Hope for Justice welcomes the UK Government’s response to the House of Lords Committee’s review of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. As the Act approaches its 10-year anniversary, we look forward to working with the Government to improve the UK’s response to modern slavery to better protect those at-risk of exploitation and to support survivors in their recovery.
We are particularly encouraged by the Government’s recognition of the importance of survivors having access to independent support. Hope for Justice has seen the immense benefit of survivors having access to independent advocacy as part of their recovery in addition to having a support worker providing day-to-day assistance. This allows them to access all forms of justice and to overcome barriers in accessing support services to which they are entitled.
We have been working with our partners at the British Red Cross, The Snowdrop Project, SOHTIS, and the Bakhita Centre at St Mary’s University to develop a national framework for independent advocacy, addressing a well-recognised gap in the current response to survivors in the UK, and aligning with recommendations in the latest NRM handbook.
Another benefit of long-term independent advocacy solely focused on the survivor’s needs is making it easier for them to engage with criminal and civil justice processes, if they choose to. This helps police and prosecutors disrupt trafficking networks and hold offenders to account. Our own data shows that of the survivors who wished to report their case and provide evidence in a criminal investigation and prosecution, and where their cases proceeded to trial, 100% of survivors attended court when called to give evidence with the support of an Independent Modern Slavery Advocate® (IMSA). Almost all of these cases resulted in successful convictions of perpetrators.
We look forward to continuing to share the findings from our Programmes team and to work with the Government to help deliver an effective response to modern slavery and prevent further harm.
