One of the key models of care and support for victims of human trafficking is the need for comprehensive and coordinated services. In this chapter I will share my experiences in dealing with over 200 victims of trafficking, identifying that this coordination has been far from the case in practice.

As Manager of the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Consortium in Scotland, I dealt with a number of human trafficking victims. Following this, I was appointed Trafficking Services Team Leader in Scotland for Migrant Help. The Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) and Migrant Help are the two agencies in Scotland funded by the Scottish Government to accommodate and support victims of human trafficking. TARA are funded to support female victims of sexual exploitation, and Migrant Help receives financial support to assist male and female victims of labour exploitation, male and female victims of domestic servitude, and male victims of sexual exploitation.

All the cases referred to in this chapter, and the operations mentioned, took place between 2009 and 2012. I am aware practice and procedures are continually developing, however, documenting some of the issues will highlight problems than can arise without good collaboration. The majority of cases with which I was involved related to labour exploitation. These comprised various types of exploitation, including cockle picking, selling DVDs and CDs in bars, distributing collection bags for clothing. In addition, there was the more common fruit and vegetable picking, labouring, etc. However, there were also a sizeable number of domestic servitude and sexual exploitation cases, including female victims. I also dealt with organ transplant and forced marriage victims.

In my considerable experience, the approach to the recovery of victims has been haphazard and frequently lacked any organisation, with participants from various agencies being unclear as to their role and to the overall objectives of the ‘operation’. Often there are competing priorities among the agencies involved and a lack of any strategic overview.

This chapter will look at models of good practice, giving specific examples, examine interventions that have been less than successful, and look at areas where promising actions were hindered by poor strategic coordination.