Swapping shackles for handcuffs

Potential victims of modern slavery are increasingly ending up in detention centres

MORE than 1,000 potential victims of slavery and people trafficking were held in immigration detention last year.

Home Office statistics - obtained by modern slavery group After Exploitation - show that potential victims of modern slavery are increasingly being caught up in the immigration system.

In 2019 there were 1,256 potential victims held in detention - as well as 46 who were conclusively determined to have been a victim of modern slavery.

That was up from 914 potential

victims and 106 definite victims in 2018, and 410 potential victims and 225 definite victims in 2017.

Charities warned that the figures show that the government is prioritising immigration control over supporting victims.

Kate Roberts, Anti Slavery International’s UK & EU programme manager, said: “In prioritising immigration control over supporting victims of crime, the UK risks playing into the hands of traffickers.

“Survivors of trafficking regularly tell us that their exploiters use the threat of immigration detention to control them.

“Instead of being recognised as a victim of crime, trafficked people are locked away with the prospect of immigration removal.

“In practice, it means survivors often won’t be able to support prosecutions against their trafficker or access compensation for their ordeal.”

Modern slavery can include forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation or being forced into criminal activity.

Maya Esslemont, director of After Exploitation, said: “Victims of slavery are often held by their abusers in restrictive, psychologically damaging conditions.

“We are deeply concerned that thousands of people, who should have been supported as victims of crime, were instead punished further due to their immigration status.

“It is unacceptable that since our initial findings in 2019 were released, no meaningful safeguards have been put in place to prevent the detention of slavery survivors.”

Potential victims of modern slavery can be identified in a number of different ways.

That can include asylum screening units, border force checks, school staff, police and local councils.

Once identified, victims are referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which determines if they are actually a victim.

Once referred, it is assesed whether there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect that they are a victim of modern slavery.

They are then eventually assessed again to see whether there are “conclusive grounds” to think that they are a victim of modern slavery.

The Home Office figures show those people who spent time in detention in the last three years who had received a positive reasonable or conclusive grounds decision at any point.

That means it could include individuals referred after their release from detention.

It shows people held in detention at any time during the year - meaning detention may start and/or end outside of the period.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “Detention is an important part of the immigration system – but it must be fair, dignified and protect the most vulnerable.

“We have made significant improvements to our approach in recent years, including strengthening the safeguards in place which underpin detention decisions.

“This means vulnerable people are only detained when the immigration factors outweigh the risk of any potential harm to the individual.”