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Home Office urged to reverse 'grotesque' decision to send child slavery victim back to country he was trafficked from

Exclusive: Dozens of leading children’s charities call on Home Secretary to reconsider verdict

Social Affairs Correspondent

Wednesday 31 January 2018 19:58 GMT

Stephen (far right) celebrates Christmas with (from left) foster sister Naomi, foster mother Davina and his girlfriend (Naomi Tomlinson)

The Home Office is being urged by leading charities to reverse its decision to refuse asylum to a child slavery victim which would see him forced to return to the country from which he was trafficked.

Nineteen-year-old orphan Stephen, whose real name cannot be revealed for his own protection, was trafficked to the UK at the age of 10 and exploited in a cannabis farm, where he was forced to endure dangerous conditions and regular beatings.

After six years, Stephen was found by police aged 16 and placed into foster care, where he began rebuilding his life by attending school, making friends and becoming part of his local community in the north-east of England.

But a year later, he lost his automatic right to remain in the country and applied for asylum. His claim was refused by the Home Office in December, meaning he now faces removal to a country he has not visited in nine years and where he has no family or support network.

Now the teenager is being backed by dozens of leading charities which argue his individual case deserves to be reconsidered and that, as a child trafficking victim, he should have the right to a “durable solution” as required by the European Directive on trafficking (2011/36/EU).

An open letter to the Home Secretary, penned by leading child trafficking charity ECPAT UK and signed by 29 charities and organisations including Barnardo’s and the Children’s Society, calls on Amber Rudd to reconsider the decision and reform the support provided to all children identified as victims of modern slavery in the UK.

Additionally, a petition calling on Stephen’s claim to be reversed has already gained more than 100,000 supporters and will also be handed to the Home Office on Thursday ahead of his asylum appeal on 5 February.

Page 1 of the letter from charities sent to Amber Rudd regarding modern slavery

The two-page letter from charities sent to Amber Rudd regarding modern slavery

Speaking to The Independent ahead of the hand-in, Stephen said: “I was so disappointed and upset about the refusal letter. I got the same feeling before when my foster mum died and there was no one who wanted to have me. I can’t imagine how I would cope with many terrible things if I am to be sent back to Vietnam.

“Luckily I’ve got so much amazing support from family and people. Family and people have shown me that I’m not alone. The petition is unbelievable. I’m so, so lucky to have so much support. People have saved my life. I own my family and people so much. I would never pay back enough for that.”

Naomi Tomlinson, Stephen’s foster sister, said the family was “devastated” at the Home Office’s refusal, saying Stephen had over three-and-a-half years become a “member of the family” and warning that he has nothing to go back to in Vietnam.

“We were devastated when he got the refusal letter. In our eyes there’s no reason for him to be deported. He’s worked really hard since coming to live with us to learn English, to learn British culture, to make friends, to become a part of the community,” she said.

“He’s so kind and so helpful. He’s the type of young person who would see someone old crossing the street and he would run to help them. He’s always talking about how he wants to work so he can help other people like people have helped him.

“We definitely consider him as a member of our family. The idea of him being deported to a place where he knows no one, has nothing, hasn’t been for almost 10 years, is just heartbreaking.”

It comes after The Independent reported on stark warnings from authorities that the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the UK’s official framework for identifying victims of human trafficking – was failing to protect young people both during and after the identification process.

Social workers, police and lawyers said children as young as 13, from a number of countries including the UK, were subsequently identified as victims of slavery and recorded on the national database, but then slid back into exploitation within weeks or even days.

Helen Goodman, Stephen’s MP and the shadow minister for foreign affairs, who will be leading a meeting of MPs on Thursday where Stephen will be speaking, said the Home Office’s decision was “grotesque” and urged for a more “coherent” approach to asylum decisions for slavery victims.

“I think it’s absolutely grotesque that the Government treats somebody who is a victim of trafficking in same way as somebody who has turned up under their own esteem,” she told The Independent.

“The police rescued him. They knew all the problems he had in his life. He has nothing to go back to in Vietnam – nobody and nothing to go back to. Whereas here he has a new family, a new way of life, education and all those things.

“The modern slavery legislation is not treating victims properly if we don’t take it into account when deciding asylum claims. The two laws need to be looked at together. It isn’t sensible to say they are different things. We need a coherent approach.”

Dr Geoff Debelle, child protection officer for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, one of the letter’s signatories, said the organisation ”strongly supported” the letter and agreed there needed to be a “care pathway developed for children rescued, or who escape from slavery”.

