Appendix 4: Lived Experience Roundtable
1.On Thursday 16 May we held a roundtable with seven people with lived experience of modern slavery, with the assistance of the Human Trafficking Foundation. The participants were supported by staff from the Human Trafficking Foundation and Shpresa. The Chair, Baroness Barker, Baroness Butler-Sloss, Baroness Hamwee, Lord Randall, Lord Smith of Hindhead and Lord Whitty were in attendance.
2.The session was structured around four major themes: the Act itself, government strategy, victim and survivor support, and the ‘hostile environment’.
3.Participants felt that, rather than the Act itself needing significant changes, the implementation of the legislation should be the main focus of recommendations.
Victim and survivor support
4.Participants felt that the training of people who respond to modern slavery survivors was inconsistent and of a generally poor standard. They felt that both support workers dealing specifically with modern slavery, and individuals of other professions who might come into contact with modern slavery victims (including police, social workers, medical personnel, charities specialising in other areas such as domestic abuse, and local authority workers) needed to have better training in identifying modern slavery, and supporting survivors.
5.The participants did note that there were some excellent examples of positive support work by people of these professions, but that the majority did not live up to this standard. While training exists in some organisations, such as the police and local authorities, it was felt that this training is not followed up on or repeated over time. Participants shared their view that survivors’ voices are missing from existing training, despite efforts to follow trauma-informed practice.
6.The participants highlighted that the quality of support available was dependent on a ‘postcode lottery’. One participant noted that while local authorities have a duty of care to children who are victims of modern slavery, the level of care provided was variable. The participant felt that this was due to funding issues, and that there should be more funding made available to local authorities to support children who are victims of human trafficking. The lack of financial support for survivors who are unable to work due to their legal status was also emphasised by one participant, as well as long waitlists for mental health support or talking therapies.
7.The participants generally felt that the NRM was not fit for purpose. Issues such as waiting times of up to two years, the threshold for reasonable grounds decisions being changed, lack of communication during the process, pressure to speak to the police to help advance your case, and the sudden loss of support when leaving the NRM system were highlighted. One participant added that, in particular, 16-18 year olds were being failed by the NRM, as long waiting times for a conclusive grounds decision often means they ‘reach adulthood’ and need to consent to access continued support. The ‘desperation’ that could result from long waiting times puts survivors at risk of being trafficked again.
Hostile Environment
8.The participants told us that they felt recent immigration legislation, including the Safety of Rwanda Act, was having a negative impact on survivors of modern slavery. It was highlighted that the Rwanda Act could strengthen the ability of traffickers to prevent victims seeking help, due to fear of being deported to Rwanda. It was also noted that victims could be more hesitant to leave their traffickers and seek help due to thinking they would not be believed.
9.Groups such as Albanians were pointed to as suffering in particular from the hostile environment rhetoric, which has led to them being disbelieved and treated with disrespect, particularly in the asylum-seeking process. It was also noted that the conflation of immigration with modern slavery has led to British survivors being missed. The participants stated that they had never personally encountered anybody ‘gaming’ the system. It was also noted by one participant that there will always be people who try to take advantage of these systems, but they are a minority.
10.Participants discussed seeking asylum as a modern slavery survivor, and the difficult situations involved, such as being interviewed without support, having to frequently recount their stories, and accommodation situations leading to vulnerable women being housed in hotels with large numbers of men. One participant suggested that interviewers for the asylum-seeking process should be trained about modern slavery.
Government strategy and communication
11.The participants spoke about the lack of awareness of modern slavery and trafficking, both amongst the general public and amongst victims themselves. One participant shared their view that there should be an emphasis on raising public awareness through campaigns, in particular targeting parents so that they could identify their child as being a victim.
12.In terms of accessing support and seeking help, participants emphasised the important work of NGOs and charities in assisting survivors, and noted that they would not want to see these avenues of support being closed in favour of a single government-led body. However, they did note that they thought it would be helpful to have one body, or ‘umbrella service’ dealing with referrals and government services relating to modern slavery, which could signpost survivors and prevent them from being passed around between services. It was also felt that there was a need for accountability, which such a body could fulfil, allowing survivors to make complaints.
13.The participants spoke about the importance of definitions and language. It was felt that the current language and definitions used for modern slavery and human trafficking were too inconsistent, leading to issues such as different agencies assessing the same case in different ways due to varying interpretation of the existing definitions.
Other issues raised
14.Participants discussed the criminalisation and shaming of survivors, including children, who gain convictions due to being exploited and carry those convictions for life.
15.Participants discussed the difficulty of navigating life as a survivor of modern slavery with disabilities or health issues. The lack of sign language interpreters available and the difficulty of repeatedly sharing sometimes traumatising medical history with doctors were pointed to.
16.One participant highlighted that there was incompatibility between the Childrens’ Act and the Modern Slavery Act which impacted the support provided to children who are victims of modern slavery.
17.One participant spoke about the difficulty of police interviews for victims, particularly in relation to solicitor representation. Specifically, they discussed being unable to have a solicitor speak for them rather than having to relay their story themselves.