The Impact of Covid-19 on the Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery and their Access to Support Services in Australia

Abstract

This article examines how COVID-19 impacted the identification and access to support of modern slavery victims in Australia during 2020. It is the first comprehensive analysis of the pandemic’s impact on modern slavery victimisation in Australia. The key finding of the research is that COVID-19 exacerbated existing barriers to identifying victims of modern slavery in Australia and referring them to government funded support, related to the linkage of the provision of support with criminal justice processes. The reliance on policing capacity to identify and refer victims meant that when police and other government resources were diverted into the large-scale COVID-19 emergency response, there was less capacity for police to undertake this vital function, resulting in the under-identification and referral to support of victims of modern slavery.