“This should include trauma informed therapy and rehabilitation. It should not involve deportation back to the situation that enslaved them,” he added. “This care pathway is a basic human right and deportation is a violation of this. This therapeutic approach should be enshrined in Home Office policy.”

Modern Slavery in the UK

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1/13Modern Slavery in the UK

Modern Slavery in the UK

NCA has launched a touring photographic exhibition which aims to portray the signs of slavery and exploitation. Entitled ‘Invisible People’, the exhibition will tour the country as part of the National Crime Agency’s campaign to raise awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking.

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Child trafficking

Child trafficking for sexual exploitation Traffickers use grooming techniques to gain the trust of a child, family or community. The children are recruited, transported and then sold for sex, often returning to their homes immediately afterwards, only to be picked up by the same people again. This is happening here in the UK, to migrant and British-born children. Spot the signs of child trafficking: Often, children won’t be sure which country, city or town they’re in. They may be orphaned or living apart from their family, in unregulated private foster care, or in substandard accommodation. They may possess unaccounted-for money or goods or repeatedly have new, unexplained injuries.

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Agriculture

Some workers in the farming sector, harvesting grains or root vegetables, tending livestock or fruit picking, are being exploited every day in the UK. Victims of this crime in the agricultural sector are often Eastern European men and women, who were promised a job by traffickers, or they could be individuals on the fringes of society, homeless or destitute. Through threats, violence, coercion or forced drug and alcohol dependency, they’re enslaved, working for little or no money, living in squalid conditions having had their identity documents taken from them. Spot the signs of exploitative labour in agriculture: Agricultural slaves often have their wages paid into the same bank account, meaning an illegal gangmaster is likely collecting all their wages. Exploited agriculture workers often don’t have suitable protective equipment, working instead in cheap sports clothing and trainers, and don’t have a different change of clothes from day-to-day.

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Food processing

Polish or Slovakian men are brought to the UK with the offer of employment and, after arrival, gangmasters seize documents, opening multiple bank and utility accounts in their names – but refuse to handover access to the accounts or bank cards. Hours are long and the work is gruelling and dangerous. Workers are abused and are controlled by threats of harm to their families at home. Spot the signs: Those exploited wear inappropriate clothes and often no safety gear – despite working with dangerous and life-threatening equipment. They may often have untreated injuries and be refused medical attention, and will live and work in agricultural outhouses.

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Construction

Labour-intensive sectors like construction, where temporary and irregular work are common, are high-risk sectors for forced labour. With new homes, offices and buildings being constructed or upgraded in great quantity, labour exploitation is the second most common type of modern slavery, after sexual exploitation. Spot the signs of exploitative labour in construction: Exploited workers are often not provided with protective clothing or equipment, and may show signs of abuse or carry old untreated injuries. Slave workers are also likely to work extremely long work hours for six or seven days a week without any leave. Photographer Rory Carnegie, said: “I wanted this image to communicate that despite being forced to live, eat, wash and sleep – where they’re working, in cramped and unhygienic conditions, that there is a human instinct to domesticate. I wanted to show how there is still hope and dignity in the most squalid and difficult of circumstances.”

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Maritime

In the tough maritime industry young men, often Filipino or Indian, Eastern European or African, are promised a better life, but instead find themselves in a cycle of debt and exploitation. Unable to read, they are offered a job, given papers to sign and begin working on a trial-basis, only to be told they have failed and owe money, and have to work more to settle the debt. They may be forced to work for long hours in intense, hazardous and difficult conditions. Photographer Rory Carnegie, said: “In the 80s, Chris Killip published a series of images called In Flagrante, and these images were at the forefront of my mind while composing this shot. I wanted to show the utter desperation of these men - how passed their limit they are. The broken floats and the entire decaying environment around him, I saw as a metaphor for his existence.”

Rory Carnegie/National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Forced prostitution

Each year, women from across Eastern Europe and West Africa are lured to the UK by the dream of a better life. Whether by fake migration services or unscrupulous individuals who befriend and then betray them, women fall into a dark spiral of sexual exploitation and forced, unpaid prostitution, unable to escape. Photographer Rory Carnegie, said: “What I really wanted for this image, was to depict how women are used as commodities, the complete control slavery has over them – the helplessness of having to sit and wait for man after man, until no more men arrive. I wanted the image to show how lonely and eventually numbing that experience is, and for that ugliness to be contrasted against the bright blue of the wig – a fancy dress item that we would usually associate with a fun event – but here is used as a disguise, perhaps of her own identity to herself - to further emphasise how unjust the situation is.”

