Human Trafficking Foundation warns over slavery policy gaps

By The Press Association13th July 2015News EnglandModern Slavery, News England, Trafficking

Victims of human trafficking are being let down by the authorities and could fall back into the hands of criminal gangs, a report has warned.

The Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) said people released from “modern-day slavery” faced a lack of support after leaving Government-funded safe houses.

The report found there were “clear gaps in policy and protocols” for dealing with victims and called for urgent action from the Government and councils.

Suspected victims of trafficking can spend at least 45 days in a Government-funded safe house, but the report said support was limited once they had left.

In cases where there was “conclusive grounds” that showed the victim had been trafficked, support was limited to a 14-day exit period which charities and organisations involved in the HTF’s research “considered to be insufficient”.

The report said: “Currently there are clear gaps in policy and protocols for keeping survivors of modern slavery ‘safe’. As a result, the foundation believes that urgent action from central Government and local authorities is needed to remedy the lack of post-safe house assistance for survivors who are at risk of returning back to traffickers or falling into other abusive or exploitative situations.”

In a warning that victims could fall back into the hands of their traffickers, the report said: “The Human Trafficking Foundation believes there is a causal link between the way a person is treated after being released from the control of traffickers and the potential downward spiral back to a situation of slavery or exploitation.

“We have found that the current options for housing and support in the post-safe house period are not sufficient for survivors of modern slavery. If there is no effective strategy to prevent re-victimisation then generational cycles of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people may continue unabated.”

The report, which concentrated on cases in the capital, found “a significant proportion of survivors are failed after leaving Government-funded safe houses in London”.

But it said the problem “is not London-specific, but occurs nationwide”.

The HTF’s director Tatiana Jardan said: “We believe that if no effective strategy is put in place to prevent re-victimisation by ensuring long-term support to survivors of modern slavery, the cycle of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people may continue unabated.”