Non-statutory first responders are essential to identifying and supporting survivors of trafficking and modern slavery.
As a leading non-statutory first responder, Unseen is committed to addressing this critical shortage of resources and capacity, which is hindering our ability to provide essential support to survivors.
To ensure that every survivor receives the help they deserve, we have joined six other first responder organisations to call upon the government to take immediate action.
Read our letter below.
Joint statement: non-statutory first responder capacity and resources
Dear Ms Jess Phillips, Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP, and the Modern Slavery Unit team at the Home Office,
Over the last few years, various organisations in the modern slavery and trafficking sector have raised concerns about a lack of capacity and resources for non-statutory first responders to the National Referral Mechanism (“NRM”) to perform their role of referring potential survivors of trafficking and modern slavery for identification and support.
This week, the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group and Kalayaan have published an updated briefing of the current situation, which we enclose in this letter.
As non-statutory first responders, we perform a vital role in the NRM framework. Our independence means that potential survivors who are afraid of the authorities can trust us to reassure them that the NRM will protect them and allow them to recover from their past exploitation. And, our expertise ensures that their experience is understood and given context during the referral process, thus ensuring more accurate and comprehensive referrals.
However, there are very few of us, our collective remit is narrow, and our resources are limited. We work hard to assess enquiries and to make as many referrals as we can. but the pressures we face increase year-on-year, causing a bottleneck for potential survivors to access identification and support.
The current state of affairs needs to be more sustainable. There needs to be more non-statutory first responders to increase capacity and broaden expertise and geographical remit. We need to be resourced to ensure that
we can provide a trauma-led approach to our role, including ensuring in-person meetings and access to interpreters.
We therefore urge the government to implement the following recommendations:
- Provide funding for organisations to carry out their First Responder roles
- Consider and decide on existing applications from specialist front-line organisations to become
non-statutory First Responders - Establish a recruitment process without further delay for prospective organisations to apply
- Develop and maintain a nationwide training programme with minimum standards for both
statutory and non-statutory First Responders - Revise the digital NRM referral form in consultation with First Responders to enable a more efficient referral pathway.
Yours sincerely,
Kalayaan
BAWSO
Medaille Trust
Migrant Help
The Salvation Army
TARA
Unseen
