Slavery victims are suffering ‘extra years of unnecessary mental torment’ waiting for NRM and asylum decisions, Dame Sara Thornton tells the Evening Standard

 

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Dame Sara Thornton calls for longer-term support for modern slavery victims to prevent them becoming homeless or re-trafficked after leaving the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

She also calls on the government to stop awarding contracts to companies that fail to comply with their legal duty to publish a modern slavery statement.

 

"Slavery victims ‘left in limbo for four years’ on asylum claims, says watchdog" (Evening Standard, 17/09/19)

Sara Thornton, a former police chief who took over as the independent anti-slavery commissioner this year, said that some victims were left “in limbo for three or four years” before learning whether they would be given permanent refuge here.

Despite Home Office reforms two years ago to speed up the process, she said delays were getting worse — and often had “a very damaging effect” on the mental health of victims.

 

You can read the full article here.