Survivors of slavery die waiting for their compensation claims to be awarded
/Trafficking survivors have died before receiving a single penny of compensation because of the length of time it takes to successfully get through the government’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) process, according to a new report from ATLEU.
Esio was sold for £200 to a criminal gang. For five years he was exploited and forced to live in cramped, squalid conditions with 25 other trafficked men before being dumped on the street.
He was refused compensation by CICA on the basis there was no evidence he had suffered a crime of violence. This was despite the fact the UK government had formally identified him as a victim of trafficking and that Esio had told CICA he had feared the gang would harm him, which should have been considered a crime of violence.
He died four days before his appeal was due to be heard by the First–tier Tribunal, after waiting three years for a decision from CICA.
The new report from the charity Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit reveals that 47% of survey respondents had experience of trafficking survivors waiting two to three years for CICA to determine their applications and award compensation, with 5% of respondents reporting delays of four years or more.
Other key findings include:
88% of respondents had experience of survivors giving up due to the length of time taken to deal with their application
60% of respondents had experience of survivors being refused compensation on the basis that they had not suffered a crime of violence
65% of respondents had experience of applications to CICA being refused because survivors’ had not submitted the application within two years
60% of respondents had experienced applications being refused on the basis that the survivor had not reported to the police as soon as reasonably practicable
67% of respondents said that they did not help survivors apply for compensation as they did not have the requisite knowledge or experience.
The report comes as the case of A and B v CICA reached the Supreme Court last week. In this case, survivors of trafficking with unspent convictions were prevented from receiving compensation. ATLEU intervened in the case arguing that victims who have been compelled to commit criminal acts by their traffickers should not be refused compensation.
The research demonstrates that CICA has little understanding of the nature of the crimes of trafficking and modern slavery or how these crimes affect traumatised survivors. This failure is compounded by poor data collection which means the authority has little information about the number of survivors who have tried to access the scheme.
The failure to ensure access to free advice and representation has meant that survivors can find the process of applying to CICA for compensation difficult, lengthy and traumatic.
Jamila Duncan-Bosu, Solicitor, ATLEU:
‘Applications to CICA are generally made by survivors who are unable to identify their trafficker, where the trafficker has no significant assets, or where the survivor is unable to face their trafficker in court. Compensation is vital to helping survivors escape the poverty that places them at much greater risk of further harm and re-trafficking. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme as it currently operates is failing survivors by regularly denying them the compensation that they are entitled to’.
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