Practice Area 3: Support

'Healing and recovery are facilitated through positive interactions between people, rather than practical assistance alone’.
– Safe Horizon's Global Collaboration Against Human Trafficking Report

The values that shape engagement and principles of trauma-informed practice should guide the provision of support to people who have experienced modern slavery regardless of the service’s orientation, nature or funding. As an example, individuals and organisations should work to embed the following principles in their usual practices when providing support:

• Person-centred approach.
• Understanding and respecting boundaries.
• Culturally safe and responsive, and gender and sexuality sensitive.
• Collaboration and partnership.

Person-centred approach

Supports should be oriented to the goals and aspirations of the person who has experienced modern slavery, and be focused on reconnecting the person with their self‑efficacy and self-determination.

In doing so, support services should recognise that the person is the expert on their own life and knows best what they need.

A person-centred approach respects and promotes individual choice and informed decisions. It is important that people who have experienced modern slavery have adequate information about their rights, services, options and possible consequences. The provision of accurate information will enhance people’s confidence and help them to feel more comfortable in accessing support services and making decisions for themselves.

A person-centred approach also recognises that each individual’s experience is different. Providing tailored supports that respond to individual needs helps people who have experienced modern slavery to feel valued, heard, and respected – not as a ‘case’ but as a person.

Person-centred approaches require individuals and organisations to exercise patience and understanding, actively listen and engage in discussions, and respect the time, experience and knowledge of the people they are engaging with. Together, these approaches support the provision of care that is free from judgement and avoids making assumptions about a person and their experiences.

Support services should be informed by the experiences of people who have experienced modern slavery. Service providers should provide multiple ways to ensure people who have experienced modern slavery are being involved and heard to influence service provision. Feedback can be incorporated in multiple ways, including through regular check-ins with clients; exit reviews; surveys; focus groups; and lived experience advisory boards/groups (refer to feedback loops).

Ensuring accountability
Accountability is a key component to ensuring trauma-informed approaches are effectively implemented and minimising harm. This also includes recognising how harm can be perpetuated, regardless of intentionality, should individuals and organisations not respect the boundaries and decisions of people who have experienced modern slavery, or should they not provide an ethical, effective, and trauma-informed response.

Understanding and respecting boundaries

A key part of trauma-informed practice is to understand and support the development of boundaries, both on an organisational level and for people who have experienced modern slavery. This helps to mitigate re-traumatisation and vicarious trauma. This can be done by: 

• Understanding the long-term impacts of trauma and the processes required to support healing and recovery.
• Understanding the limits of support and assistance that you or your organisation can provide, so as to not overpromise and under-deliver, which can then impact your ability to work safely with a person who has experienced modern slavery.
• Working with people who have experienced modern slavery to understand their preferences through engagement and establishing patterns that work within their set boundaries.
  • For example, some individuals might not want to receive calls and prefer to be communicated with exclusively through emails or text messages.
• Respecting boundaries once they have been set and being aware and adaptable should these boundaries need to change.
• Understanding principles of informed consent and ensuring protection of privacy and confidentiality.
• Ensuring that people who have experienced modern slavery understand any responsibilities or requirements that are associated with the provision of particular support services.
• Establishing boundaries between a person who has experienced modern slavery and the support provider to avoid dependency or triggering a trauma response, and to maintain clear and appropriate professional boundaries.

Transparent, open, and honest communication is key to establishing and respecting boundaries.

The choice to engage with particular services belongs to the person who has experienced modern slavery. Individuals and organisations should respect the individual’s choices and continue to provide support that aligns with their wishes. 

Should circumstances change, the boundaries that have been established by people who have experienced modern slavery need to be respected and considered when implementing change management processes. This change should be managed effectively and transparently, without impacting upon an individual’s or organisation’s ability to provide continuous support and care to people who have experienced modern slavery.

An example of changing circumstances
There may be changes in caseworkers and lawyers. It is important that information about why this change might be occurring, the kind of impacts this would have, and how long this change may last, is communicated to the person. Proper introductions and handovers should be set-up from former to current support staff. 

Refer to managing change checklist for more information. 

The Australian Association of Social Workers has developed Practice Standards and a Code of Ethics to outline principles and responsibilities integral to effective, professional and accountable practice. These materials have been developed primarily for social workers and may be relevant to any sector to assist with the provision of trauma‑informed support.

Checklist: Considerations when managing change

Ensure you have communicated clearly to the person who has experienced modern slavery, including:

• what changes are happening
• why these changes are happening
• how this might impact them
• proposed strategies you are considering to ensure continuity of care.

Ask the person who has experienced modern slavery if they have any input into the process of change management, and if they are happy with the proposed strategy. If not, you should work with them to either address it within your organisation or safely refer them to another organisation.

Ensure that support is provided during transition periods.

Ensure that no additional burdens are placed on the person who has experienced modern slavery.

• For example, should caseworkers need to change, ensure that there is a way to safely move the data to a new caseworker without compromising privacy or having to seek the same information again from the person.

Ensure that throughout the process you are checking in with the person who has experienced modern slavery to ensure they remain informed, supported, and comfortable with the changes.

