Working with Parliamentarians, Statutory Authorities, and the NGO Sector: The Role of the Human Trafficking Foundation in Improving Identification and Victim Support

Abstract

The Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) was set up by parliamentarians and, as Secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery, has always had a prominent role in promoting issues around human trafficking and slavery to parliamentarians. With the creation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA), there was an aspiration that some of the HTF’s work could gradually be discharged. However, the MSA lacked clear provisions on support for victims, while its statutory duties around identification have struggled to become mainstream practice, particularly within local authorities. As a result, the HTF has refocused some of its efforts around the implementation of the Act by looking at ways to improve the identification of victims of trafficking under Section 52 of the Act, as well as improve the support provisions provided to victims, both inside the Government-funded safe houses with the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and by statutory authorities and others when a survivor exits this service. To carry out this work effectively, the Foundation uses a model of working with stakeholders and partnerships across the entire sector. This includes work with cross-party parliamentarians within its Trustee membership and the APPG to lobby for change, alongside its vast network of stakeholders via its National Advisory Forum, and its partnerships, via it National Network Coordinators Forum, London Working Group, and International Anti-Trafficking Group, to garner expertise and work collaboratively for change, while also setting up new networks through its work with local authorities.