A lack of cultural awareness and compassion in the UK’s support systems for survivors of modern slavery, along with gaps in service provision, have resulted in survivors feeling misunderstood and discriminated against, research has found.
The research was conducted by the Bakhita Centre for Research on Slavery, Exploitation and Abuse in partnership with Mary Ward Loreto, and was funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC), which in turn is funded and supported by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
The research, looking at Albanian nationals as a case study, found that there is no comprehensive approach to culturally competent care for survivors.
Many practitioners lack adequate understanding of the cultural background of survivors, with survivors reporting being treated as either criminals or defenceless victims by frontline practitioners, rather than being recognised as individuals with agency, resilience, and skills.
The research also found that survivors struggle to access basic services to which they are legally entitled, such as legal aid and translation services. With the delays to receiving support, and the translation support reported to often be of very low quality, they feel forced to attempt to communicate in English themselves, which takes longer and is met with impatience by some frontline staff.
Research respondents reported that all these factors add to their trauma and leads to reluctance to engage with support professionals, which may increase the chances of further exploitation.
One research participant said: “With interpreters, I have had negative experiences - in an interview […], the interpreter told me, ‘Briefly, please...’ Wanted me to hurry up, but my story cannot be told briefly.”
“With interpreters, I have had negative experiences - in an interview […], the interpreter told me, ‘Briefly, please...’ Wanted me to hurry up, but my story cannot be told briefly.”
Research participant
The research has also looked at the cultural contexts that lead Albanian nationals to undertake precarious migration journeys, often leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
It identified family values – a deep responsibility and commitment to looking after their family and community – as a key factor driving some people into dangerous migration journeys, in the absence of opportunities to provide for their families locally.
Family was also found to play a key role in finding work opportunities abroad and finding the money needed for migration, which often left people in debt and feeling a sense of responsibility to repay that debt, making them more vulnerable to exploitation.
In some cases, especially affecting young people, traffickers sent small amounts of money directly to family back in Albania, deceiving them into a false sense of normality, and adding pressure on people to remain under their control.
An Albanian research participant said: “Families do not want young people to emigrate, but they see every day that there is no future or hope here. There is no work and then they support them, even by borrowing for them, supporting them emotionally, even selling cattle or whatever they have, to make money and leave.”
“Modern slavery survivors have incredible resilience and skills, and they’re often driven by a strong sense of family values,” said Dr Carole Murphy, at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, who led the research.
“They want to be seen as people with something to offer society, but all too often they are treated as either criminals or defenceless victims. Modern slavery survivors need and deserve a system that treats them with compassion and cultural sensitivity – which will reduce the risk of them falling back into exploitation.”
Imelda Poole IBVM, President of Mary Ward Loreto, an organisation supporting Albanian nationals vulnerable to trafficking, which was a partner in the research, said:
“Family is incredibly important in Albanian culture and people leaving the country are often fearful yet hopeful and challenged by the responsibilities placed on their shoulders by the family dream.
“Family is incredibly important in Albanian culture and people leaving the country are often fearful yet hopeful and challenged by the responsibilities placed on their shoulders by the family dream."
Imelda Poole IBVM, President of Mary Ward Loreto
“The investment in one family member to search for opportunities to provide for them is a daunting prospect for the chosen one, demanding extreme courage and bravery. To find hope for a family, when there are few choices to do so locally, calls for the rest of the world to look on with empathy and awe. The risk is huge.
“The individual reality and situation will be different for each person. It’s crucial that if we want to effectively support people who were pushed into exploitation by the vulnerable circumstances in which they become trapped, we need to look beyond cliches in the public debate.”
Another research participant added: “They can’t put us all in one basket.”
The researchers recommend that modern slavery policymakers and practitioners acknowledge the significance of cultural awareness, and particularly these family values, when designing support services. They recommend developing training programmes for frontline staff, following best practice of compassionate care models commonly used in the healthcare sector.
Dr Victoria Tecca, Policy Impact Manager at Modern Slavery PEC, which funded the research, said:
“We're all different and shaped by many factors, including gender, age, where we’re from and what opportunities we have. This goes both for people who have been exploited and those who support them.
“When designing policies to prevent modern slavery and support survivors, the Government needs to account for these factors at both ends of that equation.”
“They can’t put us all in one basket.”
Research participant
“We hope that this research, can provide evidence to inform how to design culturally competent, compassionate and effective care.”
The research is partly based on interviews with predominantly Albanian, but also Nigerian, Pakistani and British modern slavery survivors, alongside frontline practitioners operating within the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and asylum system.
