Scotland's Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy 2025

Annex A: Contextual Challenges of Human Trafficking and Exploitation

The contextual challenges outlined below summarise some of the factors that influence the circumstances within which the Strategy will be implemented.

The Constitutional Context

The Scotland Act 1998 (the 1998 Act) created the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive (now called the Scottish Government, and transferred legislative competence for matters which are not reserved (commonly referred to as devolved matters) from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament, and executive competence from the UK Government to the Scottish Government. The Scottish Parliament can pass laws on devolved matters, and the Scottish Government has sole executive responsibility in these areas. Under the 1998 Act there are reserved matters which remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament and UK Government (the UK Parliament has also retained the power to legislate in devolved areas, with the consent of the Scottish Parliament under the Sewel Convention).

Human trafficking and exploitation legislation is devolved, and in 2015 the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act was passed. This legislation created the offences of human trafficking, and slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour. The legislation also set out duties placed on Scottish Ministers to provide support and assistance for victims/survivors of those offences. While human trafficking is devolved, certain matters that can affect victims remain reserved to the UK Parliament. For example, immigration policy, which can be closely linked to human trafficking (as many victims are trafficked across borders), remains reserved to the UK Parliament. Visas and asylum also remain reserved to the UK Parliament, both of which can influence an individual’s vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation.

In 2009 the UK Government established the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for trafficked persons. This was extended to cover all individuals subjected to an offence defined under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA – the equivalent trafficking and exploitation legislation in England and Wales), and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. Potential victims are referred into the NRM where one of the UK’s two competent authorities – the Single Competent Authority (SCA) or Immigration Enforcement Competent Authority (IECA) – will make an assessment of the case. For adults, referral should only occur through informed consent. Children should always be referred; however, it is good practice to inform them, explain the NRM process and refer to child protection procedures. The Scottish Government provides statutory support and assistance to adults entering the NRM.

While Scotland has its own trafficking and exploitation legislation, there are still parts of the MSA that apply UK-wide. For example, the UK Parliament has primary responsibility for areas related to business regulation, including supply chain transparency. A key provision in legislation that directly addresses this is section 54 of the MSA. This section requires certain businesses to produce a statement setting out the steps they have taken to ensure there is no modern slavery in their own business and their supply chains. This requirement applies UK-wide, so any business in Scotland with an annual turnover of £36m or more is required under the MSA to publish a modern slavery statement. These statements must include actions taken to identify and mitigate the risks of slavery and human trafficking within their supply chains.

The Global Context

Human trafficking is a crime heavily impacted by global events. NRM statistics show that many non-UK victims originate from regions such as Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, where economic instability and, in some cases, conflict creates conditions for trafficking and exploitation^[26]. Displaced populations are susceptible to exploitation, with traffickers targeting vulnerable adults and children. Since the previous Strategy, there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK and being referred to the NRM, including in Scotland. These children, along with those who are victims of trafficking and exploitation, represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in the country. Alone and in an unfamiliar environment, they are at high risk of being exploited for forced labour, criminal activities, or sexual exploitation.

This ever-changing global context requires a human trafficking and exploitation strategy that can adapt to global trends and emerging crises, with strong UK-wide and international co-operation.

Budget Constraints and Economic Influences

Public finances remain under severe pressure. Prolonged Westminster austerity, the economic damage of Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and inflation shock have placed a cumulative pressure on public finances. In the 2025/26 budget the Scottish Government continues to prioritise investment in key public services, with record funding for health and social care, local government, and social security. However, the financial context within which this Strategy will be implemented remains challenging.

Fluctuations in global economies will also continue to be an influencing factor behind human trafficking. Individuals facing destitution and poverty become vulnerable to exploitation, and the cost-of-living crisis increases economic instability, further exposing people to the risk of exploitation^[27]. The growth of the gig economy and informal labour markets has also created conditions where instances of labour exploitation can spread, often hidden from regulatory oversight^[28]. Migrant workers are frequently employed in industries such as hospitality, agriculture, and construction, which remain high-risk for trafficking and exploitation.

Technological and Digital Advances

The ongoing advancement in technology will continue to transform the methods used by traffickers, as well as presenting new challenges and opportunities for detection and prevention. The increased use of social media, online gaming, messaging apps, live streaming and online methods to recruit and groom victims allow traffickers greater reach to operate and target vulnerable individuals^[29].

Encrypted communication tools can provide perpetrators with a secure space to advertise and trade in illicit services, complicating law enforcement efforts to disrupt these networks.

Online sexual exploitation, including live-streaming abuse, can often involve victims in different countries. Perpetrators may exploit online platforms to manipulate children and young people into criminal activities, tracking and controlling their movements, such as through location monitoring, or using their online banking or gaming accounts to launder money from illicit activities^[30]. Detecting and prosecuting technology-facilitated trafficking requires specialised skills and international co-operation.

Criminally Exploited Children

Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is on the rise in Scotland (and in the rest of the UK). CCE-related NRM referrals have almost doubled since 2020, the first full year when NRM referrals started to record criminal exploitation indicators. In 2024 the trend continued and CCE is now the most prevalent reason for referring children to the NRM in Scotland.

CCE is a cause of significant harm. It can take a variety of different forms including children being forced or coerced into drug dealing activities (e.g. County Lines), forced to shoplift or pickpocket, forced to work in cannabis factories, or forced to threaten other young people. Criminally exploited children may experience multiple types of abuse at the same time, including sexual abuse, violence and threats. Both male and female children are affected by CCE, and children from impoverished backgrounds or deprived areas as well as black and minority ethnic children are at increased risk.

The most common form of CCE is through County Lines. County Lines is a method employed by criminal gangs to distribute drugs. It relies heavily on the criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults. These vulnerable individuals are used to transport, store, and distribute drugs. Although this arrangement can appear to be consensual, exploitation and threats are used by criminals to control those involved. According to the ‘Scottish Multi-Agency Strategic Threat Assessment (SMASTA)’ the North of Scotland appears to be disproportionately impacted by County Lines, however, groups also feature in the East and West of Scotland.

Cuckooing is a method used by County Lines groups where a person, who is commonly vulnerable, has their home taken over by group members for the purposes of production and storage of drugs, or as a base for those involved in drug dealing or other criminal activity.

There are several recent pieces of research highlighting the scale and nature of CCE in the UK. A Scotland-specific Scoping Review of CCE commissioned by the Scottish Government, Action for Children (AfC) and Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ) in May 2023; the report ‘Invisible Children: Understanding the risk of the cost-of living crisis and school holidays on child sexual and criminal exploitation’ by Barnardo’s in July 2023; and most recently, the ‘Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children’, published by AfC in March 2024.

The former Divert Theme 3 group of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) published the ‘Criminal Exploitation: Guidance for Practitioners’ in June 2023. The guidance aims to maximise Scotland’s co-ordinated and joined up response to all exploited individuals, making it easier for practitioners across Scotland to support children and vulnerable adults who have been victims of exploitation.

Climate Change and Environmental Factors

Climate change resulting in rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation is driving large-scale displacement. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimate 21.6 million people were internally displaced annually by climate-related hazards worldwide in the last decade^[31]. Such displacement often leaves individuals without livelihoods, housing, or legal protections, making them highly vulnerable to trafficking.^[32]