Northern Ireland: trafficking victims to get more support
Human TraffickingLast night at the Northern Ireland Assembly, members voted in favour of strengthening provisions for support for confirmed victims of human trafficking.
Welcoming the outcome, anti-trafficking charity CARE NI today paid tribute to Minister Naomi Long and the Chair of the Justice Committee, Mervyn Storey.
The Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill now moves to Final Stage which is the last step before receiving Royal Assent and becoming law.
When the Bill was in Committee, CARE NI gave oral evidence, urging Committee members to amend the Bill to give confirmed victims 12 months support.
These calls were listened too and at Consideration Stage, an amendment was accepted giving victims up to 12 months or less if not required.
Seeking further improvements, CARE NI lobbied for this new provision to be strengthened further to make sure ALL confirmed victims get 12 months or more if required.
The DUP tabled an amendment to further strengthen support for victims, however, Justice Minister Naomi Long also tabled an amendment which achieved the same end result.
In the debate, Mervyn Storey MLA said:
Seeking clarity that the new provision of support covered all confirmed victims who receive what's known as a positive conclusive grounds decision, Mr Storey pressed the Minister:
In a clear reply, the Minister was explicit that her amendment did ensure confirmed victims would benefit from proper, long-term support:
Responding to the outcome, CARE NI Policy Officer, Rebecca Stevenson, said:
Last night’s outcome means that yet again, Northern Ireland and the Assembly is leading the way when it comes to anti-trafficking legislation.
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Northern Ireland: trafficking victims to get more support