Britain ‘closing the door to child slaves’

Hundreds in danger of ending up in clutches of traffickers again

BRITAIN is refusing asylum to more former child slaves from nations such as Vietnam, Eritrea and Afghanistan – having denied refugee status to more than 275 non-European victims since 2012 despite fears many end up back in the hands of traffickers.

Between 2015 and last year, the government denied asylum to 183 people trafficked or enslaved as children, double the total for the previous three years, Home Office data obtained revealed.

The data, uncovered under the Freedom of Information Act, exposes for the first time the number of ex-slaves refused refugee status after turning 18. The rise in rejections may dissuade other young victims from coming forward, lawyers say.

Many teenage survivors are then deported to nations where they have no relatives and end up prey once more to traffickers, according to charities that say the spike in asylum denials belies Britain’s vow to lead global efforts to end slavery.

“It is incredibly shocking that the situation is getting worse for young victims of trafficking,” said Catherine Baker, policy officer at the anti-child trafficking charity ECPAT UK.

“They are being returned to countries where they have a high risk of being re-trafficked. If the government is serious about protecting child victims of human trafficking, it needs to ensure that they have long-term stability and support.”

A spokesperson for Britain’s Home Office said the country had a “proud history” of granting asylum to those in need of protection, and that it assessed each individual case on merit.

It is unknown how many young former trafficking victims are granted refugee status once they turn 17½, when their automatic right to stay in Britain as child asylum seekers ends.

“We should be ashamed as a nation,” British MP Sarah Champion said on Twitter.

In the country, 2 118 children suspected to have been trafficked were referred to the government last year, up 66% on 2016 and marking the highest annual number on record.

While about a third were British, many used as drug runners, hundreds were trafficked from Vietnam, Sudan, Eritrea, Afghanistan and Iraq, according to government figures.

Britain is considered an international leader in the fight against slavery having passed the 2015 Modern Slavery Act to jail traffickers for life.

“…if they fear being deported, they will be put off from coming forward and seeking help, and will instead disappear and go off the radar,” said Tamara Barnett, projects leader at the Human Trafficking Foundation. “That is a terrifying situation.”

More than a quarter of all trafficked children rescued and placed in local authority care go missing at least once, with Vietnamese the most likely to disappear, according to ECPAT UK.

A law proposed by Parliament’s upper chamber this year would allow slavery victims to remain in Britain for a year and receive a support package while deciding whether to apply to remain indefinitely in the country, or accept help to return home.

Britain is home to at least 136 000 modern-day slaves, Australian human rights group Walk Free said last month, a figure about 10 times higher than a 2013 government estimate.

Many child slaves are given to traffickers by parents hoping they have a better life in Britain but end up sexually abused or forced to work in cannabis farms and nail salons.

Yet those who escape or are rescued face a fresh struggle and fear when they have to apply for asylum as adults, said Ahmed Aydeed, a director at law firm Duncan Lewis.

“Then they have this fear of being deported or prosecuted,” Aydeed added.

Many of the dozens of young trafficking victims refused asylum in Britain each year are likely ejected due to convictions for crimes they were forced to commit in captivity, said Philippa Southwell of Birds Solicitors.

Child slaves discovered during police raids are often treated as criminals rather than victims, and face deportation once they have finished their prison sentences.

“The system is slow and letting down many young victims of trafficking. Britain is failing to identify forced criminality,” the solicitor said. – Reuters

MORE THAN 275 OF THOSE DENIED ASYLUM ARE FROM NON-EUROPEAN COUNTRIES