The Home Office Pilot project: provision for victims

 

The objectives of the pilot will include: to develop mechanisms that enable and ensure formal assessment of the number of victims of trafficking, the assessment of the relevance and impact of the services provided, development of a multi-disciplinary case-work model to facilitate the effective identification and assessment of victims.

There are four distinct elements to the six-month pilot project:

(a) Information and communication strategy

This will involve a campaign to inform victims of trafficking that assistance will be available to them, if they wish to escape their circumstances and are willing to assist the authorities. It will provide the opportunity for a count of the number of victims that make contact through the NGOs, community networks, hearsay, and information from advice workers.

(b) Implementing ‘Level I’

The first level of service will be delivered to all victims irrespective of the method of identification i.e. self-referral or through enforcement activity. It will include short term accommodation within a safe environment, immediate access to health assessment, food, interpretation and translation services as appropriate, and information on the implications of assisting the authorities – for themselves and their families in country of origin.

It is envisaged that this level of service will be available for a period not exceeding four weeks. During this time the woman's status as a victim of trafficking will be confirmed through the assessment process, specific information given explaining the support that will be available, the overall process, and the implication of assisting the authorities. The measure of the four- week timeframe would begin from confirmation that the five criteria had been met – possibly within 24-36 hour from initial contact.

(c) Implementing ‘Level II’

The additional support the victims would receive could include – cultural support, sustainable accommodation, consideration of eligibility of recourse to public funds through the benefits system, legal information, and detailed information about VARP.

To transfer to Level Two, the victim would have made an informed decision to co-operate with the authorities, would be subject to questioning from the police to determine the nature of the information, be given information of the available options including VARP. We envisage that this period could last between 6-12 weeks depending on individual circumstances and include the period of assessment.

(d) Review and Evaluation

We are proposing independent review and evaluation of the pilot project. This will be critical in determining not only numbers for whom services will be required, but also the standards and effectiveness of services to be provided long term, in the light of experience. We are working with RDS to identify the best evaluation arrangements for the pilot.

Contact: Eaves Housing tel. 0207 7352062