DIGITAL CHAINS: CRIMINAL LAW’S RESPONSE TO “CYBER SLAVERY”
- Isabella Herriott
- Apr 9
- 1 min read
Cyber slavery is a relatively new form of human trafficking that affects hundreds of
thousands of victims, and criminal justice systems around the world fail to protect them. Cyber
slavery victims are trafficked and forced to conduct cybercrime, mainly financial in nature.
Current criminal law and international criminal justice systems frequently treat victims of cyber
slavery as perpetrators of crime, continuing the victimization that cyber slavery victims
experience. This Note identifies and analyzes specific doctrines within criminal law that affect
cyber slavery victims, namely, the unavailability of duress-based and affirmative defenses, and
victims’ treatment as accomplices and co-conspirators with their traffickers. This Note also
presents practical solutions that criminal justice systems could implement to avoid further
victimizing cyber slavery victims, like accurate identification of victims, standardized
implementation of protective principles, and provision of trafficking-specific affirmative
defenses and post-conviction relief.
