Michael Matheson, Scotland's Justice Secretary, announced this week that the Scottish Government will be increasing the minimum period of support for adult victims of trafficking from 45 days to 90 days.

He made the announcement during a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the new Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy to further efforts to tackle and reduce these crimes in Scotland as well as to continue to improve the support and protection offered to victims launched by the Scottish Government last month.

Making the announcement, Mr Matheson said:

“Trading adults and children as commodities is an abhorrent crime which degrades victims and causes lasting physical and psychological damage.”

“We are working hard to make Scotland an increasingly hostile place for those who traffic other human beings, while also improving the support we provide to victims. We have been listening to groups working directly with victims and I am pleased that we will now double the length of support available for adult victims to 90 days.”

The announcement of an extension to the basic support period follows a public consultation on the support period where the majority of responses recommended a longer period. Most of those respondents recommended support should be provided for a minimum of 90 days.

CARE was among those groups making this recommendation in the consultation and we have been calling on the UK authorities to provide victims with a minimum 90 days of support for a number of years. We, therefore, warmly welcome this announcement. We also welcome Mr Matheson’s commitment to increasing the funding for the charities which provide victims with specialist care during this recovery period.

For many victims, trafficking and exploitation is a deeply traumatic and destabilising experience. During the first few months after escaping from exploitation many victims show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and other serious mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. They also have no specific access to follow on support, housing, or benefits at the end of the Government-funded period. This can all put them at risk of being exploited again, and can severely affect their long term recovery. 45 days in a safe house is simply not long enough for a victim to recover sufficiently to reintegrate into society without further support. This was highlighted by the Work and Pensions Committee in the House of Commons at the end of April.

By extending minimum support levels to 90 days Scotland will offer victims greater protection than in the rest of the UK where just 45 days support is guaranteed. We urge the new Government to consider the needs of victims in its programme for the coming parliament and act to ensure victims in England and Wales will also be given access to support for a longer period of time.