Tumbling Lassie marks 10 years of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015

A joint event with GO Justice saw panellists reflect on the impact of the Act and the challenges that still lie ahead. By Callum Tonkins, University of Glasgow.

In 2025, the Tumbling Lassie committee celebrated its 10th year of fundraising. Set up by members of the Faculty of Advocates in 2015, the campaign has now raised more than £160,000 for charities working in the human trafficking and modern slavery space in Scotland.

In honour of the occasion, in October the University of Glasgow’s GO Justice centre and the Tumbling Lassie committee hosted a panel event to mark a decade on from the enactment of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. The event was sponsored by Pinsent Masons LLP.

The panel included:

• Steven Bertram (Detective Superintendent, Police Scotland)
• Paul Harvey (Advocate, Arnot Manderson Advocates)
• Angela Maxfield (Trustee, Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland/SOHTIS)
• Melissa Rutherford (Director, Rutherford Sheridan)
• Andy Sirel (Legal Director and Partner, JustRight Scotland)

The panel was chaired by Sheriff Maryam Labaki, chair of the Tumbling Lassie committee.

Expert insight

Following an introduction to the event by Professor Nicole Busby, participants were asked to respond to two questions:

(1) What impact has the 2015 Act had on your work, and the work of your colleagues? Did it achieve the outcomes or changes that you hoped for, when it was passed? Has it changed the way you approach your work?

(2) What challenges and opportunities do you see in continuing to combat human trafficking, and to ensure adequate protection and support for survivors of human trafficking in Scotland?

In their answers, panellists reflected on the role of the legislation in raising awareness among practitioners of the realities of human trafficking in Scotland, and its pervasive tendency to hide in plain sight. With this awareness has come greater appreciation of the scale of the problem, raising further difficulties in the fight against human trafficking in the face of an increasing number of referrals.

In light of this increase, panellists drew attention to the innovative structure of the legislation that allows the law to respond to developments in the practice of human trafficking. It is an unfortunate and bleak fact that the perpetrators of trafficking are skilled at what they do, and will constantly be developing their methods, as highlighted by Detective Superintendent Bertram. The ‘living’ character of the legislation, however, provides in Section 4(2) that all references to holding a person in slavery, servitude or forced labour must be construed in accordance with Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Thus, as that Strasbourg jurisprudence evolves – as it will to cope with new forms of slavery, servitude and forced labour – the 2015 Act itself will evolve.

Cycle of exploitation

And yet, there is often a sense that when a case reaches defence counsel, it may be too late. Melissa Rutherford drew attention to how many perpetrators of trafficking are themselves victims. Furthermore, Andy Sirel reflected that, given the scale and sophistication of the system of exploitation, it is often the case that people who have been given help may fall back into the vicious cycle of exploitation.

What is clear is that, while the legislation has done much to improve things, we are only beginning to tackle the pervasive problem of human trafficking in Scotland. Those working to end the cycle, represented by the panel, give us much to be optimistic about through their tireless efforts. The road, however, is long – and we have only recently started the long walk down it.

Tumbling Lassie's Diamond Ball

The Tumbling Lassie’s Diamond Ball was held at Prestonfield Stables on Saturday 8 November 2025. The evening featured a performance of the new Tumbling Lassie musical, from Ayrshire’s Theatre Alliance group, as well as a painting created live on stage, and the grand reveal of which lucky guest had a mystery Rox in a Box diamond necklace...  £43,000 was raised and split equally between the Tumbling Lassie campaign’s two nominated charities, International Justice Mission and SOHTIS (Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland).

The Tumbling Lassie’s donation was matched by the Big Give’s Christmas Challenge 2025, doubling the funds raised.

For further information on the Tumbling Lassie campaign, please visit tumblinglassie.com.