Over 30 organisations say already basic and inconsistent support for survivors of modern slavery is being eroded
Over 30 anti-slavery and anti-trafficking organisations yesterday expressed their concern over an article in The Telegraph by Chris Philp MP claiming that the Modern Slavery Act 2015 is being abused to enable migrants to stay in the UK.
Philp, a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Home Office, wrote in The Telegraph this week: "The UK's modern slavery laws have inadvertently turned into one of the biggest loopholes in our immigration system, allowing illegal immigrants and foreign criminals to remain in the UK… Immigration lawyers know they don't need to provide any real proof – just offer a vaguely plausible-sounding story that is roughly consistent with known modern slavery patterns and it will get accepted."
In a joint letter published yesterday, After Exploitation and dozens of other anti-slavery and anti-trafficking organisations said the Government's attempt to restrict the already basic and inconsistent support offered to survivors of modern slavery was concerning.
"As organisations working, and advocating with, survivors of modern slavery, we are unanimous in our message: All victims of modern slavery deserve safe housing, and a caseworker, so that they can rebuild their lives after exploitation. Yet, organisations such as ours have watched with dismay as these basic forms of support have been rolled back under existing legislation and turned into debating points," the letter stated.
The organisations added that many modern slavery cases are not being followed up and survivors are being left to fend for themselves after fleeing abuse.
"Last year, 3,190 suspected survivors of extreme exploitation were identified but never passed on for support. Even amongst those fortunate enough to be identified as victims, only 1 in 5 (21%) received all of the support requested for them," After Exploitation and the others said.
The Telegraph reported on Tuesday that Home Secretary Priti Patel had "signalled a crackdown" on the abuse of the Modern Slavery Act.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Telegraph: "The Home Secretary will legislate to reform the NRM [National Referral Mechanism] so that it will only look at cases in the UK, ensure thresholds are not set too low, limit number of claims that come forward, and that fundamentally the NRM should be about recovery of victims rather than an open immigration route."
The Telegraph noted: "Data show that a record 4,171 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office in the second quarter of this year, up 10 per cent on the last quarter and a 34 per cent rise in a year. Of these, 1,130 – or 24 per cent – were Albanians."
Chris Philp said the Act currently allowed "absurdly low levels" of proof of slavery with "no supporting evidence".
After Exploitation and the other anti-slavery and anti-trafficking organisations warned in their letter, however, that the current system already struggles to consistently identify and support survivors of human trafficking.
The organisations said: "Rather than making life even harder for survivors of modern slavery, the Government must commit to further identification and support. All of us must be clear: Survivors must not be punished for speaking out."
An anti-trafficking social worker with expertise on the trafficking of young Albanians noted on Twitter: "The point of the Modern Slavery Act and the NRM was to ensure better identification of survivors of trafficking and modern slavery, yet when it does exactly that, the likes of Philp claim (with no evidence whatsoever) that the survivors are liars. You can't win with these people."