Sarah Elliott is an international human rights lawyer and senior protection specialist with over a decade of experience working for the United Nations Refugee Agency. Megan Denise Smith is an independent consultant and expert in gender-based violence with experience across UN agencies and NGOs.

'A timely collation of divergent perspectives on trafficking and migration: a book that captures the chaos that ensues when widely differing worldviews collide – from critiques of liberal capitalism to concerns over the mission creep from criminal to social justice, interspersed with survivor testimonies and warnings about the risks of the AI-driven surveillance state. Uncomfortable reading at times, the book lays bare the fundamental disagreements shaping counter-trafficking discourse at a moment of profound global change and sets the stage for what happens next.' Jonathan Martens, International consultant and practitioner'A critical intervention that carefully documents the failures of anti-trafficking while calling for a serious rethink of strategies to combat exploitation and violence in these times of international conflict and chaos.' Kamala Kempadoo, York University, Canada

• Introduction: For whose benefit? Critical perspectives on addressing human trafficking - Sarah Elliott and Megan Denise SmithPart I: Everything you should know (or un-know) about anti-trafficking1. The life of ‘Candy’: surviving human traffickingand anti-trafficking – Shandra Woworuntu2. Everything, everywhere, all at once: a status check of contemporary human exploitation – Tuesday Reitano and Giulia D'Amico3. A step in the right direction: could humantrafficking be in decline? – Claire Healy4. The estrangement of the trafficking protocol from its parent treaty against transnational organized crime – Marika McAdam5. Deadly digital borders: surveillance and artificial intelligence as a driver of human trafficking – Petra MolnarPart II: Anti-trafficking at the crossroads: the future of human trafficking interventions6. From the ashes of the desert: a survivor’s call for reckoning and reimagination – David Joseph7. Embracing complexity in counter- trafficking policy and practice – Sarah Elliott and Megan Denise Smith8. State as refugee trafficker? Reflections from the margins – Tesfalem Habte Yemane and Hyab Teklehaimanot Yohannes9. From risk scores to rights: governing artificial intelligence in anti-trafficking through a human rights-based approach – Do Ngoc Thao10. Justice against power: marshalling a credible response for slavery eradication – Aidan McQuade