Changes to our referral age
You might have seen that we’ve recently made a change to the support services we provide.
We’ve decided to lower our referral age from 18 to 16 years old, so that we can support vulnerable young people who have been exploited. But why have we decided to do this, and what does this mean moving forwards?
The reasons behind our decision
There are several reasons behind our decision to lower our referral age.
At the moment, children and young people who have been trafficked or exploited are usually guaranteed support through Children’s Services until the age of 18. However, upon turning 18, the type of support that is available changes, depending on the young person's circumstances.
This can create different cliff edges in terms of support, so that the transition period between childhood and adulthood becomes an extremely high risk time for these vulnerable young people. Often, these young people had lacked stability during their childhoods, but are then expected to be able to live independently as an adult, whilst dealing with extremely stressful situations such as ongoing police investigations or immigration cases.
Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK) has conducted research into the transition period between childhood and adulthood for children and young people who have been exploited. ECPAT UK concluded that, for young people, the transition period is an extremely high risk time, with “alarming rates of trafficked children going missing”. The research also highlighted that exploited young people are at risk of being re-trafficked, suffering from mental health issues or developing substance misuse problems. Finally, ECPAT UK has highlighted that this is the case for young people throughout the entire country, not just within South Yorkshire.
Lastly, in 2015, the UK government announced that every child and young person who has been trafficked should be provided with an advocate (now known as Independent Child Trafficking Guardians, or ICTGs) who could support and guide them through the transition process. ICTGs are supposed to provide advocacy, advice and crucial support to children and young people who have been trafficked or exploited. However, eight years on, there are no ICTGs in South Yorkshire, leaving a significant gap in support for survivors.
So, what happens next?
The cliff edges in support created by turning 18, the risks of the transition period and the lack of ICTGs for vulnerable young people in South Yorkshire are therefore behind our decision to lower our referral age. By dropping our referral age to 16, we hope we can work alongside Children’s Services and other statutory agencies to build up trust with survivors over the course of two years, between the ages of 16 and 18. This means that, upon turning 18, these young people are not suddenly left alone, but can access ongoing support from Snowdrop, for as long as they need, to help them safely transition into adulthood.
We’re now putting steps in place to develop our support services for young people who have been trafficked or exploited, and who are transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Cat, our brand new Child Trafficking Transition Lead, will be heading up the development of this area of our support services, so that we can reach as many vulnerable young people in South Yorkshire as possible.
There are so many amazing anti-trafficking charities in the UK that support adults. However, of these charities, only Snowdrop and Hope for Justice have so far employed a member of staff to address the support needs of children and young people who have been exploited.
Keep your eyes peeled for further updates about our work in this area!
How can you help?
Our aim has always been to support as many survivors as possible, so that they can recover, rebuild their lives and create a future free from fear. However, at the same time as we are looking to expand our support, our costs are also rising. Our stationery costs alone have increased by £10,000 since last year, services are closing and our clients need more support than ever before.
By lowering our referral age, we’ll be able to support even more survivors, but our costs will increase further.
You can help survivors of trafficking and exploitation build brighter futures from as little as £5.
- £5 can fund a befriender, reducing isolation for survivors
- £16 can pay for a survivor to have regular, trauma-informed counselling
- £45 can fund regular community activities, helping survivors find friends and learn new skills
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