Into the arms of traffickers

Does the Home Office increase the risk of human trafficking by allowing lengthy delays to occur in its administration of asylum and trafficking decisions for unaccompanied and separated children?

New research by Christine Beddoe, freelance consultant and former Director of ECPAT UK, with the collaboration of Garden Court Chambers, MiCLU and young people from Shpresa Programme, examines the experiences and views of young Albanian asylum-seeking children in the UK as well as key professionals who work with them. It finds that the result of increasing Home Office delays is that highly vulnerable children and young adults are facing greater risk of exploitation and trafficking within the UK, specifically to labour exploitation and criminal exploitation. The system is in effect pushing children into the arms of traffickers. And, as a consequence, the UK government is failing in its legal obligations to protect the victims and potential victims of trafficking.

At the launch Christine Beddoe will discuss the research – a main research report and companion guide with views from the young people – and its conclusions. Christine will be joined by a speaker from Garden Court Chambers and some of the young people from Shpresa Programme who contributed to the research.

The research is part of a wider project: Breaking the Chains, a partnership project dedicated to improving outcomes for Albanian children and young people seeking asylum in the UK.

This project works with children and young people in the asylum system, providing them with high quality casework while listening to and amplifying their voices to share our learning about how best to protect this vulnerable group. The project also offers a chance to think strategically about the issues faced by Albanian children and young people, and to harness their energy and talent to provide peer support within and across communities.

Joining instructions will be published on the online event page prior to the event and sent by email.

Please email [email protected] with any queries.