Places of Safety: 10 core principles

/

Four leading agencies working with victims of trafficking have produced a list of 10 core principles in a new guide for services providing Places of Safety and early support for adult survivors.

Places of Safety need to be able to evidence their ability to operate a truly victim-centred service. Services should meet national and international legal standards and be able to demonstrate competence. ATLEU, British Red Cross, Anti Trafficking Monitoring Group and Human Trafficking Foundation have agreed 10 core principles for a ‘competent’ service. These are:

  1. Freedom

  2. Open access to all

  3. Needs-based assessments

  4. Meeting health needs

  5. Meeting basic material needs

  6. Early legal advice

  7. High quality advice and support

  8. Enabling choices and options for pathways of referrals and support

  9. Confidential data management

  10. Organisational transparency

Victoria Marks, Director, ATLEU:

We urge government to consider these core principles carefully when implementing Places of Safety as part of their National Referral Mechanism reforms. These principles are crucial to ensuring that victims are given the time, space and support that they need to make informed decisions about their future.

These 10 principles, when taken together, are the minimum standards that are required if Places of Safety are to meet their intended purpose. The principles are complementary and each one is necessary: the absence of any of the principles puts at risk the victim-centred nature of any service.

Places of Safety: Principles that underpin early support provision for survivors of trafficking