With the local and parliamentary elections now just three weeks away, Hope for Justice is calling on all the political parties to recommit to prevent and address modern slavery and human trafficking.
Modern slavery and human trafficking take place in communities across the UK, shattering lives, undermining safety and our economy. That is why we are calling on all political parties across England, Scotland and Wales to show leadership in committing to tackling exploitation and supporting survivors.
We are also encouraging voters to ask their local candidates how they will prevent human trafficking and safeguard people in their local communities.
Voters are due to go to the polls on Thursday 7th May, with local elections taking place in England and voters in Scotland and Wales due to elect representatives to their national parliaments.
Ahead of the polls, we are urging policy makers and those delivering services to engage and consult with communities at risk and survivors in a consistent and meaningful way. This will ensure our collective response meets survivors’ needs and reflects their hopes and sense of justice.
And, in addition to pledging to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking, we are asking all political parties to commit to leading local efforts following these three key principles:
1. Prevent modern slavery and human trafficking by proactively identifying and safeguarding communities at risk of exploitation
Action must be taken across a range of policy areas to minimise the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking amongst at-risk communities. An effective anti-slavery strategy must include cross-sector multi-agency collaboration of frontline services to safeguard those at risk of exploitation. People may be at risk due to a range of factors including homelessness, cognitive impairment, substance use, and unemployment. Child protection, adult safeguarding, and housing authorities must be appropriately resourced and trained to identify, prevent and disrupt exploitation, working together with modern slavery specialists.
2. Prioritise sustainable recovery by ensuring survivors have access to support services, accommodation and independent advocacy
Survivors must be able to realise their rights to support, protection and justice, upheld in international law. At local level, there are important steps to be taken to improve safeguarding of trafficking survivors. These steps also complement key policy areas which the UK Government is responsible for: developing and implementing localised modern slavery strategy and action plans, and embedding modern slavery and human trafficking responses in safeguarding, support, housing and crime reduction frameworks and strategies.
Through the development and piloting of a national model for Independent Modern Slavery Advocacy® (IMSA®) we have seen that survivors who are given appropriate support and advocacy have stronger and more sustainable outcomes during their recovery. Working with survivors to access the systems and services necessary for their recovery also helps reduce crime by preventing re-trafficking and giving survivors the confidence and stability to engage with the police and give evidence in support of prosecutions.
3. Uphold justice to ensure modern slavery becomes a high-risk, low reward crime
Relatively few traffickers are convicted and sentences are often lenient. Survivors rarely receive compensation from those who exploit them. Too many businesses have not taken robust action to ensure there is not exploitation in their supply chains. We encourage local government leaders and councillors to commit to a vision in which perpetrators are held to account, victims are compensated, businesses act responsibly, and workers know and can access their rights.
For more information, contact our Senior Policy and Research Advisor, Euan Fraser, at: euan.fraser@hopeforjustice.org
