Hope for Justice welcomes UK’s renewed efforts to tackle slavery

Hope for Justice welcomes renewed efforts from the Government to tackle modern slavery. The announcement today (18th October 2024) will speed up the process of identifying survivors of slavery and help young people access the support they need for their recovery.

We welcome the opportunity to work with the Government to improve responses more broadly to ensure that we are working together to prevent exploitation happening in the first place, improving responses for all survivors and ensuring those responsible are held to account.

We also welcome the announcement of more decision-makers. There is a target of five days for potential victims to get an initial decision, but in the last quarter, most of them waited at least twice that long and some far far longer. This leaves individuals without specialist support, meaning they are more vulnerable to re-trafficking.

Even after they get that initial decision, they then have to wait an incredibly long time for a final decision from the Government – the average amount of time people are waiting for a final decision is 697 days! That’s nearly two years. And women wait twice as long for that final decision on whether the Government believes they were a victim of modern slavery. Right now there are 23,300 people waiting for that final decision and until they get it, their life is often stuck in limbo.

It is critical that we put those at risk of modern slavery and survivors’ needs at the heart of our response to modern slavery, and work with survivors to ensure that their rights are upheld and they get the support they need to not just survive their experience but thrive in society.

In our new report we published this week on access to justice for survivors of modern slavery, Beyond Survival, we look at how survivors define justice for themselves and make recommendations for how the system can better help them achieve that sense of justice. There are two key steps the Government can take:

1. Survivors’ rights to protection and assistance have been restricted in recent years. The Government should reverse this and ensure that survivors are able to access the full range of services they require to help with their recovery.
There needs to be a cross-government approach to tackle this complex issue. We need new policies that prevent exploitation as well as ensuring victims are identified, safeguarded and supported and perpetrators are held to account.

2. Survivors often have to navigate a complex web of services and multiple barriers to getting help, which can often place them at risk of being re-exploited. Hope for Justice have seen the immense value of survivors being accompanied by an Independent Modern Slavery Advocate® (IMSA) to help them recover from their experience and reintegrate in society.

You can read the full press release from the Home Office and MP Jess Phillips below, or alternatively at this link: Modern slavery victims to be supported in fresh measures – GOV.UK

For the first time, the Government has pledged to eradicate the backlog of decisions on modern slavery cases within two years, giving thousands of women, men and children who may have suffered traumatic sexual, physical and economic abuse the clarity needed to assist with their recovery.  

Currently, many victims face long delays in having their status as a victim of modern slavery confirmed through the national referral mechanism, via a conclusive grounds decision. This can lead to prolonged uncertainty and mental health suffering.    

Through hiring 200 additional Home Office staff to process cases, thousands of vulnerable people will receive faster decisions on their cases so that they can move forward with their lives, whilst making the process more efficient.   

These new employees are already being recruited and will be in their posts in early 2025.  

The Safeguarding Minister pledged the new reforms to a room of charity and law enforcement delegates on Thursday (17th October 2024) to mark national Anti-Slavery Week, before travelling to meet survivors of modern slavery at Salvation Army premises.  

During the event, Jess Phillips set out that tackling modern slavery is one of her top priorities. She pledged to drive up prosecution numbers for perpetrators of this vile crime and reform the modern slavery system. 

Minister for Safeguarding, Jess Phillips, said:   ”For too long, modern slavery survivors and the harrowing experiences they have lived through have not been given the attention and support they deserve.   This is going to change. The actions I have announced today are a first step towards putting survivors first, eradicating the backlog of modern slavery cases to give victims the clarity and peace of mind they need to move on with their lives. Supporting victims of modern slavery is one of my top priorities and there is much more to do. But be in no doubt, this government will use every lever at its disposal to support them while we pursue those who callously profit from their trauma and misery.”

Major Kathy Betteridge, Director for Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery, The Salvation Army, said: “We welcome today’s announcement as a positive step towards prioritising the needs of survivors of modern slavery. Far too often, we see individuals in our support services whose recovery is delayed because they feel trapped in limbo, unable to move forward with their lives while awaiting decisions on their cases. This is an encouraging sign that the new government recognises the needs of survivors and is actively listening to them and those who support them. We look forward to working with the minister on the many challenges that remain in restoring the UK’s position as a world leader in the protection and support of survivors of modern slavery.”