Modern slavery victims need our help now more than ever
The Government has published its Illegal Migration Bill which will have a devastating impact on victims of modern slavery.
At present, all victims of modern slavery – regardless of their background – are entitled to specialist support such as safehouse accommodation, wraparound holistic support and assistance in accessing essential services to help them recover. This bill will remove that right for thousands who have found themselves being tricked, traded and trapped through no-fault of their own.
We are calling on the Government to remove the modern slavery system from a bill designed to tackle immigration because we do not believe that modern slavery is a loophole for people to enter the UK illegally.
Here are the facts
- Many people are tricked, traded & trapped into modern slavery by criminals as they flee from persecution and conflict.
- Just 6% of people who enter the UK on small boats access modern slavery services.
- Government decision-makers agreed that nearly 9 out of 10 people referred for help as victims of modern slavery were genuine.
- Successful prosecutions of traffickers rely on survivor cooperation. We know that safety and proper support is vital in encouraging survivors help bring their traffickers to justice.
Where we stand
For more than 150 years The Salvation Army has been fighting to seek justice for all people who face exploitation and abuse every day, as well as those who are at risk or recovering. We are responding across the world and the UK with practical support to help vulnerable communities become more resilient to the threat and to help survivors rebuild their lives.
The Salvation Army provides specialist support to recovering adult survivors of modern slavery who have been referred in England and Wales. We work every day with people who have been tricked and trapped into slavery while criminals make profit from them. Our support helps them rebuild their lives as they start to recover from their ordeal.
What you can do
Stand with survivors, stop traffickers
Proposed new measures will put vulnerable people at even greater risk by removing the protections offered by life-changing support.
Join our calls to ensure victims get the support they need and deserve, write to your MP today to ask them to protect survivors’ rights.
Write to your MP
Sign our petition
This petition calls on the Home Secretary to remove provisions relating to modern slavery from the Bill.
Sign the petition
We’ll keep you updated as the situation develops and share ways you can play a part.
What we’re doing
The rights of modern slavery survivors are under threat: it’s time to take action.
As a Church and charity fighting for social justice, we are campaigning on behalf and alongside vulnerable individuals at risk from possible changes in law.
The Salvation Army is shining a light on how proposed changes could have unintended consequences;
- Making it harder for genuine modern slavery survivors to prove they have been abused through slavery
- Strengthening the hands of the criminal traffickers who will continue to ply their evil trade.
