Advisory Forum Newsletter

This newsletter is an opportunity for Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) Forum members to publicise events, projects, research, campaigns and job opportunities. Our Covid-19 resources webpage will continue to be updated to support organisations in managing the challenges arising from the pandemic.

To share information for the webpage or newsletter, please contact [email protected].

Despite the mantra of taking back control of our borders, we have learned that with just weeks to go the UK is unprepared to fight human trafficking in the new post-Brexit era and faces a possible explosion in human trafficking cases.

In this new report (due to be published this month), the Foundation highlights the risks of increased modern slavery due to missed opportunities in Government plans for the future immigration regime.

Join our report launch on 2 December to hear from experts involved in the report, including Prof. Brian Bell (Chair of Migration Advisory Committee), The Eastern European Rights Centre and Tony Smith (Fortinus Global),

Register here to join.

This new report from the Anti-Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU) reveals how trafficking survivors have died before receiving a single penny of compensation because of the length of time it takes to successfully get through the government’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) process. The report found how 47% of survey respondents had experience of trafficking survivors waiting two to three years for CICA to determine their applications and award compensation, while 88% of respondents had experience of survivors giving up due to the length of time taken to deal with their application. Download the full report here. 

Compiling the latest statistics and policy developments, the report highlights never seen before data on immigration outcomes for child victims, secured through Freedom of Information Act requests, and raises concerns about the UK’s current response to child trafficking and providing priority recommendations to the government to ensure all children are protected from exploitation. Download here.

The free hour-long webinar on 25 November will look at the challenges child victims of trafficking face in the UK’s immigration system. In particular, it will explore how challenges around immigration status leave children and young people in a precarious position upon turning 18. Register here.

This event from City Hearts presents the findings of the Emerging Voices Report, bringing together anti-trafficking practitioners in Ghana and the UK. The project has taken place over the last 18 months in Accra, Ghana, exploring young people’s awareness of historical and modern slavery through creative workshops, lessons and heritage site visits. Funded by the Anti-Slavery Knowledge Network, Emerging Voices has gathered research and will present its findings and final report at the online event on 30 November. Register here.

In response to the Home Office’s announcement that changes to the Modern Slavery Act will include local authorities in the supply chain provisions, the Local Government Association is hosting a webinar dedicated to helping councils mitigate the risks of modern slavery in local government supply chains.

The webinar will provide an update on the latest changes to legislation and how they affect the sector, as well as updates on the key high-risk areas – construction, IT and social care. It will also include practical advice on due diligence, supplier risk assessment showcasing all the latest mitigation practices and it will direct attendees to the online tools, support and resources that are available (many are on the dedicated LGA web hub).

16 December, 2-3.30pm. Book your free place here.

On 25 November, Bawso is holding an online multi-faith event to commemorate this day to light candles and stand up to challenge violence against women. This event is an opportunity for all to hear from survivors of violence against women as well as Jane Hutt (Welsh Deputy Minister and Chief Whip), the minister in charge of tackling violence against women in Wales. To join, contact [email protected].

Public nominations for ECPAT’s Children’s Champion for 2020 are now open. This year, they’re encouraging members of the public to nominate the individuals who have gone above and beyond for trafficked children. Each nominee will be scored against their demonstrations of the three key characteristics: Child-centredness, kindness and advocacy. Details here.

TRIBE Freedom Foundation is a young, community-powered, grant-making charity on a mission to fight modern slavery and end human trafficking, and has worked in partnership with organisations across the anti-slavery sector including Unseen, Snowdrop, Ella’s and The Helen Bamber Foundation. They have opened applications for project funding and will be making multiple grants between £10,000 and £25,000 to support 2-3 front-line projects, working to achieve their objectives. Learn more and apply here or contact [email protected] with any further questions.

West Midlands Anti-Slavery Network have produced a multi lingual explanatory document which explains in detail the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for use by First Responders for survivors of Modern Slavery at the point of identification. It is now available to download in Albanian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Lithuanian, Latvian, Slovakian, Romanian, Polish and Vietnamese as well as English. Download here.

During phase one of Covid-19 we saw an increase in online grooming into both Child Sexual Abuse and Child Criminal Exploitation and an increase in domestic abuse. We were also concerned that children experiencing abuse at home may have been shut in with their abusers and unable to access support. The Children’s Society have collated these resources for professionals, parents, key workers and others both working with children or entering the family home at this time.

• Prevent Programme Covid-19 guidance (PDF)
• The NRM: A guide for parents (PDF)
• Briefing: Responding to Child Sexual Abuse during Covid-19 (PDF)
• Awareness poster (PDF)

Ardea International, a specialist sustainability, business and human rights consultancy, and the Westminster Business School have carried out research finding that while supplier codes of conduct are important, they are ineffective if their requirements are not met with actions to bring about transparency. Download the press release and findings here.

The West Midlands Anti Slavery Network SafePlace is a safehouse for male survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery. The SafePlace team are interested in organising information sessions with cultural organisations to gain an understanding of different cultures and social groups.

If your organisation has specialist knowledge of a cultural or social group and you are interested in providing a cultural awareness session to WMASN, please contact them. In exchange for your time the West Midlands Anti Slavery Network will provide participating organisations with an information session on human trafficking and modern slavery. Further information here.

Anti-Trafficking Covid-19 Google group

HTF’s email platform to support the anti-trafficking sector’s response to Covid-19 provides a shared forum to ask questions and share examples of best practice, resources, updates, etc. with one another. To access the platform, please subscribe by entering your email address using the following link:
https://groups.google.com/a/humantraffickingfoundation.org/group/covid-19/subscribe  

Survivor Support Emergency Fund

HTF: Mapping Survivor Support Services

London Modern Slavery SPOC Directory 2019-2020