Information and guidance for professionals who come into contact with slavery victims.
Contents
Call 999 if it’s an emergency or there is immediate danger.
Modern slavery is a serious crime. It encompasses slavery, servitude, and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Modern slavery victims can often face more than one type of abuse and slavery, for example if they are sold to another trafficker and then forced into another form of exploitation.
A person is trafficked if they are brought to, or moved around, a country by others who threaten, frighten, hurt and force them to do work or other things they don’t want to do.
Support for victims is best referred to specialist services. For advice and support, if you or someone you know at risk of modern slavery, call Live Fear Free on 0808 80 10 800 or e-mail info@livefearfreehelpine.wales.
Guidance for public services
Protecting children guidance for all public services sectors
The Welsh Government has published Safeguarding Children who may have been trafficked. This provides good practice guidance to professionals and volunteers from all agencies to help them effectively safeguard children who are abused and neglected by adults who traffic them into and within the UK in order to exploit them.
‘Safeguarding Children: Working Together Under the Children Act 2004’ provides guidance on safeguarding all children. It should be followed and used in conjunction with the good practice guidance.
As part of the All Wales Child Protection Procedures, the ‘All Wales Practice Guidance for Safeguarding Children Who May Have Been Trafficked’ sets out the required response to effectively safeguard children who are abused and neglected by adults who traffic them into and within the UK for purposes of exploitation. It provides a helpful summary of the responsibilities across a wide range of sectors including voluntary sector and Leisure, Libraries and Park Services.
Whichever sector you work in, safeguarding protocols will apply.
The Wales Modern Slavery Safeguarding Pathway supports individuals and agencies in Wales. It describes what to do if you encounter a suspected victim of modern slavery.
Healthcare staff
The Home Office has produced guidance for identifying and supporting victims of human trafficking for health staff that sets out actions for healthcare staff who suspect that their patient may be a victim of human trafficking. This guidance is in English only.
This publication is relevant to all kinds of healthcare settings, including A&E, primary care, sexual health services and genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics.
In Wales, Bawso is sub-contracted to provide the support provided by the Salvation Army in England.
Education
Keeping Learners Safe Guidance includes sections on children who may have been trafficked and child sexual exploitation (CSE). It contains information about how education services should contribute to multi-agency safeguarding arrangements. You should refer to this and raise any questions with your safeguarding lead or your designated senior person if you are in a school.