Our research shows that, while reception centres did offer people immediate respite, the time pressure, conflicting priorities, and limited support options for survivors meant that they did not offer people routes to safety.

Survivors of trafficking, slavery and exploitation were often afraid of both the people exploiting them and the authorities. Issues of fear and trust were the biggest barriers stopping people taking up the help that was on offer.

People’s safety and protection was not always the focus of the reception centres observed. The risks of retribution from traffickers, the threat of immigration enforcement and the potential for people to be less trusting of the authorities when they left were evident. Most worryingly, most people taken to a reception centre during the research either returned to their previous situation or were arrested by officers from Immigration Enforcement.

The lack of certainty about onward support could leave people potentially more vulnerable than when they arrived. None of the people who attended the reception centres agreed to enter the National Referral Mechanism, the UK government’s system for determining whether it believes a person is a survivor of trafficking and providing support for survivors. And if people did not agree to enter the NRM, there were few other options offered.

People need time, space and support before they make significant decisions about their future. People leaving situations of exploitation are often asked to make decisions in a short-space of time, without access to legal advice or any certainty of the support they will receive after the National Referral Mechanism.

First Steps to Safety - British Red Cross, 2020 DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Case study: Tech Against Trafficking – Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative
News & AnalysisGood Practices

Human trafficking is a crime against humanity and a violation of the most fundamental human rights. No attempt to build a more resilient society can ignore the systemic issues that allow trafficking to take hold, since the ongoing existence of moder...Read More

Sustainability Reporting and Human Rights: What Can Big Data Analysis Tell Us About Corporate Respect for Human Rights?
News & Analysis

Since the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011, corporate respect for human rights has become an expected standard of conduct for businesses, discharged primarily through the process of human rights due ...Read More

TAGS: Global
Downstream due diligence: Setting the record straight
News & Analysis

The due diligence expectations contained in the OECD Guidelines and United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) have always, since their inception in 2011, been intended to take a risk-based approach that includes the full “value chain” of busines...Read More

TAGS:
Global Justice: Using Strategic Litigation to Combat Forced Labour
News & AnalysisStandards & Codes of ConductLegislation

Forced labor is a feature, not a bug, in today’s global economic system. Forced labor spans the globe. It involves multinational corporations. It is found in special economic zones—and war zones. And it is in everyone’s backyard. Globally, 27....Read More