In 2019, over 10,000 possible victims of slavery were found in the UK. From men working in Sports Direct warehouses for barely any pay, to teenaged Vietnamese girls trafficked into small town nail bars, we’re told that modern slavery is all around us, operating in plain sight.

But is this really slavery, and is it even a new phenomenon? Why has the British Conservative Party called it ‘one of the great human rights issues of our time’, when they usually ignore the exploitation of those at the bottom of the economic pile?

In January 2021, Pluto published a new book by writer and activist, Emily Kenway, called The Truth About Modern Slavery, in which she reveals how modern slavery has been created as a political tool by those in power.

We are joined on the podcast this month by Emily Kenway; Ella Cockbain, Associate Professor in Security and Crime Science at University College London, and author of Offender and Victim Networks in Human Trafficking; and Molly Smith, co-author with Juno Mac of Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers’ Rights.

Listen here.