Six years on from the introduction of the UK’s Modern Slavery Act, activists are asking what has changed for trafficking victims
The UK’s proposed new immigration policy causes an outcry, migrant worker women in the U.S. file the first petition under the USMCA, and Seefar reports on the impact of COVID-19 on migration and trafficking in Nigeria’s Benin City.
The UK’s Modern Slavery Act was introduced six years ago this month, designed to create a world-leading structure and implement a clear process with which to tackle forced labour, bring perpetrators to justice, and support survivors. Yet many in the UK are now speaking out about shortfalls within the system, and questioning whether the act has delivered the support it was supposed to provide.
A recent announcement from the UK Home Office concerning a change in immigration policy, as part of the government’s New Plan for Immigration, has led to an outcry from organizations working with refugees and victims of human trafficking. According to a report by Sky News, charities have accused the government of removing a specific clause in immigration guidance that requires the Home Office to refer to modern slavery laws before detaining possible victims. And an article written by Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg for The Guardian states that, ‘Under the changes, people who travel to the UK to claim asylum will be assessed on the basis of how they entered the country, with those who arrive by “illegal” means no longer having the same entitlements as those who arrive via legal routes.’
According to the organization After Exploitation, ‘People recognized by the Home Office as “potential trafficking victims” will still be liable for detention as a result of their immigration status.’ In response, Anti-Slavery International is spearheading the Ditch Detention petition and campaign, and says that, ‘If the changes the Government proposes are passed, we will see prison-like treatment instead of protection and support for people who have already been trafficked and enslaved. Not only does this mean the Government will not keep its promises on tackling modern slavery and helping victims, but it means that fewer victims will speak out for fear of being treated like a criminal once they escape from their traffickers.’
Following the home secretary’s announcement, members of the UK parliament have 30 days to challenge this ruling before it becomes law.
Furthermore, in February, the European Court of Human Rights ordered the UK to pay compensation to two Vietnamese men who were convicted of drugs offences, despite signs they had been trafficked as children. The court said the UK had failed to protect potential victims of child trafficking and had violated two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, relating to forced labour and a fair trial. The government is considering whether to appeal.
The Home Office has also come under fire in recent weeks for claiming there is widespread abuse of the National Referral Mechanism (the UK’s framework for identifying and supporting potential victims). On 20 March it released a statement announcing that new reforms would mean that, ‘Child rapists, people who pose a threat to our national security, serious criminals and failed asylum seekers will find it harder to take advantage of modern slavery safeguards’ and that there has been ‘an alarming rise in people abusing our modern slavery system by posing as victims in order to prevent their removal and enable them stay in the country’. However, children’s rights organization ECPAT UK points out that nearly half the referrals for 2020 concern potential child exploitation, and that children who commit crimes because of their exploitation are treated as youth offenders and then face immigration detention and removal. It says, ‘We strongly object to reporting that seems to conflate people seeking asylum with offenders.’
We spoke to Kevin Hyland, the former Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner for the UK and currently a member of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, who summarized the current situation by saying, ‘It is an obligation of a state to identify and protect victims of human trafficking. All too often the measures needed to meet these obligations fall short and particularly so if you are undocumented or have no redress to public funds. This plays directly into the hands of the exploiters who prey on vulnerable and marginalized people. Immigration laws and policies must be designed to protect trafficked children, women and men. As Nelson Mandela said, “When the history of our times is written, will we be remembered as the generation that turned our backs in a moment of global crisis or will it be recorded that we did the right thing?” For those who are trafficked, if we do not support them as we must, our backs will be squarely and firmly turned – that must not be a path we allow to be followed.’
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
We invite you to participate in our survey on best practices for client-centered approaches to case management and counter-trafficking (CTIP) programming; our aim is to examine how services can be best adapted to the individual needs and vulnerabilities of someone victimized by, or at risk of, trafficking and exploitation.
Last week, migrant worker women filed the first-ever petition against the U.S. under the USMCA, in a pivotal moment for the fight to end gender discrimination against them. The women and dozens of allies are putting the new trade agreement – which promises sanctions for violators – to the test, and calling on the Mexican and U.S governments to live up to their obligations.
In a newly released report, Seefar looks at the impact of COVID-19 on current and future migration intentions, and patterns in human trafficking, in Benin City, Nigeria. The study explores changes to attitudes and behaviors concerning irregular migration, smuggling and human trafficking, and seeks to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of the support needed to address potentially harmful migration practices resulting from the pandemic.
U.S. Customs has issued a Finding against Malaysia’s Top Glove Corporation Bhd, based on conclusive evidence of forced labour in the manufacture of disposable rubber gloves.
‘How do we center survivors? What does centering really mean? The work that I do focuses on ensuring that survivors get to hold the pen that writes their stories,’ says our colleague Sophie Otiende, in a new article for Global Citizen.
Women from Sierra Leone are told they will have their pick of jobs, or that they are coming [to Oman] to get an education. Very few of them are told they will be working in [private] homes, Project 189 tells The Guardian.
Turkmenistan’s cotton harvest continued to use forced labour in 2020 according to a joint review by two Turkmen NGOs. The country is the world’s 11th largest cotton producer and exporter.
The Externado de Colombia University and the Colombian International Relations Network invite researchers, academics, and undergraduate and graduate students to participate with unpublished papers on international migration, foreign policy, and related subjects. [In Spanish]
Last week, Delta 8.7 hosted a virtual symposium exploring how gender dynamics affect the ways in which modern slavery is identified, and how measurement and survey techniques may themselves reflect assumptions about men and women’s work and exploitation. The recording is available here.
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