The UK's Response to Modern Slavery: Global Leader or Domestic Disaster?

英国继续被视为解决现代奴隶制问题的全球领导者，但国内的现实似乎大不相同。在过去两年中，联合王国通过了一项立法，从根本上改变了对移民和现代奴隶制的反应，将这两个问题混为一谈，并朝着对被贩运到联合王国的难民和被奴役者越来越敌对的环境发展。《2022年国籍和边境法》的出台是为了对移民和庇护、现代奴隶制和人口贩运作出规定。然而，它受到了联合国难民署、欧洲理事会和打击人口贩运行动专家组的谴责，并因其减少幸存者的权利而受到高度批评。该法案和《法规指南》中包括对进入国家转介机制实行更高的证据门槛，缩短“休息和恢复”期，以及实行公共秩序和恶意取消资格。《国籍和边境法》还重新引入了在年龄评估过程中对儿童进行身体检查和DNA检测的做法，这些方法以前因不可靠和不道德而被取消。最近，《非法移民法案》规定，任何通过非正规途径抵达联合王国的外国国民将没有资格获得现代奴隶制支助，并将被拘留和驱逐出境。此外，该法案还规定，如果个人被认为对公共秩序构成威胁，国务大臣有权撤销庇护身份或贩运身份。除了这些重大的立法改革，政府还开始实施购买驳船的计划，每艘驳船将容纳500名寻求庇护者，以及利用多余的军事基地来安置寻求庇护者。因此，本研究解决了以下问题：1.现代奴隶制幸存者的身体、精神和社会支持需求是什么？2.帮助或阻碍幸存者及其家人获得支持的因素有哪些？3.立法变化对幸存者支助有何影响，这种支助的有效性如何？4.立法和政策变化以何种方式影响了现代奴隶制的幸存者？研究将利用纵向观察和访谈，以确保那些有生活经验的人的声音是研究的核心。参与者将包括公认的现代奴隶制幸存者和未被承认的受害者、被安置的寻求庇护者、无家可归的外国人、怀孕的寻求庇护者以及正在经历家庭团聚过程的人。我还将与非政府组织（NGO），地方当局，边境部队和内政部进行访谈，以获得有关立法实施的专业见解。参与这项研究的一个关键利益相关者是雪花莲项目，这是一个为现代奴隶制幸存者提供长期支持的慈善机构。我将与雪花莲项目密切合作，以获得慈善机构收到的转介数量的相关数据，以便与认可和未认可的幸存者建立联系，并了解幸存者不断变化的支持需求，同时观察慈善机构如何适应立法变化。我还计划采访来自GRETA、欧洲理事会和美国国务院的专业人士，以了解国际上对实施立法改革的反应。最后，我将分析联合王国的国际义务，如《欧洲人权公约》和欧洲打击人口贩运行动理事会，以评估联合王国对现代奴隶制的反应是否与我们的国际承诺相违背。

The UK continues to be seen as a global leader in its efforts to tackle modern slavery, however the domestic reality appears very different. Over the past two years, the UK has introduced legislation that has radically shifted its response to immigration and modern slavery, conflating the two issues and moving towards an increasingly hostile environment to refugees and enslaved persons who are trafficked to the UK. The Nationality and Borders Act 2022 was introduced to make provision for immigration and asylum, modern slavery and human trafficking. However, it has been condemned by the UNHCR, the Council of Europe, and GRETA, and has been highly criticised for its reduction of survivors' rights. Included in the Act and Statutory Guidance is the introduction of higher evidentiary thresholds for entry into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), as well as a reduction of the 'rest and recovery' period, and the introduction of Public Order and Bad Faith Disqualifications. The Nationality and Borders Act also re-introduced the use of physical examination and DNA testing of children during the age assessment process, methods previously removed due to their unreliability and immorality. More recently, the Illegal Migration Bill sets out the intention that any foreign national who arrives in the UK via an irregular route will be ineligible for modern slavery support and will be detained and deported. Further, the Bill also sets out the ability for the Secretary of State to revoke asylum status or trafficking status if the individual is deemed a threat to public order.Alongside these significant legislative changes, the government have also begun the implementation of plans to purchase barges which will each house 500 asylum seekers across a 222-bedroomed vessel, and the use of redundant military bases for the accommodation of asylum seekers.This research therefore addresses the following questions: 1. What are the physical, mental, and social support needs of modern slavery survivors?2. What are the factors that help or hinder survivors and their families in accessing support?3. How has survivor support changed as a result of legislative changes, and how effective is this support?4. In what ways have legislative and policy changes impacted survivors of modern slavery? The research will utilise longitudinal observation and interviews to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are central to the research. Participants would include recognised survivors and unrecognised victims of modern slavery, housed asylum seekers, homeless foreign nationals, pregnant asylum seekers, and those going through the family reunification process. I would also conduct interviews with Non-Government Organisations (NGO's), Local Authorities, Border Force, and the Home Office in order to gain professional insight on the legislation implementation. A key stakeholder involved in this research is the Snowdrop Project, a charity providing long term support for survivors of modern slavery. I will work closely with the Snowdrop Project in order to obtain relevant data on the number of referrals received by the charity, in order to make connections with recognised and unrecognised survivors and to understand the changing support needs of survivors, while observing how the charity adapts as a result of the legislative changes. I also plan to interview professionals from GRETA, the Council of Europe, and the US State Department in order to gain an understanding of the international response to the implementation of legislative changes. Finally, I would conduct an analysis of the UK's international obligations, such as the European Convention of Human Rights and The Council of Europe Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, in order to evaluate the UK's response to modern slavery against our international commitments.