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Abstract

This study provides an extensive review of modern slavery practices within the global supply chain, highlighting it as a significant human rights violation that affects both the well-being of victims and the overall supply chain performance of organisations. Using secondary data from the Scopus database, we identify critical gaps and propose practical and theoretical approaches to mitigate modern slavery. The findings indicate that globalisation and neo-trade liberalism exacerbate modern slavery across various forms, including forced labour, child labour, labour exploitation, human trafficking, and debt bondage, particularly within sectors such as agriculture, fishing, construction, apparel and fashion, mining, and transportation. Furthermore, we examine the effectiveness of regional and national laws, including the UK Modern Slavery Act of 2015, Australia's Modern Slavery Act of 2018, the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act of 2010, the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, and France's Duty of Vigilance Law of 2017, and find that while these legislative frameworks are effective at downstream levels of supply chains in developed nations, their impact is limited upstream, particularly in developing countries hindered by weak legal systems and socio-economic challenges, perpetuating social injustices. Additionally, we observe a troubling trend of inadequate financial investment in anti-slavery initiatives, coupled with poor collaboration between scholars in the global south and north, which undermines efforts to combat modern slavery, particularly in less developed regions. To address these theoretical gaps, we propose a Modern Slavery Diffusion Model, alongside practical and policy-level implications aimed at effectively tackling modern slavery issues globally.