• Remember that, at any time, a person can withdraw their consent to engage with or receive services.

Culturally safe and responsive, and gender and sexuality sensitive

To foster the person’s agency in the recovery process, and to minimise any risks of re-traumatisation, people who have experienced modern slavery need to feel that every part of their identity is valued. Individuals and organisations should create an environment that considers and seeks to understand all aspects of a person’s identity. This includes respecting and considering an individual’s culture, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.

Checklist: Building a culturally safe and responsive, and gender and sexuality sensitive environment

Provide and allow time for individuals within organisations to undertake cultural, gender and sexual orientation awareness training.

Develop safety frameworks for understanding, responding to, and accounting for culture, gender and sexual orientation.

Provide options for individuals who have experienced modern slavery to work with people from the same background.

• Should your organisation not have someone of a similar background, you may need to support a referral process to one that does.
• Note that not all individuals will want or need this option, and their decision should be respected and adhered to.

Provide tools that will allow people from different backgrounds to engage.

• For example, access to interpreter services.

Ensure that your organisation is aware of the local context of the country, region, or area that the person has come from, (if they have recently come to Australia) and understand the ramifications of their engagement with both support organisations and law enforcement agencies.

Ensure the appropriateness and relevance of services and other support options to the individual’s background and needs.

Collaboration and partnership

Recognising the value of collaboration is essential to providing a higher quality of care and a greater range of services. No single organisation can provide the multifaceted support that many individuals require throughout their journey.

Through effective communication and collaboration strategies, all sectors can: 

• With informed consent, effectively share information about people who have experienced modern slavery, without having to burden them with repeated questions and needing to retell their story.
• Work together to provide comprehensive wraparound and coordinated care and support.
• Share lessons learnt and strategies to manage particular cases for improved future care responses.

Fostering strong partnerships with people who have experienced modern slavery and colleagues within the modern slavery sector can support open and non-judgemental environments, as well as strengthen support networks, trust and rapport.

‘The sustainability of the anti-trafficking movement – and survivor support in particular – requires that all aspects of society accept their shared responsibility for addressing this egregious human rights violation, discouraging trafficking and exploitation, and helping survivors on their road to recovery’, 
– Safe Horizon's Global Collaboration Against Human Trafficking Report.

Case study – Cross-sector collaboration to provide trauma-informed support

A young woman was identified by a business as potentially experiencing modern slavery. After an initial engagement, the organisation confirmed that there are a number of indicators that suggest that she was experiencing domestic servitude. Employees of the organisation referred this individual to a specialist support organisation. To determine the relevant support required, the specialist support organisation held a case conference, including representatives from the business, to inform support needs and effective ways of working with the young woman.

While receiving support from the specialist support organisation, the young woman engaged with a number of support services to meet all relevant needs. The specialist support organisation also held another case conference with all support services upon the woman’s point of exit from the support program, to ensure that longer-term support was in place.

This case study has been provided by a specialist support organisation working to respond to modern slavery.

The principles outlined above will support individuals and organisations to establish frameworks and policies around how support should be provided in a trauma-informed way.

Practical elements that should be considered when providing support to people who have experienced modern slavery are outlined below.

Conducting risk assessments

Risk assessments in the context of providing support to people who have experienced modern slavery differ from the risk identification and assessments discussed in Practice Area 1 of the Guidelines. 

A risk assessment is a tool used to assess the risks that someone who has experienced
modern slavery is facing, in order to maximise their safety and access to supports.

It aims to manage risks by:

• determining the level of risk for an individual or family
• supporting connection to other services
• responding to any immediate danger
• supporting a person’s safety planning.

Safety plans should always be strengths and evidence-based, and led and informed by the concerns of a person who has experienced modern slavery.

Safety planning

Safety planning considers ways that a person who has experienced modern slavery can feel safer. Every plan is unique and should be tailored to suit the needs of each person. Visit 1800Respect's Safety Planning page for more information.

A strengths-based safety plan draws on the person’s strengths, support networks (including trusted family and friends), and ways they have successfully maintained their safety in the past. These plans should be developed through a process of collaboration with the person providing a response.

A safety plan is informed by risk assessments, self-reports from the person who has experienced modern slavery, and information received from other organisations who have interacted with the person. It should clearly identify safety concerns and include strategies to address each of these concerns. Individuals and organisations should support people who have experienced modern slavery to review their safety plans regularly, including following up on any incidents.

The safety of people who have experienced modern slavery is paramount. Not all individuals and organisations are equipped to conduct in-depth safety planning. In these circumstances, the priority is to refer to an organisation/agency with the appropriate tools and training to be able to respond safely and ethically.

The link has an example of a safety plan on forced marriage, developed by Anti-Slavery Australia.

1800RESPECT also has more information about safety planning on their website, if individuals and organisations would like to find out more. 

The National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also has information and factsheets on their website about creating and maintaining safety plans.

Ensure that you consider consent, confidentiality and privacy at all stages of support. Utilise the values that shape engagement, principles of trauma-informed practice and principles to embed trauma-informed approaches in support to assist you when working with people who have experienced modern slavery.