This session will outline the background to ECPAT's legal challenge to the Home Office's use of hotels for children, provide a summary of the judgement, and then discuss the impact of the judgement on those children who were unlawfully accommodated in hotels. It will explore the negative impact of the policy on children and young adult's rights and entitlements and consider potential remedies for young people to rectify rights lost as a result of time spent in a children's hotel, such as access to leaving care services and compensation claims. Led by ECPAT UK social workers, this session will have a practice-based focus.

SPEAKERS

Imogen Chapman

Imogen Spencer Chapman is the Head of Operations, Training and Quality Practice at ECPAT UK. A registered social worker, with over 20 years’ experience working with people seeking asylum and refugees, Imogen is a specialist in safeguarding, child protection and service delivery for children and young people (0-25) in migration who have been or are at risk of being trafficked and are in the care/leaving care systems. She is a passionate advocate of a rights-based and trauma-informed approach to frontline and third sector service delivery. She has previously worked for the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice Centre, and Love146 UK, a charity that provided specialist placements to trafficked children and young people aged 16-25.

Leah Davison

Leah works for ECPAT UK as a qualified social worker. She is a SWE registered social worker who holds a PG-Dip in Social Work from Goldsmiths University and is currently working towards an MA Social Work. She has experience of statutory social work in a local authority setting, including with unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and in child protection. She holds specialised knowledge on the complex issues surrounding human trafficking and exploitation, including the emotional impact on victims, tactics used by traffickers and related vulnerabilities. She has worked in cooperation with anti-trafficking organisations and governments worldwide and in the UK, specifically to investigate and address the issue of trafficking from Vietnam to the UK. She has written a published report on the topic which was referenced widely in UK and global media including the Guardian, Radio 4, the New York Times, and helped positively shape public debate on risks to migrants following the Essex lorry tragedy. She also holds an MSc in International Development from the University of Edinburgh.

* This event is part of the Stand Up! Speak Out! Solidarity Knows No Borders Training Series 2024.

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