Victims suffer when slavery slips through the net

Despite the truth about slavery in the UK being published widely and discussed in parliament earlier this month, it appears that the victims of slavery often continue to be treated as criminals by the UK justice system.

In this amazingly well-connected world of information, it’s tragic to see how often slavery in the UK seems to literally slip through the net. It could be that facing up to the truth about slavery is just too difficult to bear – after all, we like to think it was erradicated two hundred years ago don’t we?

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European Convention on Action Against Human Trafficking to become UK law in April 2009

On 19th April 2009, the European Convention on Action Against Human Trafficking will become UK law, after the Government ratified the agreement last December.

The agreement promises improvements in the way that victims of trafficking are supported by agencies such as the police, and sets minimum standards for supporting the victims of trafficking and slavery in the UK.

Some of the key promises include:

• a new national referral mechanism, providing a nationally agreed process to help frontline staff identify victims of trafficking and offer them support
• strengthened arrangements for looking after victims, including a 45 day reflection and recovery period, and the possibility of a one-year residence permit for victims
• better support for victims in giving information to police, which will help authorities bring those who exploit them to justice.

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