6 minute read
Communities of Practice
Anne Makumi (Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Response Coordinator, Africa Zone) and Toluwanimi Jaiyebo (International Programme Coordinator, Anti-Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery) outline how The Salvation Army is using networking and international partnerships to respond to modern slavery and human trafficking.
The Salvation Army is present in 132 countries and has made responding to modern slavery and human trafficking (MSHT) a global priority, building on a long history of working in this field. The presence of The Salvation Army around the world provides a ready network of leaders and volunteers across Africa, Europe, South Pacific and East Asia and the Americas dedicated to fighting trafficking and modern slavery.
The Fight for Freedom, The Salvation Army’s International Strategy for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Response, is our road map for our contribution towards a world without slavery. It sets out an eight-part holistic framework to responding to modern slavery and calls for a seamless global network that exists between territories, commands, regions, contact people and practitioners based in
Communities of Practice (CoPs) which are co-ordinated zonally and internationally.
CoPs are forums bringing together antitrafficking and modern slavery national contact persons (NCPs) and practitioners to interact, engage, share information, resources and best practices, and build strong partnerships and networks. It provides a space for growth of ideas, sharing of data/ resources and cross-border collaboration to stop trafficking. Across the global Salvation Army and within six Zonal CoPs there are 117 NCPs, representing 108 countries, who are leading and co-ordinating responses within their territory/country.
Some global highlights taken from the International Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Report for 2021 include:
• Through CoPs, there were 154 international collaborations reported in 2021
• 166 awareness workshops were held, reaching more than 10,000 people across the world
• 142 prevention programmes and initiatives are active across 47 territories
• The Salvation Army served and journeyed with 9,795 MSHT survivors
The UK and Ireland Territory International Anti-Trafficking and Modern Slavery team are privileged to walk alongside The Salvation Army International Social Justice Commission (ISJC) to support the growth and development of CoPs in the Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and South Pacific and East Asia Zones of the organisation. Though the Africa CoP only officially started in January 2021 it has quickly become a flagship community demonstrating that people who are motivated, empowered and supported can indeed disturb the present to better the future.
The Africa CoP has representation from 24 countries with a total of 30 contact persons drawn from 17 territories, commands and regions, in addition to the Zonal leadership and Zonal modern slavery and human trafficking team. The CoP has seen a network platform within and outside The Salvation Army’s modern slavery and human trafficking response (MSHTR) structure being established, that equips and offers encouragement to members.
The CoP structure enables the contact persons to be supported at the Zonal level by the Zonal leadership and the Co-ordinator for modern slavery and human trafficking response as well as the Survivor leader. At the territorial, command or region level the contact person works with the direction of their territorial leaders, and they in turn guide the MSHTR taskforce committee, who support them in the implementation of initiatives to respond to human trafficking in the territory. The Africa CoP is further connected to the other five CoP teams for greater networking at the global level.
To equip, encourage and further facilitate networking among the contact persons, a CoP meeting is held every quarter virtually and in person. The meetings, which take the format of a workshop, provide a platform for shared learning, re-learning and unlearning on topical issues as well as offering encouragement to each other. The meetings supplement the one-to one meetings among the contact persons and the Zonal MSHTR Co-ordinator. The contact persons also receive training on select topics or themes such as basic concepts of modern slavery and human trafficking, ethical storytelling and child protection, among others, which the community of practice has found very useful, going by the feedback from the CoP members:
The contact persons are also able to support and include survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking in their initiatives more, within the territories and in partnership with other like-minded organisations. A total of 20 survivors were repatriated into the territories from other parts of the world through the Zonal MSHTR office, and over 430 survivors supported by the various contact persons in the territories in 2021. To ensure inclusion of survivor voices and perspectives in the Zone’s MSHTR initiatives, a survivor leader has been appointed in the Zonal office, and the various territories and commands are also looking to include survivors in decision-making positions such as within the MSHTR taskforces.
The Africa CoP has not been without challenges. For instance, with an increase of survivors referred to the contact persons, proper reintegration and sustained follow-up has significantly reduced due to limited resources. This poses a risk to the survivor of being re-trafficked or ending up in a worse condition especially if no means of livelihood and recovery are available. This challenge can be alleviated by the setting up of a survivor kitty that provides at least $500 per survivor for follow-up post return and to set up a means of livelihood with the survivor and thus empowering them.
Overall, CoPs are proving to be an invaluable opportunity for partnership and collaboration, and as these zonal networks are strengthened we are confident that so too will be The Salvation Army’s global response to human trafficking.
By Anne Makumi and Toluwanimi Jaiyebo
