Female victims of human trafficking

1. Female victims of human trafficking
Trafficking victims often treated as illegal immigrants first, human
beings last. A lot of women have found themselves in situations
of extreme exploitation or torture, often following a desperate
attempt to escape abuse, destitution, and violence in their
country. Sometimes their stories arise from the very human
instinct of wanting to improve their lives. They trusted a friend, a
friend of a friend, a boyfriend or a relative. They believed they
were travelling somewhere where they would find honest and
meaningful employment. What began as a dream of a better life
often ended up as a living nightmare. And betrayal will quickly be
followed by fear, entrapment, torture, helplessness, rape and
various other forms of physical and psychological abuse. They
lose all hope and self-worth. They become slaves. The majority of
women who face this do so without a professional advocate and
have no means of challenging their exclusion from identification
as a victim of trafficking and therefore from any support.

2. Abike’s story
• The Modern Slavery Act will come into force on 31 July
2017. We welcome the act, which should prove to be
landmark legislation addressing slavery and trafficking
in the 21st century. On paper it appears the act will, as
Theresa May asserted, “send a strong message to
traffickers and will encourage prosecutions”. Abike’s
story is shocking, but what is more shocking to me and
my organisation is the existence of a lukewarm
identification and support system which denies victims
a real chance of recovery.
• Although Abike’s story ended on a hopeful note, this is
not the case for many women. Their stories, which so
often remain untold, are blemishes on our collective
conscience.