NCA

Modern Slavery in the UK

Cannabis farming

The cannabis industry hides a dark secret in the house next door. Gangs bring young boys to the UK from countries like Vietnam and deliver them to a house where, once in, they won’t be able to leave. Forced to tend cannabis plants that fill specially rigged houses, the boys are often locked in and forced to work, sleep and eat in one confined and dirty room. The chemicals used on the cannabis are poisonous, and often victims don’t know where they are or how to get help if they do escape. The eyes, ears and compassion of the local community are essential. Spot the signs: Aside from the strong and prolonged smell of cannabis, have you noticed a house that looks unusual? Are the windows covered or usual entry points blocked? Buildings might be over-heated – in very cold weather is the roof without frost, because the house is being kept warm to grow plants

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Agriculture

Some workers in the farming sector, harvesting grains or root vegetables, tending livestock or fruit picking, are being exploited every day in the UK. Victims of this crime in the agricultural sector are often Eastern European men and women, who were promised a job by traffickers, or they could be individuals on the fringes of society, homeless or destitute. Through threats, violence, coercion or forced drug and alcohol dependency, they’re enslaved, working for little or no money, living in squalid conditions having had their identity documents taken from them. Spot the signs of exploitative labour in agriculture: Agricultural slaves often have their wages paid into the same bank account, meaning an illegal gangmaster is likely collecting all their wages. Exploited agriculture workers often don’t have suitable protective equipment, working instead in cheap sports clothing and trainers, and don’t have a different change of clothes from day-to-day

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Forced prostitution

Spot the signs of forced prostitution: Victims of this type of crime might appear withdrawn or scared, avoid eye contact, and be untrusting. Poor English language skills could indicate exploitation because it suggests someone else must be arranging the work. A brothel is likely to be an average house on a normal looking street, but may have curtains which are usually closed and many different men coming and going frequently.

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Maritime

Spot the signs of exploitative labour in the maritime sector: Victims might appear withdrawn or frightened, often unable to answer questions directed at them or speak for themselves,. They might be afraid of authorities like police, immigration or the tax office, and may perceive themselves to be in debt to someone else. They may not have been given proper protective equipment so can suffer illness or injury. Photographer Rory Carnegie, said: “Throughout the series of images, I wanted to juxtapose the harshness of the lives of slaves against bright primary colours – colours we traditionally associate with happiness or a feeling of wellbeing – to provoke a reaction. The image, as rich as it is, communicates how completely uncomfortable this person is. I wanted to show how his body is not his own, and how he has no right to avoid hardship, avoid the ice, or wear better shoes, he is utterly controlled.”

Rory Carnegie/National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

Food processing

Photographer Rory Carnegie, said: “This image communicates utter exhaustion and dejection. We can see how dire his situation is. He has no protective gear on, and we can see the extreme tiredness that leads him to a place of anxiety and distraction, where he doesn’t care about whether he’s operating machinery safely, or putting himself at risk.”

National Crime Agency

Modern Slavery in the UK

The exhibition comprises a series of large, freestanding cubes displaying images capturing snapshots of life within different types of modern slavery - in agriculture, construction, maritime, cannabis farming and food processing, child trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced prostitution. Each image comes with written commentary describing what the viewer is seeing, and information about signs which may indicate someone is a victim.

National Crime Agency

Chloe Setter, head of advocacy, policy and campaigns at ECPAT UK, said: “As Stephen’s case sadly demonstrates, being recognised by the National Referral Mechanism as a victim of trafficking does not currently guarantee children any specialist support or long-term leave to remain in the UK.

“This makes it very difficult for young people to build a stable life, access education and plan for their future.

“Moreover, having begun to recover from traumatic experiences of abuse, these young people are then often forced to return to countries where they have few, if any, support structures, and may face further exploitation.

“If the Government is serious about tackling slavery, it must treat its youngest victims better than this and reform the support system.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and every case is assessed on its individual merits.

“Protection is normally granted when a claimant establishes a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or their particular circumstances engage our obligations under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“In October 2017 the Government announced that the UK would spend at least £3m of the Modern Slavery Fund in Vietnam. This money will help to catch offenders, support victims and stop people falling into slavery in the first place.”

Read about The Independent's Slave on Our Streets campaign here.

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