms to recruit, groom and control victims at scale. Lyons said these tools allow criminal networks to operate more efficiently and reach more vulnerable individuals.

A significant concern is the exploitation of children, often initiated through online platforms such as video game chat functions. "Predominantly British boys and girls... are being exploited by criminals," Lyons said.

Describing the early stages of abuse, she said: "That is the beginning of a journey of grooming and blackmail".

The report highlighted a gendered pattern in child exploitation. Boys are typically coerced into criminal activity, including "county lines" drug operations, while girls are more frequently subjected to sexual exploitation. "That's risen by over 50% in the last five years and it's happening younger and younger," Lyons said.

In the context of the report, "county lines" refers to a system used by drug gangs to exploit individuals, particularly children, through grooming and coercion. Victims are often drawn in through online contact and manipulated into illegal activities.

Both children and adults are "terrified of telling people" in case they get in trouble, Lyons said, highlighting barriers that prevent victims from seeking help despite legal protections.

"Behind these numbers are real people being abused in ways most of us would struggle to imagine, whether it's women forced into the sex trade, children coerced into drug gangs, or workers trapped in brutal conditions with no way out, often living in absolute fear," she added.

Lyons warned that "It will spread further and become harder to stop unless we act now," calling for increased funding for specialist police units and financial penalties for businesses that fail to meet anti-exploitation obligations.

The Home Office said it is "committed to reviewing the modern slavery system to reduce opportunities for misuse of the system, whilst also ensuring that we have the right protections for those who need it".

However, the report said exploitation is evolving faster than authorities can respond, making it increasingly difficult to detect. For many victims, fear of prosecution remains a barrier to seeking help, despite protections under the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which provides a legal defence for individuals forced to commit crimes.

Lyons reiterated that without urgent action to tackle digitally enabled criminal networks, modern slavery will continue to expand and become harder to combat.