The former US anti-trafficking Ambassador under Barack Obama, Luis C.deBaca, has called on the Government to improve the level of support for victims of modern slavery in England and Wales.

Writing for the influential website Conservative Home, Mr C.deBaca praised the commitment of Theresa May to tackling modern slavery. As Home Secretary, Mrs May pioneered the Modern Slavery Act and since becoming Prime Minister has spoken publically about her desire to tackle ‘the great human rights issue of our time’.

The Modern Slavery Act applies in the main to England and Wales and came into force three years ago.

Victim support falling short

But Mr C.deBaca pointed out that the Government’s victim protection scheme is rendered almost meaningless by a lack of long-term care for victims.

The answer, according to Mr C.deBaca is the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill, tabled by Lord McColl in the House of Lords and sponsored by former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith in the Commons.

This Bill would provide victims with a year of guaranteed specialist support and an alternative to deportation.

What the Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill would accomplish

As Mr C.deBaca pointed out, this crucial piece of legislation would bring the UK into compliance with UN and global standards of victim care and it would also result in more effective prosecutions as victims would have

greater confidence to come forward.

Three years on from the Modern Slavery Act, prosecutions for human trafficking offences in the UK remain very low.

A recent report by Nusrat Uddin, a solicitor at Wilson Solicitors compared the victim support available to victims in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and the US. Her report found that while victims in each country fear coming forward, only the UK fails to respond adequately to this fear by not offering long-term protection and support.

Time is running out

The Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill is currently waiting for a second reading in the House of Commons but without Government support it will not become law.

Mr C.deBaca concluded his article by urging the UK Government to seize the opportunity presented by the Bill to increase prosecutions, prevent further human trafficking and in doing so, truly become a global leader in victim protection.

Find out more

Read Mr C.deBaca’s article here.

CARE is pleased to be one of the founders of Free For Good, a coalition of leading charities and organisations committed to securing better support for modern slavery victims in England and Wales.

If you want to know more about CARE’s work around modern slavery, click here.