Human trafficking to be discussed in Inverness
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INVERNESS will host an event to discuss a governmental consultation on human trafficking.
The meeting will focus on the open public consultation launched in June by the Scottish Government on section 38 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) 2015, which addresses the duty to notify and provide information about the victims.
The Scottish Government is seeking views on plans to introduce a legal duty on Scottish public authorities to notify Police Scotland about suspected human trafficking and exploitation victims.
The gathering will run from 9.30am-12.30pm tomorrow at the Mercure Hotel.
Justice secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Human trafficking is a hidden and often complex crime meaning the true scale of the problem is unknown.
“Victims may be reluctant to acknowledge their own situation for reasons including fear of their traffickers, distrust in the authorities and a lack of awareness that there are agencies that can support them to safety and recovery.
“These plans will create a statutory duty on specified Scottish public authorities to ensure that the information obtained by Police Scotland is publicly available. This intelligence will ultimately help us to protect and support more vulnerable people.”
It comes as the Scottish Business Resilience Centre has issued an alert to businesses in the Highlands to watch out from cases of human trafficking, which it said may increase in sight of Brexit. It suggested a decline in the migrant workforce after the UK leaves the EU on October 31 may lead to an increase of human exploitation to fill gaps.
