HIGHER living costs, debt and insecure work are leading to more exploitation while advances in technology are making it easier for criminals to recruit and control victims, a new report has warned.

The scale of the problem of modern slavery is “greater than ever,” Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) Eleanor Lyons said today.

People trafficking, forced labour, and criminal and sexual exploitation are all considered forms of modern slavery.

The number of potential victims referred to the Home Office hit a record high in 2025, rising by more than a fifth to 23,411 — the highest since the national referral mechanism began in 2009. 

British nationals accounted for more than a fifth of all referrals.

The report warns that without a change in approach, exploitation will become harder to detect, more digital, and more embedded in everyday activity. 

Artificial intelligence and other technologies are helping traffickers “identify, recruit and control victims at scale,” enabling scams, deepfakes and new forms of digital exploitation.

Ms Lyons said offenders are “operating with greater anonymity, scale and reach” using the online world to recruit, groom and control victims.

Tough economic pressures are “reshaping the risk,” she said, adding: “Rising living costs, debt and insecure work are creating conditions in which exploitation can take hold within daily life across sectors that millions rely on every day.”

The report notes that people facing economic insecurity can be more vulnerable to coercion, “particularly where survival depends on accepting unsafe, informal or exploitative work.”

Global conflict is also a key driver, with displaced people vulnerable during and after migration.

Ms Lyons called on the government to make tackling slavery “a clear priority” by setting up a Cabinet committee, increasing funding for specialist police units, and launching a national awareness campaign.

She also said businesses should face fines and prosecution.

She said: “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.

“This is happening in plain sight. It will spread further and become harder to stop unless we act now.”

A Home Office spokesperson said modern slavery was a “global scourge,” adding: “We are committed to reviewing the modern slavery system to reduce opportunities for misuse, while also ensuring the right protections for those who need it.”