Advancing the fight against modern slavery through evidence-based research at the University of Nottingham

To mark World Social Justice Day, the Rights Lab has spotlighted some of their recent projects that demonstrate its significant impacts at local, national, and global levels, showcasing how collaborative research can help create a more just and compassionate society. The examples below have been compiled by two of the centre’s world-leading academics, Professors Todd Landman and Alexander Trautrims.

About University of Nottingham Rights Lab

The Rights Lab is the world’s largest group of modern slavery researchers, and home to many leading modern slavery experts. Through its four research programmes, it delivers new and cutting-edge research that provides rigorous data, evidence and discoveries for the global antislavery effort. Its impact team provides an interface between the Rights Lab research programmes and civil society, business and government, and its INSPIRE project elevates survivor-informed research as a key part of knowledge production to help end slavery. The goal of ending slavery is ambitious, however, the Rights Lab believes that by working together as part of the global antislavery community, it can achieve evidence-based strategies for ending slavery by 2030.

Launched in 2017, the Rights Lab has engaged in over 250 projects, produced more than 400 publications and 200 policy reports, and developed over 200 partnerships at the local, national and international level.

Transforming local support systems: Dr Alison Gardner’s research on protecting adults with cognitive impairment

Dr Alison Gardner, Associate Professor in the School of Sociology and Social Policy and member of the Rights Lab Health and Communities Programme, has been working for years on building communities that are resilient to modern slavery. Her work has built capacity and improved practices for prevention, improved frontline coordination and mechanisms for victim identification, and brought locality-based and multi-agency responses into implementation guidance.

Alison’s most recent research on the exploitation of adults with cognitive impairment in England focuses on the risks of exploitation of adults with cognitive impairments. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation in partnership with the Ann Craft Trust and the University of Birmingham, the research involved a scoping review of existing literature, analysis of statistical information from the NHS, analysis of Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs), an online survey, semi-structured interviews with practitioners and those with lived experience, and an analysis of key factors that increase the risk of exploitation within this social group.

A key finding from the research shows that the risks of exploitation arise not only from cognitive conditions but their wider social impacts, including the presence of coercive and controlling relationships. 

The research has a wide-ranging impact on social workers, care professionals, and other key stakeholders engaged in support and policy for this group of people.

Achieving national impact: How Prof. Trautrims' research is addressing modern slavery in private and public sector supply chains and procurement 

Prof. Alexander Trautrims, Professor of Supply Chain Management and Associate Director of the Rights Lab’s Business and Economies Programme, is driving national efforts to address modern slavery within supply chains. With extensive experience leading research projects on both private and public sector supply chains, Prof. Trautrims’ work has helped shape industry practices and national policies aimed at preventing exploitation.

In 2015, his journal article Modern Slavery Challenges to Supply Chain Management became the world’s first academic publication to explore modern slavery in supply chains. Since then, his research and intervention projects—funded by the British Academy, FCDO, ESRC, US State Department, and Public Works Canada—have influenced businesses, local governments, and international organizations.

A key milestone in his work is co-chairing the British Standards Committee on Organizational Responses to Modern Slavery: Guidance- BS 25700:2022, a national brochure that provides organizations with practical guidance on preventing, identifying, mitigating, and reporting modern slavery risks. As co-chair of the British Standards Committee responsible for this publication, Prof. Trautrims helped create a comprehensive framework that supports ethical procurement and supply chain transparency across industries.

Through collaborative research and practical guidelines, Prof. Trautrims continues to help businesses strengthen their supply chain accountability, ensuring that ethical practices become embedded in everyday operations across the UK and beyond.

Driving global action: How Prof. Doreen Boyd’s research is shaping international responses to exploitation

Prof. Doreen Boyd, Professor of Earth Observation and Associate Director of the Rights Lab’s Measurement and Geographies Programme, is advancing the fight against exploitation on a global scale. Her pioneering work uses satellite imagery and remote sensing to map slavery from space while also analysing the link between exploitation and environmental destruction. As a member of the Rights Lab’s Prevalence Estimation Team, she contributes to research that provides critical data to inform international policies and interventions.

In collaboration with International Justice Mission, Prof. Boyd and her team led the ground breaking Scale of Harm project, which estimated the number of children and traffickers involved in the production of online sexual exploitation materials in the Philippines. The study’s findings have had a profound impact globally informing formal declarations and actions by the Philippine government under President Marcos, influencing new legislation in the US Congress, and sparking widespread media coverage, including in The New York Times. The research has also fueled advocacy campaigns in multiple ‘demand-side’ countries, driving efforts to strengthen regulations on online platforms and financial systems used to facilitate exploitation.

Through innovative technology and global partnerships, Prof. Boyd’s work continues to provide evidence that shapes international policies, strengthens accountability, and drives collective action to combat exploitation worldwide.