Without a doubt it is going to make things worse, says Caroline Haughey QC.
A leading barrister has condemned the government’s proposed borders bill as “horrifying”, saying it will undermine progress made in helping victims of modern slavery and human trafficking.
Caroline Haughey QC, who helped draft the UK’s modern slavery legislation, said that “without a doubt it is going to make things worse.”
She added: “Sadly the bill undermines all the efforts, and I do think achievements, made with the Modern Slavery Act.”
The Home Office, led by Priti Patel, published a draft of the new Nationality and Borders Bill in July this year. It is currently at the committee stage.
The proposed changes to the bill have attracted widespread criticism for criminalising asylum seekers and potentially paving the way for offshore detention centres.
Speaking on Times Radio, Haughey raised concerns that the bill would affect victims of human trafficking and modern slavery by reducing the time avaible for them to come forward in.
She said: “One of the things that it’s driving at is reducing the amount of time a victim has to come forward and make the complaint that they are a victim of modern slavery, in order to be able to avail of something called the National Referral Mechanism.”
The National Referral Mechanism is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.
It is a process that the UK set up in response to being signatories of the Palermo Protocol – a UN agreement that drives the management and protection of victims of modern slavery and, specifically, trafficking.
Haughey added: “It insists that a victim of modern slavery, or trafficking, has to make that proclamation of being a victim within a very short space of time. That’s not how victims work. That’s not how victims are.
“Often they are too scared to tell you that they are a victim, because of what will happen not only to them, but to their family.”
Another obstacle for victims reporting crimes is a lack of trust in the British criminal justice system.
Haughey said: “They will have been told that the system is like the one back in their home country, when actually we are much better and more engaged with looking after victims.
“I’m in the middle of doing a large operation where we’ve just done trial three, and I’ve had victims giving evidence for a third time.
“Ironically, now they’ve gone through that process, their reaction is ‘This is the best thing that I’ve done because it’s actually helped me recover part of my story and my life that’s been stolen from me by my exploiters.’”
Alexandra Warren is a freelance journalist.
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