Slavery: part of history or present problem? - A bachelor thesis regarding the issues of contemporary slavery, with a special interest in how contemporary slavery is dealt with in the UK.

Abstract: This bachelor thesis deals with the existence and the issues of contemporary slavery. Contemporary slavery is a term that includes the types of slavery that are present in modern society. For the last 20 years the term slavery has been reinvented in different ways and is now used by many large organisations such as the UN and the ILO, however it is not as discussed or acknowledged in most European countries. Due to this it is a very new and rather unresearched problem. Therefore, this Bachelor Thesis aims to examine contemporary slavery, and to ascertain what contemporary slavery is and how it needs to be dealt with. The thesis will be focused on an international, European and national level to bring a broad view of the issue. This means there is a UN focus, a EU and CoE focus as well as a UK focus, as the UK is exemplary in how contemporary slavery can be apprehended and dealt with on a national level. The thesis has three main areas that will be thoroughly examined to determine what contemporary slavery is and how it should be dealt with. First there is a conceptual analysis of the term contemporary slavery, to determine what the concept of contemporary slaver entails and includes. I come to the conclusion that the term contemporary slavery in its original setting, as created by the UN, is supposed to be very broad term to include all types of modern slavery. Secondly comes a historical overview of the issue in UK and the actual existence of contemporary slavery in the UK at present, where I conclude that the issue of slavery is more or less the same as it has always been but with a brand new label. Thirdly and lastly there is an overview of the legislations on UN, EU/CoE and UK level, where it is my assessment that both the UN and the UK are trying to handle the contemporary slavery in their own ways. It is my belief that the UK with its new Modern Slavery Act of 2015 really is doing splendidly in trying to apprehend the problems with contemporary slavery. In conclusion I find that the contemporary slavery is much more present issue in our modern society than most people believe and that the western-world needs to start trying their utmost in wiping out this awful injustice.