Preventing slavery

SIR – Looking back on Anti-Slavery Week, it is vital that we do not lose sight of the need for a holistic strategy to end modern slavery and human trafficking. Stopping traffickers may prevent future victims; but if survivors are not supported, they are less likely to assist in prosecuting exploiters.

Criminalising “illegal working”, as the amended Immigration Act intends, may disproportionately affect victims of modern slavery, increasing their fear of coming forward to report their situation. They may be subject to debt bondage, or risk of reprisals against their family. The law will be another tool in the hands of traffickers to ensure their submission.

To eradicate this crime, legislative and procedural weaknesses that undermine a victim’s ability to escape their invisible chains must be addressed. Where the spirit of one law undermines another, the human right to life, security and freedom from exploitation must prevail. Dipti Pardeshi UK Chief of Mission, International Organization for Migration London SW1