The Modern Slavery PEC's second annual conference A human rights-centred approach to addressing modern slavery and human trafficking will take place on 21st April 2026 in London at One Birdcage Walk.
Last year, we convened more than 200 people from across and beyond the UK’s anti-slavery sector, to reflect on progress ten years after the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and to look ahead to future policy and evidence priorities.
One year on, the legal and policy environment in the UK has changed considerably. Developments in the criminal justice system, labour market regulation and asylum and immigration policy have significant implications for efforts to identify and support modern slavery survivors and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Government has committed to introducing new modern slavery legislation including improving accountability for modern slavery in supply chains, and to reform the National Referral Mechanism. And the new Fair Work Agency has the potential to transform the UK’s approach to preventing labour exploitation when it begins operating in April this year.
The conference agenda is below, including some significant speakers with important roles in developing a human rights-centred approach to modern slavery and human trafficking. The conference will also bring together the worlds of policy, academia, civil society, practice and lived experience, to ask:
How can we frame a holistic, forward-looking approach to tackling modern slavery that is grounded in human rights and focused on prevention, as well as access to justice and redress for those already affected by it? What opportunities do upcoming legislative and policy developments present, and what evidence is required to ensure their effectiveness?
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Conference resources
Agenda
Arrival, coffee & networking (from 9am)
10:00am | Welcome and introductions
Speaker: Murray Hunt, Director, Modern Slavery PEC
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10.10am | Setting the tone: Taking stock to move forwards
The importance of a human rights-centred approach to addressing modern slavery.
Speaker: Jane Lasonder, Lived Experience Advisory Panel, Modern Slavery PEC
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10.20am | Panel: A survivor-centred approach to preventing and addressing modern slavery in the UK
Chair: Eleanor Lyons, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner
Speakers
Tatiana Gren-Jardan, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Justice & Care
Dr Alicia Heys, Reader in Modern Slavery, Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull
Olly Glasson, Lived Experience Engagement Manager, Modern Slavery PEC
Dr Ella Cockbain, Professor of Human Trafficking and Exploitation, UCL
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Coffee break (11am - 11.25am)
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11.25am | Panel: Preventing modern slavery through more effective labour market regulation: the role of the Fair Work Agency
Chair: Dame Sara Thornton, DBE QPM
Speakers
Samantha Dowsing, Director of Strategy, Fair Work Agency
Narmada Thiraganama, National Policy Officer, Unison
Dr Marija Jovanovic, Research Fellow in Business and Human Rights, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Oxford University
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12.10pm | Keynote presentation
Dame Sara Thornton, DBE QPM
In conversation with: Julie Etchingham, ITN
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Lunch (12.50pm - 2pm)
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2.00pm | Panel: Business and human rights in a time of upheaval
Chair: Baroness Lola Young
Speakers
Dr Sofia Gonzalez de Aguinaga, Research Leader in Business, ESG and Modern Slavery, British Institute for International and Comparative Law
Dr Rowshan Hannan, Policy Impact Lead, Modern Slavery PEC
Brandon Thomas, Consultant, Unseen
Dr Martin Buttle, Better Work Lead, CCLA
Charlotte Brierley, Human Rights Lead, Sky
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Tea break (2.45pm -3.15pm)
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3.15pm | Panel: A National Referral Mechanism for the next 15 years
Chair: Emily Death, CEO, Sophie Hayes Foundation
Speakers
Dr Patrick Burland, Senior Project and Policy Officer, IOM UK
Modupe Debbie Ariyo, CEO, BASNET
Christine Mutshipay, Lived Experience Engagement Coordinator, Modern Slavery PEC
Bee Damara, Researcher, KCL
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4pm | Close and next steps
Closing reflections from Professor Alex Balch, Director of Research, Modern Slavery PEC and Rozina Faheem, Lived Experience Advisory Panel, Modern Slavery PEC
Finish by 4.15pm
For any queries, please contact pec.office@humanities.ox.ac.uk
