Resource

The Immigration and Asylum Bill published yesterday will significantly weaken the UK’s response to trafficking and modern slavery. It will deny protection, support and recovery to many survivors. It penalises survivors for their trauma by setting arbitrary deadlines for disclosure of painful experiences. This approach punishes survivors, will embolden traffickers and in doing so enable exploitation to thrive.

In a new editorial, Professor Cornelius Katona (Honorary Director of Medical and Research at the Helen Bamber Foundation) and colleagues raise two vital questions: Can a GP have sufficient expertise to give an opinion in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder and specifically on the impact of detention? And, can a doctor working for a charity be independent, objective, and impartial?

Alongside Freedom from Torture (FfT), we have succeeded in our legal challenge to the changes made by the Home Office to its 'Allocation of Asylum Accommodation' policy. These changes, introduced in February 2024, forced survivors of trafficking, torture and other serious forms of violence to share rooms with strangers.