Mainstream thinking on human trafficking and modern slavery te­­nds to assume that people who find themselves in situations of exploitation do so primarily because ‘bad guy’ perpetrators coerce them. And while this does happen, research from around the world overwhelmingly demonstrates that individualised coercion is not the major pathway by which people end up in bad work.

Exploited workers – including those labelled by authorities as ‘victims of trafficking’ or as ‘modern slaves’ – typically consent to the work that they do, however abusive or unpleasant, because it represents the best or only option they have of making the money they need. This has been shown in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America.

Which begs the question: if we really want to end ‘modern slavery’, and indeed if we’re serious about protecting people from all forms of exploitation (which the Sustainable Development Goals suggest that at least our politicians claim to be), then why not simply ensure that everyone always has a minimum amount of money in their pocket such that they can say no to bad work?

This isn’t a rhetorical question. Social protection scholars have long made the case that we should ‘just give money to the poor’ if we want to help them, and that doing so is cheaper, more effective and more humane than traditional policies which are costly, complicated and often regressively conditional.

Basic income advocates say the same things. A basic income is defined as a regular cash payment delivered unconditionally and individually to all people. Think of it as a small salary just for being human; it won’t make you rich but it should keep you alive in a world where you need money to survive. Because of this, thinkers since at least Thomas Paine have advocated for it as a means of softening the edges of capitalist society. They’ve argued that basic income would be simpler to administer, more efficient, and considerably more benign than traditional welfare policies, which often overlook those most in need and shame those who receive.

Four years ago, world leaders committed to eradicating ‘indecent’ and ‘unfree’ work by 2030 at the latest, and recent research shows them investing hundreds of millions of dollars every year to do so. Yet evidence also suggests that many of these efforts are failing, while some even make life worse for the very people they’re supposed to protect. We thus have a duty to ask ourselves what else can be done.