CHILD trafficking victims have spoken out against Britain’s “distressing” and “retraumatising” immigration system, in a new report calling for ministers to ensure victims’ rights are upheld. 

The 12-month study is the first to draw on the experiences and opinions of 31 young victims of modern-day slavery and trafficking, whose voice researchers say, have been “missing from the debate” in Britain when developing mechanisms and policies.  

Young people involved in the study said they faced consistent barriers and challenges when navigating the asylum system. 

Many spoke of being left for years in immigration “limbo” while waiting for decisions on their claims, with some describing this agonising wait as worse than their trafficking experiences. 

“Young people highlighted how they [couldn’t] begin to grapple with the trauma of their experiences as they remain in a state of alertness to danger while waiting for an immigration decision,” the report said. 

The research, published today, was led by the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with the Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) charity. 

It comes amid worrying attacks on the rights of modern-day slavery victims by new Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has claimed that laws protecting victims are being “abused by people gaming the system.”

ECPAT says the difficult experiences of young people in the system laid bare in its report marks a “stark contrast” with Ms Braverman’s claims. 

Through the input of the child participants, the report puts forward recommendations for a new “positive outcomes framework,” which can be used by practitioners and policy-makers when interacting with and supporting young victims of trafficking. 

It calls on the ministers to ensure decisions are made in the best interest of the child, and that victims are treated as children first, as well as ensuring that the asylum system does not “retraumatise” young people. 

ECPAT UK CEO Patricia Durr said: “The barriers these young people tell us they face in achieving the positive outcomes we should expect for all children are evidence of an unacceptable failure of our duties of care and protection to child victims. 

“Despite those barriers, the young people involved were able to imagine better futures for themselves and other young victims. Decision-makers must listen and we must all work together to do more and better.”