4 iii. A public health approach is defined as the art and science of preventing disease, by understanding the problem at a population level, addressing this through multiagency working and being prevention focused. iv. For more information see ‘Refining a public health approach to modern slavery’ (Such et al., 2021).
A child-centred approach Further discussion at the conference highlighted that a childcentred approach would work particularly effectively when combined with a public health response to modern slavery. For clarity, a public health responseiii involves the use of collective action, for example, involving various organisations and agencies, to address a problem that can damage the health and wellbeing of society as a whole iv. The conference participants ultimately called for a move away from a solely criminal justice-focused approach to victims, although discussions noted that as long as the Home Office is leading on the NRM decision-making, it will never be child-centred. Within a child-centred and public health approach, health care practitioners in particular are tasked with providing strong frameworks for trauma-informed advocacy and the development of safe healthcare spaces for all children and young people. Therefore, organisations such as VITA, that provide applied trauma-informed consultation skills training to health professionals, are essential in the response to modern slavery with the voice of the child at the centre. As well as developing new guidelines on child modern slavery and human trafficking for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, VITA has also engaged with plans for new ‘Generalism’ training for doctors. This follows on from The Future Doctor report in 20205, which detailed a new vision for healthcare, including doctors having a greater understanding of health in the context of people’s lives. VITA aims to bring rights-informed, trauma-informed, health justice training to these new cohorts, encouraging normalisation of survivor leadership and survivor-informed responses. The starting point for any approach should be the child and their experience. Often, practitioners are challenged to make decisions with little information on a child’s life or context. This lack of knowledge is compounded by the reality that social workers have to work within a rigorous safeguarding environment, whereas perpetrators continue to adapt and evolve their methods of grooming outside such a framework.
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