10th December 2024 – A new report by After Exploitation, UK BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET) and AFRUCA has found that modern slavery training offered to local council staff, in England, is of inconsistent quality and availability.
- Download the report here
- Read our piece in the Big Issue here
Roughly 1 in 4 (26%) of local councils could not confirm that they provided standalone modern slavery training, or said they did not. Meanwhile, only 7% offered the ‘gold standard’ of regularly available classroom learning and an e-learning resource.
Worryingly, materials were often out-of-date and did not include references to significant legal changes affecting the rights of survivors, such as the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.
Others relied on stereotypical case studies, with no further information about how such demographics could be sensitively supported. One council gave the example of a ‘Thai trans sex worker’ with no follow-up information on how to support trans or foreign national survivors, nor how to engage with people being sexually exploited.
Very few local councils confirmed that issues like cultural sensitivity, equality, diversity and inclusion were taken into account as part of their training offering. Only 39 (12%) said these themes were covered. In this way, professionals are not equipped to build trust with survivors, who may fear sharing details of their abuse due to cultural barriers.
After Exploitation 