Scotland's Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy 2025

Introduction: Scotland’s Second Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy

This Strategy constitutes Scotland’s second Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. It builds on the first ‘Trafficking Strategy’, published in 2017, which underwent its most recent review^[1] through various forms of stakeholder engagement in 2023. The development of this Strategy was further informed by stakeholder and partner organisations, survivors of trafficking and exploitation and other practitioners, including academics. The Strategy is also informed by a series of evidence reviews carried out by the Scottish Government’s Justice Analytical Services (JAS)^[2], exploring current understanding of prevention strategies and interventions in relation to human trafficking and exploitation in the United Kingdom (UK) and other existing forms of research and evidence.

In this Strategy the terms ‘victim’, ‘survivor’ and ‘people with lived experience’ are used to refer to people who have experienced human trafficking and exploitation. People identify themselves differently depending on how they understand and feel about these terms.

Following stakeholder suggestions made during the 2023 review – and particularly in relation to strong feedback to focus more on prevention and the need to strengthen data and evidence collation – this second Strategy adopts a Public Health approach (see further explanation in section 7) to the framework for tackling human trafficking in Scotland. Human trafficking and exploitation is a major public health concern, affecting individuals – adults and children – and society as a whole^[3].