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Racial equality, diversity and inclusion To better address the structural inequalities at play, there needs to be an explicit acknowledgement of race. The UK BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET), established by the charity AFRUCA in November 2019, is the first network in Europe dedicated to promoting race equality, inclusion and diversity in the anti-trafficking and anti-slavery space. BASNET launched its Action Plan in 20213, which draws attention to key areas in need of improvement, particularly the identification and subsequent provision of services for Black, Asian and minority ethnic survivors of modern slavery. Practitioners additionally highlighted the need for a more culturally competent response to all victims of child exploitation and trafficking.
ii. For more information see the ‘Therapeutic Intervention for Peace (TIP): Culturally Competent Responses to Serious Youth Violence in London' report (Williams et al., 2020).
Cultural competency, or cultural humility or sensitivity, is the ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from different cultures or belief systems. It is important that all professionals working within the sector are culturally competent to root out unconscious bias and prejudice within institutions. As part of a wider diversity and inclusion strategy, it is essential to offer training in cultural competency and ensure its values are embedded within the structure of the organisation and its processes. This involves forging partnerships with Black-led organisations and ensuring staff, particularly senior management, in institutions are more reflective of the population, and ultimately the victims. For example, BASNET has recommended introducing ‘external quality monitoring’ for anti-trafficking service providers to monitor their compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.4 The work of the charity Power The Fightii offers a culturally competent approach to tackling youth violence at grassroots level in London, which includes offering training to individuals and organisations who work with young people to forge better relationships. There are often assumptions that two children from the same country will require the same response, however this fails to understand the nuances at play across
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