London Mayoral Candidates Pledge to Prioritise Modern Slavery
Thirty members of the Anti-Slavery London Working Group (LWG) have secured a ground-breaking commitment from the London Mayoral Candidates to prioritise modern slavery if elected in May.
Current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Conservative candidate Shaun Bailey, Liberal Democrat candidate Luisa Porritt, Green Party candidate Sian Berry and Women’s Equality Party candidate Mandu Reid have all agreed to the following:
If elected as Mayor of London, I pledge to:
Deliver a dedicated strategy to tackle modern slavery and exploitation in London, which covers prevention, identification and support, and examines access to justice for child and adult victims/survivors. This should be produced in consultation with survivors, those at risk of exploitation and with experts from statutory and non-statutory organisations
Promote and lead a survivor-first approach that ensures protection and safe reporting for victims and witnesses of crime
Prioritise partnership working in order to prevent and address modern slavery in the capital
Promote the need for well-trained first responders across London
Promote equality, diversity and inclusion in all policy work and practice in preventing and addressing modern slavery in London
The independent London Mayoral candidates are encouraged to sign the pledge as well. This will be the first time London has a dedicated modern slavery strategy and we look forward to working with the successful candidate to develop this.
The full letter can be read here.
LWG signatories: AFRUCA; Anti-Slavery International; BME Anti-Slavery Network (BASNET); Caritas Bakhita House, Sharon Burgess, Chair of the London Modern Slavery Leads Network and Head of Service Safeguarding Adults Team at Enfield Council; East European Resource Centre (EERC); Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK); Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX); Her Equality Rights and Autonomy (HERA); Hestia; Hibiscus Initiatives; Hope for Justice; Housing for Women; Human Trafficking Foundation; Justice and Care; Kalayaan; Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS); Love146; Medaille Trust; Shiva Foundation; SHPRESA Programme; SPACE; St Giles Trust; STOP THE TRAFFIK; The AIRE Centre; The Children’s Society; The Passage; The Salvation Army; Unseen UK and Victim Support.