Next online forum – save the date:
Leicester and labour exploitation –
where do we go from here?

Our next online forum will take place on 21 September 2-3.30pm. It will focus on the exploitation in the clothing factories in Leicester, brought to the public’s attention during the Covid outbreak. Confirmed speakers include Justice in Fashion, Slave-free Alliance, Centre for Social Justice, Fast Forward and the GLAA.

To register to attend the meeting, please click here.

Online forums: Please share your feedback

As we plan our next online forums, we would like to hear from you on how these meetings can best support you. What have you found helpful? What could we do better? And what topics would you like us to focus on in future forums?

We would appreciate it if you could please take around 4 minutes to complete this short survey so that we can make these meetings as useful as possible.

The survey will be open until Friday 11th September.

Victim Care Contract subcontractors announced

The Salvation Army has announced its partners which it will work with in delivering the new Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract. The new and extended contract goes live in Winter 2020/2021, following a period of transition from the current service. Details here.

Wellbeing resources for migrant communities

Doctors of the World, in partnership with Thrive LDN, has produced wellbeing guidance to support migrant communities during COVID-19.

Titled “Six ways to improve your wellbeing”, the guidance is available in 27 languages: English, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Dari, Farsi, Filipino, French, Hindi, Kurdish, Malayalam, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi India, Punjabi Pakistan, Romanian, Simplified Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. Available here.

Just Work app – understanding employment rights

This is a free, interactive app from the Association of Labour Providers to help all jobseekers and workers understand their UK employment rights, recognise poor treatment at work and access remedy. Download here.

PAXU – financial literacy app

This app from Pacific Links Foundation works to improve financial literacy to reduce forced labor risks. PAXU is available both in Vietnamese and English and helps users to:
1.    Manage finances effectively
2.    Calculate loan and debt repayments
3.    Calculate broker fees
4.    Compare living costs for migration decisions
5.    Increase awareness about human trafficking, forced labor and safe migration
6.    Connect with other users to learn, share and build a safe network

See the demo and get more information here. Download the app here.

Save the date: Launch of the IASC Annual Report 2020

At this event, the Commissioner will outline her work so far to achieve her objectives as outlined in the Strategic Plan 2019-2021, and discuss her current priorities in the areas of: improving victim care and support; supporting law enforcement and prosecutions; focusing on prevention; and getting value from research and innovation. This will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session. 17 September 2020, 4-5pm (online). Register here.

Inquiry: The future of legal aid

The Justice Committee is conducting an inquiry into the future of legal aid. This inquiry aims to look ahead to the future of legal aid, to identify the major challenges facing clients and providers and how they might be tackled. The inquiry is especially keen to hear about the sustainability of the legal aid market, the impact of Covid-19 and the increasing reliance on digital technology to deliver legal advice and court services. You can submit evidence here until Monday 19 October 2020.

The Centre for Social Justice Awards 2021 – Applications open

Applications for next year’s CSJ Awards are open. The CSJ Awards recognise outstanding and innovative small charities and social enterprises across the UK.

Four winners, categorised based on size, will receive a £10,000 grant and their work will be showcased in front of hundreds of leading figures from across the country. There is also the opportunity for winners to join the CSJ Partnership Programme – a two year programme which links chosen organisations with a CSJ policy unit and gives them the opportunity to directly input into the CSJ’s policy work, which will ultimately influence the wider work in your sector. Previous award winners have been profiled on primetime television, had their services endorsed by the Government and have secured additional funding as a result of the exposure that the CSJ Awards gave them.

Find out more here.

Webinar:
Anti-Racism in the Modern Anti-Slavery Movement

Join Freedom Fund partner Survivor Alliance for this unique online event on 17th September in which Kenneth B. Morris Jr., co-founder of the Frederick Douglass Family Initiatives, will talk about the linkages between historical and contemporary forms of forced labour. He will highlight FDFI’s strategy to fight slavery by pursuing racial equity and prevention of human trafficking through education. Register in advance here.

Free webinar: The Modern Slavery Act five years on – what effective strategies have we seen in UK businesses and other sectors to address modern slavery?

In this webinar a range of experts – from civil society, the business community and academia – will share their insights on the effective strategies they have seen implemented during the last half-decade to address modern slavery. 13th October 12–1.15pm. Register here.

Free online training on domestic abuse

Breaking the Chains – Year 1 Evaluation Launch

Breaking the Chains is a partnership project dedicated to improving outcomes for Albanian children and young people seeking asylum in the UK. The launch of the Year 1 evaluation for Breaking the Chains will take place online on Zoom on 23 September from 5 to 7pm.

Rt Hon Stephen Timms, MP will introduce the event. Lawyers and academics working on the project will present key learnings about how effective legal representation can be provided to children and young people vulnerable to exploitation, and what more is needed to create effective change.

Register in advance here and view the draft programme here.

Launch: Training framework for the identification, care and support of victims and survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking.

The exploitation of people through slavery and human trafficking is present in every facet of our work and personal lives. This framework has been developed to establish clear standards for learning and development on modern slavery.
It aims to raise knowledge and skills across a wide range of practitioners and organisations. In this event, Skills for Care will share the framework session and explore how it can be used. 22 September, 11-12.30. Registration and agenda here.

Vacancy: Immigration Caseworker/Paralegal at ATLEU

ATLEU are recruiting an Immigration and Asylum Caseworker/Paralegal for a full-time position based in Sheffield. Deadline 24 September. Details here.

Vacancy: Project Officer (Communications) at Stop the Traffick

Stop the Traffick is looking to recruit a Project Officer (Communications). The Project Officer will work on communications aspects of STT’s projects, which will largely include geo-targeted community campaigns, which use digital communications to actively disrupt and prevent human trafficking. Full details here. Closing date 21st September.

Anti-Trafficking Covid-19 Google group

HTF’s email platform to support the anti-trafficking sector’s response to Covid-19 provides a shared forum to ask questions and share examples of best practice, resources, updates, etc. with one another.
To access the platform, please subscribe by entering your email address using the following link:
https://groups.google.com/a/humantraffickingfoundation.org/group/covid-19/subscribe  

Victim Support MSSIG Information-Gathering

The MSSIG (Modern Slavery Strategy Implementation Group) Victim Support sub-group have been submitting questions to the Modern Slavery Unit (MSU) in the Home Office to support their understanding of the impact of the pandemic on survivors and support providers.

The MSU policy team has been reviewing the questions and where possible has been sharing responses in their newsletter. Questions submitted and any answers provided have been recorded on two documents found here.

Please contact [email protected] and/or [email protected] if you would like to raise any additional questions for the Home Office Modern Slavery Unit to consider.

Survivor Support Emergency Fund

HTF: Mapping Survivor Support Services

London Modern Slavery SPOC Directory 2019-2020