Hope for Justice is an anti-human trafficking organisation working to uncover and abolish the hidden crime of modern-day slavery. As a non-governmental organisation (NGO) we gather intelligence and assist in the process of removing victims from exploitation within the UK.
Human trafficking is not someone else’s problem, it’s happening in our communities, in our neighbourhoods, in our country. Hope for Justice was created to be the practical solution to human trafficking with four areas of operation:
Investigate & Rescue
Our team responds to intelligence received from NGOs and community groups we’ve trained to recognise the indicators of trafficking. This work enables them to assist in the rescue of victims from situations of exploitation and transfer them to aftercare providers. Intelligence is submitted to the police and can form part of the picture where a larger organised crime culture exists.
With so many victims arriving from countries with disreputable policing, and so many others willfully instilled with a terror of UK police, the need for a third party is distinct and urgent. Hope for Justice builds bridges of trust between police and victim, and acts as a conduit for intelligence that would otherwise simply never see the light of day.
Assist Aftercare
Whilst not providing aftercare ourselves, we work closely with those who do, to assist in the protection and rehabilitation of victims. Our Aftercare Coordinator may suggest the most appropriate facility based on the victim’s needs and facilitate transport there. Follow-up phone calls and visits are made and the team tracks each individual’s progress.
This relates closely to our third aim; prosecution. 78.13% of the victims we rescue request our assistance in terms of advocating for them through investigation and prosecution.
Perpetrator Accountability
We believe that perpetrators should be held responsible for their crimes via prosecution. We work to ensure that victims are properly recognised as such through referral into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and we forward intelligence to the police to assist in bringing perpetrators to justice.
Our Legal Team supports the victim through the reporting and investigative process should they wish to report the matter to the police and ensure that they receive appropriate basic legal advice on all aspects of their case including any potential civil actions. This means perpetrators are held to account financially as well as through the criminal justice process.
Campaign
We campaign at a local, national and international level to ensure the laws on human trafficking work effectively to combat the problem. As we develop relationships in Whitehall our advocacy and legislative agenda is growing with over 100 ACTFORJUSTICE community groups joining our call for action and awareness.
We are an established part of the anti-trafficking NGO community and a member of the Human Trafficking Foundation, an umbrella forum chaired by Anthony Steen.
