Cuts to support for slavery victims in UK pose 'a mega risk of homelessness'

The government is slashing the financial support it provides to victims of slavery in the UK by nearly 50%.

In a statement to the Guardian, the Home Office confirmed that the weekly allowance provided to slavery victims will be cut from £65 to £37.75. Support for victims lasts for 45 days following confirmation that they were subjected to modern slavery in Britain.

The Home Office said the move was designed to align the allowance given to victims of slavery with the support extended to asylum seekers.

Anti-slavery campaigners said the cuts could leave victims of slavery unable to cover their basic needs as they tried to recover from traumatic and violent ordeals at the hands of slave masters. They warned that the withdrawal of support could tip many people into homelessness and destitution, or leave them back under the control of traffickers.

“Any cut in the subsistence rates for potentially trafficked and trafficked people stands to undermine their recovery,” said Kate Roberts, from the Human Trafficking Foundation.

“Keeping trafficked people in poverty will also undermine their ability and capacity to cooperate with the authorities to bring their exploiters to justice and legal systems to access their rights.

“If the UK is serious about supporting survivors of slavery to rebuild their lives, we need to ensure they have the economic means to meet their basic needs during the short recovery period they are entitled to … without this there is a real risk that, at the end of the period, they will still not be in a situation to move on and will instead slip back into exploitation.”

One charity, Hope for Justice, which provides pro bono legal support for victims of slavery, said that in 2015, 70% of their clients faced homelessness.

Labour MP Frank Field said the cuts jarred with Theresa May’s oft-repeated commitment to eradicating slavery in Britain and protecting vulnerable victims.

“The prime minister has dedicated a huge amount of personal and political commitment to eradicating modern slavery. Yet the Home Office has tried to slip through this ‘reform’ – a 40% cut in weekly income for survivors of modern slavery – without any scrutiny or transparency,” said Field.

Source: theguardian