8. Research and training

8

Research and training

There are still a number of gaps in child trafficking data, notably the NRM statistics failing to include the ethnic background of referrals, despite persistent calls to do so (for recent example, see BASNET report8). This lack of information is undermining any chance of a culturally competent approach to tailoring responses to children. Although there is an increasing amount of research being conducted within the field of modern slavery and child exploitation, there is currently a lack of longitudinal studies being conducted due to the cost and logistical challenges of such projects. Collaboration is key for a project to attempt to measure generational change, yet knowledge can easily become siloed. There were also calls for developing a contextual safeguarding framework in modern slavery, exploring how such mechanisms could be incorporated across different sites across the UK.

It is important to note that monitoring and evaluation are intrinsic to good practice. Academics and researchers play a key role here, as they are perfectly positioned to conduct external evaluations. It is crucial that an evaluative framework is embedded into the models from the beginning, so academics can capture and analyse the full data available. Recently, the University of Bedfordshire and charity ECPAT UK have been announced as research partners, supported through the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. Studies should centre the voices of children to determine how they experience the service, which requires the valuing of qualitative data within this research. If these findings are shared widely, at practitioner conferences and through accessible reports, then feedback can be implemented back into practice to improve organisational responses to exploitation. Furthermore, training plays a crucial role in ensuring best practice is shared across the field but more research is required to explore whether or not training has an impact on professional behaviour. For children’s social workers, modern slavery and child trafficking is not a core module, therefore it is important to

raise awareness of its pertinence across different sectors. The training should also cover the wellbeing of practitioners since the work is often challenging; vicarious trauma workshops should be mandatory to ensure practitioners are supporting victims while protecting their own wellbeing. Acknowledging the difficulties front line workers experience is paramount, as many experience emotional hardening to protect themselves from the challenging area of exploitation and trafficking. However, it is important to look beyond the victim’s behaviour as this should not lead to the dehumanisation of service users. Therefore training in building resilience, while offering an empathetic and trauma-informed approach, is crucial.

Recommendation 9: the Home Office should provide data on the ethnic backgrounds of those referred to the NRM.

Recommendation 10: Local Child Safeguarding Partnerships and their equivalents in the Devolved Administrations should ensure training in delivering a consistent trauma-informed and empathetic response is implemented for all police officers and other front line practitioners dealing with victims of modern slavery. • The focus in the training should include survivor experiences and the child’s perspective.