‘If I go back, I’ll be murdered’: Victim of sex trafficking faces removal under Illegal Migration Act
“If I go back, I’ll be murdered. And it will be the government’s fault that I was murdered.” That is the stark assessment of Anna, a victim of sex trafficking, who faces removal from the UK under the new Illegal Migration Act.
Anna, not her real name, was trafficked to the UK from Albania, to be sold for sex. She is intelligent and highly articulate. She had a bright future. One that was cruelly snatched away by a criminal gang.
“I was all the time threatened. I was getting raped all the time,” she tells me, fighting back tears.
“And not even in Albania, but in every country that I’ve been through, I’ve been raped. I didn’t have an option to tell no, or to say anything because I was being threatened for my parents. I was being threatened for my life.”
Anna’s case is currently being considered by the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the official framework for identifying victims of modern slavery.
But she entered the UK illegally, using a fake passport. And as a result of that fact, under the terms of the Illegal Migration Act, she and others like her would lose the protections of the NRM and could face detention and removal.
Dr Victoria Tecca, from the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre, said: “The Act denies protection to potentially thousands of people who arrived in the UK by irregular means.
“In such cases, after being identified as a potential victim, rather than being protected, the Act orders people to be detained and removed from the country.”
The Salvation Army, which is supporting Anna, is one of the few organisations with legal authority to help victims of modern slavery.
Data shared exclusively with Sky News shows that last year, 3,533 people were rescued by the charity alone, a rise of 5% on the previous year.
But it estimates that for every survivor that escapes, another seven people remain trapped in slavery.
The fear is that by threatening survivors with punishment, the new law will mean even fewer people come forward.
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Major Kathy Beveridge, the Salvation Army’s Director of Anti-Trafficking
‘I’m really in danger’
Major Kathy Beveridge, the Salvation Army’s director of anti-trafficking, said: “We want to ensure the government are aware of the implications of the policies they are developing at the moment.
“That somebody’s life will be affected if they don’t receive the support that they’re entitled to.”
Anna’s message is clear. She may have entered the UK illegally, but not willingly: “Being here, it’s my last desire, you know? I’m being forced here. I don’t want to stay here. I really need to stay here because I’m really in danger.”
She fears being deported would put her life at risk.
Under the terms of the Illegal Migration Act, individuals who receive a notice of removal could submit a claim that removal to their home country might pose them serious harm.
If that’s upheld, they might be removed to a third country, such as Rwanda, rather than their country of origin.
The Home Office said: “Modern Slavery is a barbaric crime and we provide support to thousands of victims each year.
“We are reforming our response to modern slavery to make the system more robust and ensure genuine victims are supported.”
Ministers have promised to publish guidance clarifying the law’s modern slavery provisions in due course.
‘The government has my life in their hands’
Until then, Anna’s future hangs in the balance. Our conversation turns to her hopes and dreams.
She said: “Well, in my dreams I would be where I left my life in Albania. Happy, nice, really happy. But right now I don’t know because the government has my life in their hands. If they decide that I will get the protection, then at least I will breathe for the next six months. I don’t know what to say beyond that.”
For people in Anna’s position, even dreaming is a luxury.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.
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