Elmore and Oxfordshire Modern Slavery Agencies address victim support for Anti-Slavery Day
Ahead of Anti-Slavery Day, Elmore and Oxford City Council co-hosted a roundtable event that sought to strengthen modern slavery victims’ support.
On behalf of the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network—a grouping of Oxfordshire agencies working to end modern slavery in the county—Elmore and Oxford City Council hosted a discussion which sought to answer the question: “How can we ensure every potential victim is identified and given the opportunity to be safeguarded?”
During the private roundtable event, which took place on Tuesday 15 October, survivors of modern slavery in the county shared their experiences of their journey of being identified, accessing effective support with agencies and discussed how services can improve their response.
The roundtable included representatives of Thames Valley Police, Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire, Vale of the White Horse, and Cherwell District Councils, the Willow Project, Thames Valley Partnership, Migrant Help, Turning Point, and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust.
The roundtable was chaired by Tom Hayes, Chief Executive of Elmore, and Co-Chair of the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network, and Linda Ludlow, Strategic Lead for Human Exploitation and Co-Chair of the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network. As well as Councillor Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Customer Focused Services at Oxford City Council; Matthew Barber, the Thames Valley’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner; a Chief Immigration Officer of Immigration Enforcement (a division of the Home Office); and a Senior District Crown Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service were in attendance. The roundtable was also attended by Emma Crates, Private Sector Lead from the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s Office.
Tom Hayes, Chief Executive of Elmore Community Services and Co-Chair of the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network, said: “Many people may think slavery is an evil from a distant past, something outlawed centuries ago. Many may think that slavery only happens to faraway people in faraway places. But the truth is that modern-day slavery is happening right here, right now, and Elmore Community Services is helping to identify and support victims across Oxfordshire.
Slavery isn’t something so secret that it can’t be detected. Often it takes place in plain sight, with vulnerable people working excessively long shifts, obviously undernourished, perhaps in situations that just look wrong. Elmore wants this modern slavery roundtable to focus on how we can all stop slavery in its tracks and share our needs with the UK’s Anti-Slavery Commissioner.”
Cllr Nigel Chapman, Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Customer Focused Services said: “Slavery isn’t something that happens outside the UK; it is happening here in Oxfordshire. The ‘Modern Slavery is closer than you’ campaign aims to raise awareness of Modern Slavery and Exploitation across the world and we need to support this work in Oxfordshire. Surprising to many, the majority of identified victims of modern slavery and exploitation in Oxford, and across the UK, are UK nationals. Oxford City Council and partners are tackling this issue by identifying and offering support to victims. We welcome our partners’ to the Oxfordshire Anti-Slavery Network’s event on the 15th October where we will discuss “How can we ensure every potential victim is identified and given the opportunity to be safeguarded?”
Please read the Oxford Mail’s report on this issue here.
