Within the Helen Bamber Foundation research department, we have been working on an exciting, fully co-produced research project. Co-produced research is when both researchers with lived experience of the research topic and researchers with more “traditional” academic experience work together as team members on a project, with the aim of integrating and equally valuing both forms of knowledge.
Decade of Dignity - drafted by a coalition of anti-trafficking and modern slavery organisations, including the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group - sets out a bold strategic vision for the next decade. Built on four pillars - mandatory corporate accountability, a toughened criminal justice response, survivor-centred recovery, and a national strategy for child protection - it moves beyond piecemeal fixes to offer systemic, cross-departmental solutions.
The Helen Bamber Foundation collaborated with University College London to do a first-of-its-kind UK study, gathering firsthand accounts from human trafficking survivors about their experiences with oath-taking and how their relationship to the oath evolved over time.
This new report looks at the experience of survivors of human trafficking who have been exploited outside of the UK, and argues that all survivors must have equal access to identification, protection and support.
Over the past year, we have seen examples where a survivor of trafficking has been threatened with the application of so-called ‘Public Order Disqualification’ to their case. The impact of this can be devastating for survivors as they could be denied access to support such as weekly financial payments, housing, accommodation and independent emotional and practical help through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the framework for identifying and protecting victims of trafficking and modern slavery.
After 10 years apart, our client Rose was finally reunited with two of her daughters in London. But her eldest has yet to join her. She shares her story and asks: “How will this affect families like mine? Mothers like me?" Rose is one of hundreds of refugee parents in the UK whose children and families remain in conflict zones around the world, facing serious risks without the support of a parent or close relative. Refugee family reunion remains one of the few safe and viable ways for loved ones, particularly women and children, to reach protection in the UK.
Academics from Kings College London and University College London, in collaboration with Helen Bamber Foundation, conducted a systematic review of the quantitative evidence about how young refugees and asylum seekers are accessing mental health services globally to better understand this disparity.
The Home Secretary’s announcement that asylum support would be revoked for those who “have the ability to support themselves and have the right to work” (whether they have applied for this permission or have been granted it by the Home Secretary) risks pushing people who simply cannot work at that point in their lives towards homelessness, poverty and losing access to vital legal aid. This is particularly concerning for those who are traumatised or disabled, or who lack relevant skills and experience and cannot find appropriate employment
We conducted a study in collaboration with University College London to better understand how trust amongst survivors of human trafficking has been shaped by their experiences before, during and after trafficking. This study focuses on the lived ‘trust journeys’ of human trafficking survivors and includes interviews with 10 survivors of trafficking.
Evidence from research, survivors and Helen Bamber Foundation's clinical experience shows that the government's asylum reforms will not deter people seeking safety from coming to the UK but will instead significantly harm the mental health and social integration of those recognised as needing protection in this country. They will be left in a state of ongoing limbo and anxiety about being removed from the country, even once they have been recognised as refugees, and made to wait for over twenty years before they can settle here.
We conducted a small preliminary internal enquiry and spoke to 14 clients about their perspectives of research in general, experiences of research at the Helen Bamber Foundation, barriers to participation, and whether, or how they wanted to be more involved in the research. From this we shared our reflections on best-practice and a list of recommendations for engaging with survivors of trauma and human rights abuses in research.
The meagre financial support given to people seeking asylum is woefully inadequate to meet their basic needs. They are forced to live in poverty, which has a terrible impact on their mental health and impedes their recovery from trauma, torture and abuse. Free bus travel in London would go a long way to ensure they could live with independence and dignity.
