Pathways Through Liberation - Revealing Survivors' Support Journeys Outside of the UK National Referral Mechanism.

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The 2018 Global Slavery Index estimated there were 136,000 victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in UK, and in its 2019 Annual Report on Modern Slavery the UK Government acknowledged that the scale of modern slavery in the UK is increasing. Across the UK, survivors are currently entitled to receive 45-90 days of support via the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the government-funded system which provides access to specialist support, with support varying between regions and greater flexibility in the duration of support in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Yet in 2018, only 6,993 potential victims were referred to the NRM (including children). Of those, little is known about what happens to the majority of survivors after they reach the 'cliff edge' of support at the end of their time in the NRM, but there is some evidence that survivors are experiencing homelessness and destitution, and are at risk of further exploitation (Nicholson et al, 2019). Even less is known about the outcomes and support interactions of those who decline to enter the NRM, or who exit prematurely. The ongoing journeys and outcomes for these individuals are not routinely monitored by most support organisations or by governmental authorities. Data is not collected on the numbers of suspected victims of modern slavery who choose not to enter the NRM or who exit NRM services prematurely, or their reasons for doing so. Our project will address this knowledge gap. Building on the work previously developed by research team members on place-based responses to exploitation (Birks and Gardner, 2019), and survivor support (Nicholson et al, 2019; Mead, Jordan & Nicholson, 2018; Toft, Nicholson & Cuypers, 2017; Trautrims, Nicholson & Boulghassoul, 2016; Murphy, 2018) this project seeks to gather rich data and provide analysis that delivers original theoretical insights and understandings of survivor support practice. We will be working with survivors to record and share their experiences of recovery and of their encounters with state and third sector services, and we have third sector commitment to facilitate interviews with survivors across the UK to reveal their non-NRM support journeys. We will focus on three distinct cohorts: 1) Potential victims who have chosen not to enter the NRM; 2) those who have consented to enter the NRM but exit NRM support services prematurely; and 3) those who have exited NRM services following the completion of the NRM support period. Via these interviews, and through an additional structured online questionnaire, we will draw out key messages and solutions from survivors' themselves, building an evidence base that will enable the effective development of existing models of front-line service provision. Our research will show what changes are necessary to enable survivors to recover more quickly, and provide them with the stability to co-operate in bringing their exploiters to justice, increase engagement with the NRM, and achieve sustained liberation. Outputs will include: A website which will hold rich new empirical data which can be explored with visual tools; survivor-informed recommendations for local and national policy-makers on service interventions that can help to promote sustainable recovery and reintegration; a closing conference to reach key stakeholders and capitalise on momentum for change; and academic publications on our findings.