Tag: Modern Slavery

This is revised guidance aimed at frontline staff who work with children, young people and potentially vulnerable adults.

YJLC were delighted to offer an evening masterclass on Modern Slavery, Child Trafficking and County Lines, generously hosted by Garden Court Chambers and chaired by Kate Aubrey-Johnson. The speakers, Henry Blaxland QC, Claire Sands, Stewart MacLachlan and Aika Stephenson shared their varied and extensive knowledge on this complex and emergent area of law. Details County […]

R (on the application of TDT (By his litigation friend Tara Topteagarden) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) and Equality & Human Rights Commission (Intervener) [2018] EWCA Civ 1395 The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) has ruled that the Secretary of State for the Home Department breached article 4 of the […]

R v MK: R v Persida Gega (aka Anna Maione) [2018] EWCA Crim 667 In this case the Court of Appeal considered whether, when a defence under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) was raised, the legal burden of proof rested on the defendant . Or, whether the defendant had only the […]

The claimants, victims of child sexual exploitation (CSE) with childhood convictions relating to prostitution, successfully challenged the legality of the criminal record disclosure schemes. The High Court affirmed earlier judgments that the current criminal record disclosure schemes are arbitrary and indiscriminate and there is an inadequate assessment of present risk in a particular employment and are unlawful.

Children and young people trafficked for the purpose of criminal exploitation in relation to County Lines – a toolkit for professionals The Children’s Society as part of the National CSAE Prevention Programme for England and Wales, in partnership with Victim Support and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have published a guide to share knowledge on County Lines and to offer […]

This case is the most recent in an increasingly long line of authorities considering the UK’s international obligations to victims of trafficking who are forced to commit crimes integral to their trafficked status. The obligations derive from the Council of European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005, and from the EU Directive 2011/36 on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and are now reflected in the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

The Home Office have published guidance for frontline staff who work with children, young people and potentially vulnerable adults. The guidance is intended to explain the nature of criminal exploitation and to enable practitioners to recognise the signs and respond appropriately so that potential victims get the support and help they need.

R v VSJ and Others (Anti-Slavery International Intervening) [2017] EWCA Crim 36 The Court of Appeal considered aspects of the defence of duress under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015. The judgment restates the law concerning child victims of trafficking, confirming that once it had been established that the child was a victim of trafficking for […]

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides a statutory defence for victims of child trafficking and slavery accused of certain offences.

The Reinforcing Assistance to Child Victims of Trafficking (ReACT) project has published a report ‘Better Support, Better Protection’ - Steps Lawyers and Guardians can take to better protect trafficked children’. This report examines the extent to which children who may have been involved in trafficking, were identified and protected in five EU states. The report highlights the fact that lawyers and others working with children do not always have the requisite training to identify those who may be subject to trafficking.