Closed - IASC and Cumberland Lodge call for evidence on emerging good practice within practitioner responses to child trafficking

 

Overview

The Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Dame Sara Thornton, has today (Monday 5 July 2021) launched a call for evidence inviting practitioners, academics and policymakers to share promising practice in the field of responding to child exploitation and trafficking (including domestic servitude, forced labour, sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation including county lines).

We are seeking evidence on:
1. Responses to the sources of harm to children (such as perpetrators of exploitation, contexts which exploitation occurs such as neighbourhood, group or educational environments, and structural drivers of harm including poverty and racism)
2. Responses to support individuals, families and wider groups affected by harm (including trauma-informed practices, advocacy, guardianship, efforts at non-criminalisation, and the development of culturally competent responses)

This evidence will directly inform a conference taking place in October 2021 at the educational institute Cumberland Lodge on Practitioner Responses to Child Trafficking: Emerging Good Practice. Conference findings will be shared with stakeholders across the modern slavery and related sectors to inform improvements in policy and practice.

 

Issue

Policymakers require a better understanding of the evidence practitioners have about what works, what looks promising, and how evidence is most effectively shared. This conference will bring together practitioners, policymakers and researchers from across the modern slavery sector and beyond to examine the role of practitioner evidence in responding to child exploitation and trafficking in the UK.

The conference will incorporate the views and expertise of survivors and explore how decisions to safeguard children from exploitation are made in the best interests of the child, and can facilitate the voice of the child.

The IASC will be inviting a small number of contributors to this call for evidence to present their evidence at the conference. Subject to contributors’ availability, preferences and circumstances this may be in person or virtually. 

 

Call for Evidence

We are seeking evidence in the two areas outlined above: 1) The sources of harm to children, and 2) Individual responses and support mechanisms for responding to harm.

“Evidence” includes:

  • Practitioner guides or toolkits, research and evaluations, and programmes
  • Community and civil society materials, research and programmes
  • Survivor-led and informed materials, research and programmes
  • Academic and non-governmental organisation (NGO) research outputs and programmes
  • Local safeguarding and multi-agency initiatives (including those at an early stage but demonstrating promising outcomes)

“Emerging good practice” is defined as any scheme or product which has been developed and implemented with respect to the two themes outlined (sources of harm and responses).

“Practitioner” includes individuals working in the fields of child exploitation and safeguarding or related fields (such as education, health, local authorities etc.); modern slavery First Responders, service providers and NGOs; and community and civil society organisations working with children and their families.

Please note that we also welcome evaluations of programmes or interventions which have had a negative impact (anonymously if necessary).

Please do not hesitate to contact us with queries about this call or the conference:

  

Deadline

This call for evidence closed on 6 September 2021. Please email Katherine Lawson if you have any queries: katherine.lawson@iasc.independent.gov.uk