Deadlines for disclosure: A survivor’s thoughts
I was under the control of my trafficker while pregnant, and I was denied using my employer's address for medical purposes. However, eventually, my employer had no choice but to take me to the hospital. They accompanied me and they spoke for me to ensure I did not say anything they did not want disclosed. Not a single staff member at the hospital questioned this dynamic.
My employer made me deny the care offered to me and forced me to ask to go home. I believe that it was these actions that contributed to the death of my child. When I had the opportunity to leave my employer, I told three different professionals about my experience (a charity, GP, and a midwife), but I wasn’t referred to the NRM until I sought further help independently.
So, what if I never had the opportunity to leave? And what are the options if professionals do not help to make a referral to the NRM in situations like this?
There are many barriers to disclosure, including a lack of knowledge, fear, trauma, and not knowing the laws or support systems in the UK.
Some people do not know that they have been trafficked. When they do recognise this, they need an opportunity to talk and seek support. Others may recognise that they have experienced trafficking but do not know where to go for help.
Introducing a specific timeframe for disclosing exploitation risks punishing some of the most vulnerable people in the UK for what is a well-documented and entirely normal response to trauma. It will reduce identification of victims and push them further underground.
Approaching services for support and being told that you are too late to receive help raises serious concerns, including:
Deteriorating mental health.
Increased risk of homelessness.
Increased risk of suicide.
Dangerous coping or survival behaviours.
People will find ways to survive. They may go underground, hide, become homeless or even turn to prostitution.
As survivors, we recognise that the government has a responsibility to protect the country. However, we believe that this approach will create more chaos rather than improve the system. It is unfair to place a timeframe on disclosing trauma.
What about people who are too frightened to come forward? Even when I experience sexual violence as a child I never told my mother becuase I was too afraid. Imagine having to disclose to a stranger.
Experiencing human trafficking is like being treated as though you are not human. Seeking help only to be told that you are too late to receive support is both inhumane and retraumatising. If time limits are imposed on disclosure, people can’t be expected to simply forget what has happened to them. They deserve identification, they deserve support and they deserve justice.
Written by the Changemakers
The changemakers are ATLEU’s lived experience campaigners, former and current clients of ATLEU who have survived trafficking and exploitation. They bravely use their experiences to drive change, inform ATLEU’s work and fight for greater access to support, protection and justice for other survivors.
Find out more about our lived experience experts, the ATLEU Changemakers.