We are delighted that the long-awaited appointment of the new Anti-Slavery Commissioner has been confirmed, and Hope for Justice welcomes Eleanor Lyons to this pivotal role. There have been significant developments in UK legislation, impacting the recovery journeys of survivors of modern slavery. We look forward to working with the new commissioner to strengthen the UK response to modern slavery, embedding the expertise and experience of survivors in developments.
Hope for Justice offers extensive learning, from our mature UK programmes and partnership working, to the commissioner and her new team. We are excited to be able to resume working with the Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s office, and in particular on the development of the Independent Modern Slavery Advocacy (IMSA) model. The IMSA model – which is led by Hope for Justice, British Red Cross, The Snowdrop Project, St Mary’s University and independent consultants with lived experience of modern slavery – responds to the well-documented gap within our sector. There has been an encouraging response to this model development from across all four UK nations and all sectors, bringing a practical, programmatic solution to reform.
The UK response to modern slavery is underpinned by effective collaborations, and we have seen the value of this throughout our programmes.
Now is an opportune time to bring about significant impact, to build communities that are hostile to perpetrators of modern slavery and organised crime groups, and to ensure we provide robust support pathways to survivors, ensuring they can access the socio and legal systems they require.
