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22 July 2014
The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG) has created an Alternative Modern Slavery Bill, to assist in the scrutiny and strengthening of the government’s Modern Slavery Bill currently before the Parliament.
At present, the Modern Slavery Bill drafted by the government lacks the necessary provisions to successfully prevent and prosecute modern slavery offences, and protect the victims of these crimes. The provisions contained within this Alternative Bill are those which the ATMG feel are vital for inclusion in UK anti-slavery legislation to ensure it is robust, world-leading and victim-focused. These include a range of offences to capture all forms of modern slavery; comprehensive victim protection measures, including a defence for those who have been forced to commit crimes and a statutory National Referral Mechanism; an Anti-Slavery Commissioner role which has strong powers and a clear independence; and a provision to tackle slavery in supply chains.
How both Bills compare:
The Government’s Modern Slavery Bill:
– Has poorly drafted offences which are overly complicated and do not reflect international definitions of trafficking and forced labour. There are no separate, child-specific offences.
– Contains minimal victim protection measures. The Bill does not set out the support and protection measures victims are entitled to. The non-prosecution clause is poorly drafted; it adds an unnecessary ‘reasonable person’ test and lists at the back at the Bill a range of offences that are not covered under the clause, some of which trafficking victims are known to have been forced to commit. The Child Advocates provided for in the Modern Slavery Act fall short of ‘Independent Legal Guardians’.
– The Anti-Slavery Commissioner will only focus on law enforcement and lacks the necessary independence from the government to be truly effective.
The ATMG’s Alternative bill:
– Has stronger, simplified offences to cover wide range of forms of modern slavery, including child-specific offences
– Contains comprehensive victim protection measures, including a statutory NRM, statutory defence for victims of modern slavery that are forced to commit crimes, independent legal child guardians with robust legal powers and independence, and the provision of compensation and remedies.
– An Overseas Domestic Worker provision, which reinstates all the protections in place before the 2012 visa change, as well as additional ones
– A Transparency in Supply Chains provision to tackle slavery in supply chains
– An Anti-Slavery Commissioner role which is independent from the government and has a broad remit, with the freedom to choose his/her activities.
You can see the ATMG Alternative Modern Slavery Bill here in a PDF format: The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG) (399.10KB)
Note to Editors: For any media queries please contact Anti-Slavery Press Officer Jakub Sobik on 0207 501 8934 or on j.sobik@antislavery.org
