The Rt Hon Theresa May

Secretary of State for Home Affairs

Home Office

2 Marsham Street

London

SW1P 4DF

Date: 1^st July 2014

Dear Theresa,

I am writing to you in advance of the second reading of the Modern Slavery Bill in Parliament. As you know, I have written to you before with concerns about child trafficking, and as such I am pleased to see the introduction of this Bill into Parliament.

Although the Bill has shown the Government’s strong desire to combat exploitation and trafficking whilst strengthening the focus on victims, I still have concerns that the Bill doesn’t contain adequate measures to wholly protect child victims of trafficking. This is a concern that is echoed by UNICEF, who have identified several areas of weakness which need to be amended in order to better support and protect vulnerable and trafficked children.

My first concern is that the Bill does not contain a separate offence for child trafficking and child exploitation. The introduction of this offence would clarify the circumstances under which a child can be deemed to be trafficked, and establish legal and practical differences between child and adult trafficking.  In my opinion, the introduction of a separate offence would increase awareness of the signs and prevalence of child trafficking in the UK, in particular among law enforcement authorities, immigration officials, social workers, health practitioners, as well as general the public.

In the second instance, I find it unacceptable that there has been no move to remove the prosecution of child victims for crimes they may have committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Children who have been trafficked should not be further penalised and prosecuted for crimes which they have been forced to commit. Not only does this omission allow space for child traffickers to avoid prosecution, it means that child victims will be less likely to come forward to the authorities, for fear of punishment. This is counterproductive and further endangers the well-being of child victims. I am, therefore, calling on you to introduce a clause within the Bill to end the prosecution of child victims of trafficking.

Finally, I believe that it is important to ensure that every trafficked child has access to an independent legal guardian. Evidence from the Netherlands has shown that establishing a system of guardianship through national legislation has led to an increase in trafficking prosecutions, particularly as child victims had access to better support and protection.

I urge you to take into account the recommendations made by UNICEF, and other NGOs, and incorporate them into the Modern Slavery Bill. Without implementing these measures, we risk undermining the strength and validity of the Bill, leaving child victims of trafficking vulnerable and alone.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter.

Yours sincerely,