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Trafficking

Modern Slavery Helpline 08000 121700
www.modernslaveryhelpline.org

This page brings together some of the wide variety of resources that now exist to help professionals working with children who may have been trafficked, including guidance, policy and referral information .

The Home Office predicts that there may be as many as 13,000 victims in the UK alone. There is no typical victim of trafficking or slavery. Victims can be men, women and children of all ages and cut across the population, but it is normally more prevalent amongst the most vulnerable, minority or socially excluded groups who rarely come forward to seek help due to language barriers, threats, fear of traffickers and / or fear of being criminalised

Traffickers use force, deception, or coercion to lure their victims and force them into labour, criminality or sexual exploitation. They look for people who are susceptible for a variety of reasons, including psychological or emotional vulnerability or economic hardship. The trauma caused by the traffickers can be so great that many may not identify themselves as victims or ask for help, even in highly public settings.

There are several broad categories of exploitation linked to human trafficking, these can include:

  • Sexual exploitation
  • Forced labour and domestic servitude
  • Organ harvesting
  • Child related crimes such as child sexual exploitation – CSE
  • Criminal Exploitation – forced begging, illegal drug cultivation, organised theft, related benefit frauds etc
  • Forced marriage

National Referral Mechanism Process Guide (01/01/2017)

The National referral Mechanism (NRM) is the Home Office process by which identified potential victims of Modern Slavery (includes Human Trafficking) gain access to a number of support services.  The NRM is a two stage process:

The First Responder refers a Potential Victim into the NRM 

Only identified First Responders can make referrals to this process. To refer an adult victim (person over the age of 18) their written consent is needed. If they do consent a referral is made to one of two UK Competent Authorities, these are the Modern Slavery -Human Trafficking Unit (MSHTU) and the United Kingdom Visa Immigration department (UKVI).  No Consent is needed for a child. Adult / child NRM referral forms and guidance can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-trafficking-victims-referral-and-assessment-forms

Under Section 52 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, identified  Public Authorities have a ‘duty to notify’ , the Home Office of any suspected victim they come across. This process is not applicable if the victim is entered into the NRM.  This process has been created to gather statistics and build a more comprehensive picture of the nature and scale of modern slavery in the UK.  This process should not be used for children. If the potential adult victim does not consent to enter the NRM a form MS1 must be completed and the section 52 process followed.  Adult consent is needed for this. If consent is not given the form must still be completed but anonymised.  Documentation can be found at this this link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/duty-to-notify-the-home-office-of-potential-victims-of-modern-slavery

Translated NRM Guides

Hope for Justice

Rescue Our specialist teams work closely with police to identify victims of modern slavery, build bridges of trust with them and remove them from exploitation and into safety

Restore We work with victims to overcome trauma and rebuild their lives. We offer tailored restorative care initiatives and offer support to meet vital needs, including survivor-centred aftercare.

Reform We train professionals to spot the signs of trafficking and to respond, and campaign for policy change. We help businesses protect their operations and supply chains from modern slavery.

Barnardo’s Therapeutic Group Work – For Trafficked Children

The Therapeutic Group Work Programme is aimed at children who are suspected of being internally trafficked for exploitation.

It is a six week group work programme with a maximum of 6 per group that provides therapeutic activities which can help develop:

  • Resilience
  • Sense of self-worth & positive value to others
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Aspirations
  • For an overview please click here.
  • For the referral form please click here.
  • To print off the poster please click here.

Reporting Suspicion

Any Kirklees Council Officer or partner agency can report a suspicion of Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery via this link: www.kirklees.gov.uk/reporthumantrafficking

If you feel it is an emergency a threat to life or criminal activity you should ring 999 or if you feel there is an adult or child at risk of harm, please follow your safeguarding procedures. 

If you have a suspicion something isn’t right and an adult or a child may a victim it is important you report.   No matter how small the piece of information may be, it could be essential in building up a picture and safeguarding a potential victim.

Guidance on how to spot the signs and short films are available on the following links:

Kirklees Child Trafficking Procedures

Human Trafficking Leaflets and Posters

Useful Contacts and Links

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Upcoming Training events

Contextual and Complex Safeguarding

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Forced Marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and Honour Based Violence

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