Modern slavery bill is ‘lost opportunity’, says human trafficking adviser

The government’s modern slavery bill is a “lost opportunity,” the home secretary’s former special envoy for human trafficking has warned. Anthony Steen, who advised on the legislation and chairs the Human Trafficking Foundation, said the bill, which will be debated in parliament on Tuesday for its third reading, had “yawning gaps”, and failed to focus on the needs of victims of trafficking in the UK.

“The bill is wholly and exclusively about law enforcement – but it shouldn’t be enforcement-based, it should be victim-based. We have majored on the wrong thing,” he said. “It is positive in the sense that it is an entirely new initiative, but is it going to do anything?”

The modern slavery bill brings together current offences on trafficking and slavery, introduces tougher sentences for traffickers, and creates an independent anti-slavery commissioner, likely to be a former police officer. It contains provisions for seizing traffickers’ assets, and channelling some of that money towards victims, for compensation payments.

Representatives from other charities working with the victims of human trafficking welcomed the recent announcement of an amendment requiring companies to show how they ensure their supply chains are “slavery free”. But they also expressed concern that the legislation focuses on prosecuting traffickers, rather than supporting victims of exploitation.

Parosha Chandran, a human rights barrister and UN expert on trafficking, described the bill as “a red herring”. “I think the bill is very poor on victim protection. To have a modern slavery bill that does not have at its core the recognition of the fundamental need for victim identification is a fatal flaw. It is well known that human trafficking and slavery flourish in countries where victim protection and victims rights are weak.”

Klara Skrivankova, of Anti-Slavery International, said: “The key point is that for any legislation to be really effective, it needs to give sufficient protection to victims. There is plenty of evidence globally to show that if you really protect victims, then they will be more likely to cooperate with prosecution.” She welcomed the various tools in the bill for the prevention and punishment of traffickers but added: “If it is not mirrored by proper protection for victims then it is unlikely to make very much difference.”

Figures released by the National Crime Agency in September estimated that 2,744 people, including 602 children, were trafficked for exploitation in the UK in 2013, a 22% increase on 2012, with some forced to work in brothels, others in domestic servitude, and others exploited in factories, on farms and building sites.

The Salvation Army, which has a government contract to support adult victims of human trafficking, last month revealed a dramatic growth in the number of victims requiring support, noting a rise of 135% on the number they supported three years ago. Most of the victims they helped were from eastern Europe, and 42% of them had been subjected to labour exploitation.

Andrew Wallis, chief executive of Unseen, a charity that works with survivors of trafficking and modern slavery, said he was more inclined to be positive. “Two years ago this was not on the government agenda. At least the issue is now very much on the agenda. The bill needs to go further if we want to be world class, but this needs to be balanced with what is politically achievable. I’m not going to say this is the perfect bill, but I am a pragmatist.”

People involved in drafting the bill said there was nervousness about including more victim-friendly measures, because of the residual public confusion over victims of trafficking and immigrants.

Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead who chaired the joint committee on the draft modern slavery bill, said he thought the recent supply–chain amendment was a positive addition to the bill. “A little over a year ago, there was never any thought of a modern slavery bill; that’s the distance we have travelled,” he said.

But Dorcas Erskine of the Poppy Project warned that, because measures to support victims that are currently enshrined in EU law are not embraced by this bill, victims may find they get less protection under the new legislation than they currently receive. “On a practical level, on the frontline, it could be very confusing,” she said.

Former conservative MP Anthony Steen said: “The prime minister said he wants to drive slavery out of Britain; I am convinced he is committed to doing something about it, but you are not going to catch traffickers unless you have evidence, and you are not going to have any evidence unless you support the victims. The reason why we have so few convictions in Britain is that police scare the living daylights out of victims.”

“I am no longer the special envoy. They dispensed with my services,” he added.

A Home Office spokesperson said the bill was “an historic opportunity to get legislation on the statute books that will, for the very first time, address slavery and trafficking in the 21st century”. The ministry said in a statement that: “Protecting victims is at the heart of everything we are doing. We purposely published the modern slavery bill in draft form for pre-legislative scrutiny so that we could listen and respond to constructive contributions and concerns. The bill includes provisions to enhance statutory protection for victims while at the same time strengthening measures to disrupt, convict and imprison the criminals involved to prevent people becoming victims in the first place.

“Modern slavery is a complex and multi-faceted problem which cannot be solved by legislation alone. That is why we are taking action to increase protection for victims at the border [and] overseas and why we are trialing specialist advocates for child victims.”