This report draws on the frontline experiences of Labour Exploitation Advisory Group members, including Ashiana Sheffield, Latin American Women’s Rights Service and Bail for Immigration Detainees, to explore why and how victims of trafficking are being detained under immigration powers in the UK. It makes strong recommendations to government and calls for an overhaul to the system enabling this to take place.

It explores the main barriers to identification of victims of human trafficking prior to and while in detention, as well as the impact of detention on National Referral Mechanism (NRM) decision-making and on victims’ physical and mental well-being. It sets out recommendations on how to make improvements in all four of these areas.