Trafficking victims rejecting UK government support because they fear being deported

Nearly 6,000 victims of modern slavery chose not to be referred for help last year, new data shows

Thousands of trafficking victims have rejected the government’s support, many due to fear of the authorities or of being deported, lawyers have said.

Nearly 6,000 trafficking victims rejected support from the government’s National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for victims of modern slavery last year, according to data based on research from the British Institute for International and Comparative Law and the Human Trafficking Foundation at the University of Oxford. Researchers found a range of reasons for this among respondents, including fear of traffickers, receiving support elsewhere, wanting to put things of being trafficked behind them and being reluctant to engage with UK authorities.