Prevention
Supporting the victims of trafficking and bringing to justice those responsible will always be the mainstay of the UKHTC’s work. But effective intervention after the event does not address the significant harm which could already have been caused to individuals, their families and wider communities.
Prevention efforts are therefore a key component of the UKHTC’s proactive strategy to reduce harm and protect victims of human trafficking.
Prevention covers a broad range of activity, including but not limited to:
- Utilising all the relevant legislation at our disposal
- Understanding the issues that impact on the supply and demand sides of human trafficking
- Using innovative and non-traditional as well as traditional methods to disrupt traffickers and make it difficult for them to operate
- Raising awareness of trafficking and trafficking methods amongst front line professionals, including law enforcement agencies, health and education, in the UK and overseas
- Working closely with partner NGOs on specific prevention activities, both bilaterally and in larger working groups
- Raising awareness amongst potential victim populations
- Raising public awareness in source, destination and transit countries through coordinated campaigns
- Maximising the impact of preventative efforts through multi-agency partnership
- Working with vetted academic bodies to review prevention and impact strategies
- Disseminating specific intelligence and alerts to the private and voluntary sectors
- Playing an active role alongside law enforcement, Government, industry bodies and NGOs in the Human Trafficking Prevention Working Group