The Slavery and Human Trafficking (Definition of Victim) Regulations 2022

Overview

These Regulations set out definitions for the terms “victim of slavery” and “victim of trafficking”. These Definitions set out by the Regulations ensure that modern slavery provisions in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, which rely on these definitions, can function in practice.

Currently, definitions of “victim of slavery” and “victim of human trafficking” are outlined in the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015, and are based on the criminal offences, therefore a victim is defined through the committing of an offence. For example, a person is a victim of slavery if:

• he or she is a victim of conduct which constitutes an offence under section 1 of the MSA 2015; or
• conduct which would have constituted an offence under that section if that section had been in force when the conduct occurred.

However, for the purposes of identifying and supporting victims we require definitions that enable victims to be identified as such whether or not a threshold of criminality has been evidenced and that align with the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (ECAT). The MSA 2015 definition requires evidence of conduct amounting to a criminal offence which is not a requirement for the purposes of victim identification.

These definitions draw from victim identification indicators. For example, setting out the methods of the threat or use of force or other coercive behaviour that include:

• abduction, kidnap or false imprisonment;
• fraud or other deception;
• abuse of power or a position of vulnerability; and
• the giving of payments or other benefits to achieve the consent of a person who has control over the victim.