Resource

This clinical guidance for delivering psychological interventions for survivors of trafficking is written by psychologists and practitioners from the Helen Bamber Foundation and Freedom From Torture. Working therapeutically with survivors of trafficking is often complex and emotionally challenging for both the survivor and the therapist, but it can lead to significant improvements for a survivor’s quality of life.

The government's new measures 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. These are men, women, children and families who have fled war, conflict, torture, trafficking, persecution and extreme cruelty. At a point when they most need safety and security, 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. Many will be denied the right to reunite with their children and other family members.

25 years ago, the landmark Palermo Protocol provided what is considered to be the ‘gold standard’ definition of human trafficking and mandated the protections and support for victims that governments must provide. It has been signed by over 190 countries. But two and a half decades on, many countries still lack the resources or the political will to enforce anti-trafficking laws effectively and, in the UK, we are witnessing an erosion of protections for victims of trafficking.