Anti-Slavery Day Awards 2022: Outstanding Contributions Shortlist Announced
The Human Trafficking Foundation team is delighted to announce the shortlist for The Anti-Slavery Day Awards 2022. The annual Anti-Slavery Day awards recognise those organisations and individuals going above and beyond in fighting modern slavery. This year the winners of the outstanding contributions categories will be chosen by a panel of expert judges from the sector.
Reducing Vulnerabilities (Advocacy Award)
This category recognises those working to achieve systemic change to reduce the prevalence of trafficking or improving outcomes for survivors’ rights and entitlements on a long-term basis. Examples of work within this category could include campaigns to support individuals to access their rights or work for rights-based policy change.
Nusrat Uddin, Public Law Department at Wilson Solicitors LLP
Nusrat specialises in representing survivors of trafficking in strategic legal challenges. Her work is exclusively legal aid and her caseload comprises complex civil and judicial review actions against the state covering challenges against local authorities, police departments, the Home Office and human traffickers.
The Ukrainians Welcome site aims to prevent trafficking by providing easily accessible information on every page as to how Ukrainian refugees can stay safe, listing details for the emergency services and the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline. It also details support services and other useful resources, from basic travel and housing advice to information on knowing your rights at work.
As the war in Ukraine began, and there was no structure put in place to receive and manage such a big flow of refugees, Roconect flew to Romania helping on the ground at the borders between Ukraine and Romania and and planned a National Awareness Campaign, to protect the refugees, in collaboration with the Romanian National Agency Against Modern Slavery.
Voice of Hope is a small charity working to reduce Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and, increasingly, County Lines. They provide training to all the groups which might come into contact with survivors and provide assistance to survivors.
Empowering Survivor Voices
This category recognises the truly remarkable impact of survivor leaders’ voices who have shaped the agenda in the sector and empowered others to do the same. This award also celebrates those in the sector whose work is consistently informed by the lived experienced of survivors.
Syed Rayhan Ahmed, Survivor Alliance
Syed has committed the last 3 and a half years to campaign and change laws and regulations on behalf of modern slavery survivors. As well as facilitating the change of research, policies and guidelines, Syed also works closely with survivors to discuss concerns, socialise, and give new survivors someone to talk to.
SPACE is a specialist organisation responding to County Lines and the national prevalence of (C)CE. Their ethos is to keep all children & young people safe from serious criminal, violent & traumatic harm. At their core is their child centered work believing that all criminally exploited children and their families are treated with respect and have the right to feel protected.
Breaking the Chains Project, Shpresa Programme
Breaking the Chains, a joint project of The Shpresa Programme and the Migrant and Refugee Children’s Legal Unit at Islington Law Centre, which works to improve outcomes for Albanian asylum-seeking children and young people. Shpresa Programme operates an empowerment model, encouraging beneficiaries of its services to become ‘Champions’ of those services and be part of creating change.
Ruby, Advocate for survivors of online child sexual exploitation with IJM
Since 2017, Ruby has shared her story with local media in the Philippines, and international media, to advocate for an end to this brutal form of human trafficking. She has spoken both nationally and internationally and taken part in global campaigns to raise awareness of online sexual exploitation of children.
Rebuilding Lives (Frontline Award)
This category recognises those in the sector working to enhance support for survivors. It considers work that takes a holistic approach to addressing individual needs and helps survivors rebuild their lives and strengthen resilience.
Valentina Spencer, Housing for Women
Valentina is a support worker at Housing for Women, and supported tirelessly on the creation of a new service offer for women escaping trafficking, and usually who are also in early stages of pregnancy.
Pawel Zabielski, Olallo House
Pawel is the Service Manager, Olallo House, St John of God Hospitaller Service, which offers refuge and support for survivors of modern slavery. Here Pawel tirelessly looks at the needs of the individual, offers practical help with health needs, education and training.
Gordon Miller, Ride For Freedom
Gordon founded Ride For Freedom advocate to end modern slavery. Ride For Freedom’s mission is to harness the universal appeal of cycling to raise awareness, educate and forge partnerships to end modern slavery, and to provide remedy to survivors.
Norree Webb, The Salvation Army
Norree is the Salvation Army Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery Team Response Coordinator. She has worked tirelessly since joining the unit, interviewing potential victims of modern slavery and referring them into the NRM. She coordinates all NRM referral requests that come into the Salvation Army, finding suitable First Responders, interpreters and referring agencies.
Statutory Services
This category recognises the outstanding contribution of statutory services who have gone above and beyond their legal duties to respond to modern slavery. Examples of work within this category could be an individual who has championed modern slavery or an organisation who has embedded a systems change approach.
Gemma Kirby, Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority
Gemma Kirby works at the GLAA and is a partner to the South West Anti-Slavery Partnership who raises challenges that victims face and continually promotes survivor-centred approaches and tools that the partnership should adopt to improve the response. She has been a leading voice pushing the regional partnership to work towards service mapping, places of safety and Victim Navigator-like roles.
Dr Laura Wood and Dr Sarah Boutros, VITA Child & Adolescent Health
Laura and Sarah were nominated for writing new practice guidelines which applies to all paediatricians in the UK which aim to introduce Modern Slavery as a significant health and public health concern, intersecting with many socially-located causes of health inequalities and inequity including poverty, lack of education and opportunity, racism and gender-based discrimination.
DI Paul Wiggett, Metropolitan Police Service
Paul has worked tirelessly within this sphere of policing for many years and has been at the forefront of safeguarding the most vulnerable children and adults in society and working to tackle organised crime.
The Multi Agency Essex Police and Border Force Safeguarding Team at Stansted Airport
Essex Police and Border Force at Stansted were part of a pilot scheme to ensure the better sharing of information between agencies when they encounter a victim of modern slavery or trafficking at the Stansted airport Border. This has led to better intelligence and information sharing to ensure potential victims are safeguarding appropriately and more informed decisions can be made by each agency.