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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Sara Thornton

As the government’s anti-slavery chair, I see the Home Office failing – and victims suffering

A protest against modern slavery, London, 14 October 2017.
‘Confirmed victims of human trafficking have no automatic right to stay in the UK.’ A protest against modern slavery, London, 14 October 2017. Photograph: Stephen Chung/LNP/Rex/Shutterstock

Modern slavery is a violation of human rights, affecting millions of men, women and children across the world and in the UK. People who are vulnerable due to circumstances of poverty, instability or forced migration are taken advantage of and exploited in situations of unfree labour, trafficking and abuse. Women and girls fleeing war are particularly at risk and I am concerned about the possibility of trafficking for migrants as the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine unfolds.

Given all of this, you might expect that the UK government and the Home Office were doing all they could to help victims of modern slavery in Britain. You would be wrong.

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