The Human Trafficking (Further Provisions and Support for Victims) Bill will receive its Second Reading debate in the House of Lords on Friday 25 November.

The Bill (which pertains to the whole UK) has been tabled by Lord McColl of Dulwich and is a crucial legislative measure which addresses the need for more robust levels of support to be made available to victims of trafficking in the UK.  The Bill also sets out stronger mechanisms to secure the prosecution of traffickers in this country.

The November 25th debate presents one of the greatest parliamentary opportunities to date to hold the new government to account on trafficking, (and the Coalition Agreement commitment to tackle human trafficking as a priority p. 21 Coalition Agreement), making the case for the legislative changes in relation to trafficking that are so badly needed.

We hope that during the debate many Peers will advocate strongly for victims to be better protected and supported.  Therefore, please consider writing to Peers and ask them to attend the Second Reading debate on the Bill and to speak in favour of it.

If you would like to set out arguments for the Bill when contacting Peers, please find some details below.

If you are not aware of any peers that you could write to, please find some suggested names, together with contact details also below.  This is not an exhaustive list and there will be many others who are concerned about human trafficking.

If you want to look at the Bill it can be accessed here http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2010-2011/0058/11058.pdf

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Arguments

You may wish to make (but don’t have to) some or all of the following points:

1) The Bill is of vital importance because it makes provision for proper care for trafficked children. Between 2007-2010 the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) identified 942 child victims of trafficking. Of those 942 children, 301 went missing from local authority care (CEOP Strategic Threat Assessment Child Trafficking in the UK 2010). We need to provide a better system of care which is provided by the provision of a legal advocate in Clause 9.

2) The Bill makes provision for a National Rapporteur. In order for government to have appropriate trafficking policies, both government and the public need to understand the current trafficking challenges. It is best practice to provide for this through a National Rapporteur, someone who is independent of government, can access all relevant information from government and produce an annual, objective report on the national situation regarding trafficking so that policy can be adjusted in light of the actual situation on the ground. The Bill makes provision for a National Rapporteur through Clause 12.

3) The Bill protects victims of trafficking compelled to break the law from prosecution. At the moment victims of trafficking caught committing criminal offences under duress are being sent to court and convicted like common criminals. Clause 5 ensures that their trafficking trauma is not compounded by the further trauma or being criminalised in a foreign country.

4) The Bill ensures the current legal right that victims of trafficking have to compensation is not rendered meaningless because of the lack of provision for victims to stay in the country long enough to process a claim. Clause 8 makes provision for those with a credible compensation claim to remain in the UK long enough to actually make the claim.

5) The Bill defines the necessary provisions and tangible support that should be made available to victims of trafficking who are identified in the UK. Although the UK ratified the Council of Europe Convention, because it is non-binding in domestic legislation, proper assistance to victims is lacking in key areas. (Wrong Kind of Victim? One Year on: An Analysis of UK Measures to Protect Trafficked Persons, The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group, June 2010, page 12). This clause addresses current short falls in UK policy including placement of victims in suitable accommodation, provision of translation and interpretation services, access to legal aid and legal counselling and the right to medical and psychological treatment.