Resource

A new briefing from the Helen Bamber Foundation examines how trauma, fear and gaps in the asylum and trafficking systems can affect survivors’ ability to disclose their experiences and why proposed changes to credibility rules risk penalising survivors for the way trauma affects them.

A mother should not have to choose between getting her child to school and providing her family with essentials such as food, medicines and clothing. Yet for families living on asylum support, this is the reality. Asylum support rates are out of touch with people’s lived realities and based on an outdated and inconsistent approach, despite being reviewed each year. The limited routes to additional support are also burdened by bureaucracy and often difficult for people in need to access.

In 2025, the doctors, clinical psychologists, lawyers and caseworkers across the Helen Bamber Foundation Group have stood alongside our clients as they rebuilt their lives with safety, dignity and hope in the UK. Together, we supported 1,705 survivors of trafficking and torture, stateless people and unaccompanied young children fleeing violence and persecution in 2025. Drawing on over 20 years of expertise, we delivered training to statutory agencies including police forces, NHS practitioners and frontline support organisations in our 'Trauma Centre'. Through our strategic partnerships and evidence-led advocacy - and informed by the lived experience of the survivors we support - we continued to drive systemic change.