Local Focus
The Wilberforce Institute, Humberside Police, and partners from across Yorkshire and the Humber hosted the Yorkshire and Humber Trafficking and Exploitation Conference 2024: culture, community and modern slavery in Yorkshire and the Humber on the 22 October.
The free 1-day event brought together professionals from statutory and voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to discuss the role community and culture play as both drivers and deterrents of modern slavery in the region.
The event included expert speakers and interactive sessions to support the production of a collaborative community roadmap.
The event was also used to launch day for a new Humber wide anti-slavery campaign funded by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside and developed with partners from all four Community Safety Partnerships and Humber Modern Slavery Partnership local authority forums.
To mark Anti-slavery day on 18 October 2024 ERSAB relaunched an updated version of their Modern Day Slavery Resources document. This is embedded below:
Modern Slavery Resources (pdf 342kb)
In November the East Riding of Yorkshire Council nominated Councillor Linda Johnson as the Authority’s first Members Modern Slavery Champion.
The council also launched its Modern Slavery Policy delivery group. This group will lead on a number of initiatives around Modern Slavery including the completion of the Local Government Association's Modern Slavery Maturity matrix which will provides a framework for assessing its progress and planning future activity on modern slavery.
November 18-22 saw partners from across the north bank of the Humber come together to take part in Safeguarding Adult’s week 2024. Sessions were delivered around Modern Slavery Awareness and Modern Slavery Champions.
National Focus
The UK Government has launched a public consultation seeking views on government proposals to prevent goods being sourced from companies accused of exploiting their workforce.
Proposed new measures would legally require public bodies procuring goods and services for the NHS to both identify and mitigate risks of modern slavery. Organisations will be required to work with suppliers to identify risks and put forward solutions.
The new regulations will apply to all public bodies procuring health goods and services, including NHS trusts, integrated care boards and local authorities.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said:
“The NHS is a public service built on compassion and equality, values which are completely antithetical to the heinous evil of modern slavery.
These new measures will ensure vital checks are made and public bodies act to stamp out the crimes of slavery and human trafficking.
This government will ensure the NHS is a leader in the fight against modern slavery.
The NHS is the biggest public procurer in the country, and all NHS staff are empowered and encouraged to act as whistle blowers and report on incidents of slavery and human trafficking, supported by staff training courses.”
The UK government has introduced a significant update to its Temporary Permission to Stay policy, aimed at providing enhanced support to survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery.
There have been ongoing calls for more robust measures to aid survivors on their path to recovery. This development follows concerted advocacy from civil society organisations.
Under the new guidelines, authorities will consider a survivor’s need to recover from physical or psychological harm when deciding whether to grant a temporary stay.
The updated framework is a step towards recognising the unique challenges faced by individuals who have endured severe exploitation. This helps to ensure they receive the care and time necessary for rehabilitation.
The policy shift emphasises an individualised approach to each case. Decisions on whether to grant a temporary stay will consider the availability and accessibility of essential treatment in the survivor’s country of origin.
This change aims to safeguard people who may face the risk of being returned to environments where there’s a lack of support.
It reflects a growing recognition of the long-term impact exploitation has on people, and emphasises the need for targeted, compassionate solutions.
In the news
Modern slavery victim felt 'trapped and terrified'
'Victims are hidden in plain sight'
Gang jailed over 'shocking' McDonald's slavery case
Watch: Police target fishing boat over 'modern slavery' claim
Modern slavery victims to be supported in fresh measures
Modern slavery arrests after raid on house
Home Office hires 200 staff to clear huge backlog of UK modern slavery cases
Training Opportunities
Modern Slavery on Our Doorstep – Webinars available
Three webinars focussing on Modern Slavery were recorded as part of Anti-slavery Week 2024.
The speakers were:
- Father Mark Odion, discussed the importance of raising awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery in communities.
- Professor Carole Murphy, at St Mary’s University, spoke about British victims of slavery and exploitation.
- Ben Ryan, Deputy CEO at Medaille Trust, one of the leading anti-slavery charities in the UK, described support for survivors of modern slavery. The talks are available here.
White Ribbon Day
To mark the White Ribbon Campaign, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is hosting a series of events spanning the 16 days; featuring conversations with a variety of experts.
The theme is Connecting Stories, Changing Systems - highlighting the need to work more responsively together in order to understand the complexity of stories around domestic abuse.
The programme consists of a series of live and pre-recorded events, covering a range of domestic abuse related topics. Find the full programme of events below:
White Ribbon Day Events 2024 (pdf 341kb)