Charities Warn Trafficking Survivors Face Punishment Under New Asylum Bill
Human rights groups have warned that trafficking survivors will be 'punished' if Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's latest asylum legislation becomes law. The Immigration and Asylum Bill, set for debate in the Commons on Monday, proposes stripping the legal duty to grant leave to remain to confirmed trafficking victims if staying is deemed necessary for their recovery.
Campaigners have voiced outrage over the plans, which Mahmood has described as the biggest shake-up of the asylum system in a generation. The bill also includes measures to remove judges' powers to decide removal appeals and create a means-tested £10,000 charge for successful asylum seekers.
Charities Call on MPs to Reject the Bill
Kamena Dorling, director of policy at the Helen Bamber Foundation, told The Mirror: 'The government has failed to explain how removing this protection is compatible with the UK's international obligations to trafficking survivors. MPs should reject this Bill. A system that punishes survivors does not tackle trafficking. It makes it easier for traffickers to exploit vulnerable people and harder to bring them to justice.'
Under the current system, leave to remain may be granted to recognised victims to support recovery, enable compensation claims, or assist with criminal investigations. Dorling noted concerns about the low number of recognised trafficking survivors granted leave to remain and added: 'Removing this protection entirely would leave some of the most vulnerable people in our society trapped in limbo, unable to recover from the trauma they have endured and living in constant fear of detention, removal or homelessness.'
Government Defends Reforms
The foundation was joined by Anti-Slavery International, the Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit (ATLEU), and ECPAT UK in sounding the alarm. A Home Office spokesman said: 'The Immigration and Asylum Bill will reform human rights laws to preserve protection for those in need, while bearing down on abuse of the asylum system. We have also recently announced that the rollout of new safe and legal routes for refugees will begin in the autumn. Our reforms will strengthen protections for victims – especially vulnerable children - of these awful crimes.'
Setting out her plans last month, Mahmood said: 'Britain has always offered sanctuary to those fleeing war and persecution. But this system only survives if the public trusts that it is fair, controlled, and not open to abuse. I will open new legal routes for genuine refugees, while closing loopholes that have been too often abused. My goal is simple: to ensure we have an asylum system not just today, but for generations to come.'
