Women's Views on News |
| Modern slavery: when the nightmare begins again Posted: 17 Jul 2015 02:50 AM PDT Survivors of modern-day slavery, some of whom have endured horrific physical, psychological and sexual abuse at the hands of traffickers, are being abandoned and are at risk of being re-trafficked, according to a report published earlier this week. Vulnerable people, the majority of them women, the Guardian wrote, are falling through gaps in government strategy, which leaves them exposed to homelessness and returning to traffickers, according to The Human Trafficking Foundation report "Life Beyond the Safe House for Survivors of Modern Slavery in London". The report brings some disturbing evidence as to what happens to survivors of modern slavery after they leave safe houses in London and are left to an unknown future. Currently there is no clear picture as to what happens to survivors of modern slavery once they are discovered in the UK. Some disappear immediately, while others agree to enter the Government scheme for identification, referral and support – the 'National Referral Mechanism'. However, no one knows what follows after these vulnerable adults leave the initial Government funded accommodation, known as the 'reflection period'. The Home Office acknowledges that there is no obligation in the Government contract to monitor the outcomes for people who have received such support; either where they go or what they do to support themselves when the Government duty of care ends. In 2014 the Human Trafficking Foundation set out to look at what could be done to change the current system which, in effect, allows survivors to 'disappear', with no authority or individual allocated responsibility for their future safety and welfare. While conducting the research, the Foundation heard many distressing stories about the difficulties faced by vulnerable adults in obtaining access to even the most rudimentary support. Although they have escaped from their traffickers, have been rescued and placed in a short-term safe environment, the majority of these survivors lose any further engagement with the statutory services. This puts them at high risk of being drawn back into exploitative or abusive situations. And many professionals believe that the survivors they come into contact with are at risk of further harm and re-trafficking because of their high vulnerability. The report concluded that 'A significant proportion of survivors are failed after leaving Government funded safe houses in London. ‘However, this problem is not London specific, but occurs nationwide. Potential victims of modern slavery have been, and are currently being, identified across the UK as highly vulnerable and traumatised. 'They may be accommodated and provided with safety and support for a short period of time, but then they must find their own way to survive, instead of being supported and empowered. 'Unfortunately for some of them, this means either becoming homeless, going back to the control of traffickers or falling back into abusive or exploitative situations. 'The extent to which this is happening is unclear due to the lack of long-term monitoring, and therefore a lack of data-based evidence. 'The Foundation believes that we can no longer rely on ad-hoc initiatives or voluntary support from charitable organisations. 'The Government needs to address this issue and introduce appropriate measures to ensure consistent and coherent move-on and post safe house support across the UK.' And, it continues: 'This report urges the Government to review its approach to move-on support for survivors of modern slavery, including case transfer and monitoring, to ensure more efficient and successful integration of survivors into society. This would help prevent risks of further re-trafficking and re-exploitation. 'There needs to be appropriate long-term support in place, better understanding of the modern slavery phenomenon by Local Authorities, a more accessible gateway to further accommodation and support, clear guidance on mainstream adult social care, and a reliable Model of Advocacy. 'With this cohesive approach, survivors are more likely to recover and regain control over their lives, and become more confident and independent, which in turn will allow them to become active members of society.' The Foundation is calling for urgent action from central government and local authorities to remedy this issue; appropriate measures need to be introduced to ensure consistent and coherent move-on and 'post safe house' support across the UK. New legislation may look promising, but for the majority of survivors of modern slavery the gateway to accessing onward support remains closed. The report shows that the eligibility criteria for accessing safeguards under the Care Act do not fit with the circumstances of most survivors of modern slavery. To see the full report, click here. In its report, the Foundation has tried to provide a new approach to the post safe house scenario – the period after a person is compelled to leave the Government support scheme. Some refer to it as 'follow-on housing', but it must constitute more than this because the needs of survivors of modern slavery go far beyond the need for accommodation. Tatiana Jardan, the director of the Human Trafficking Foundation, said: "We believe that if no effective strategy is put in place to prevent re-victimisation by ensuring long-term support to survivors of modern slavery, the cycle of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable people may continue unabated."  |
| Stopping rape in war – the next steps? Posted: 17 Jul 2015 01:09 AM PDT
Thousands of dresses fluttered from washing lines strung across the football pitch in Pristina, Kosovo on 12 June and staff from Women for Women International joined the country's leaders and citizens at an art installation aiming to raise awareness for survivors of sexual violence from the Kosovo War. To mark the 16th anniversary of the end of the 1999 war, an exhibition has been set up in Pristina with the title “Thinking of You”; it featured 5,000 dresses to symbolise the estimated 20,000 women who are survivors of wartime sexual violence. The dresses, many of which were donated by survivors, some by women from around the world, transformed the stadium into a tribute, and created a space for women to raise the power of their voices on an issue that for too long has been nearly silenced. Alketa Xhafa-Mripa, a Kosovo-born artist and British national, told the Guardian the idea for this installation came as she listened to interviews given by survivors of sexual violence. They said their voices were rarely heard. An estimated 20,000 Albanian women – and some men – were raped by Serbian army, police and paramilitaries during the 1999 Kosovo war as Albanian separatists fought against the Yugoslav regime led by the Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic, who was indicted for war crimes in 1999. But few women have spoken publicly about the trauma they suffered, the Guardian continued, for fear of being ostracised or bringing shame upon their family in their country’s highly traditional society. Hanging 5,000 dresses out on washing lines, Xhafa-Mripa explained, is a play on the expression 'Airing dirty laundry in public', which is another way of saying 'To talk about your private issues in public'. In this case, Xhafa-Mripa said in an interview in London, "the laundry is washed, clean, like the women survivors who are clean, pure – they carry no stain." "I want those thousands of dresses to hit you with the reality of what happened and I want people to talk about it. "The installation can be grasped by anyone, no matter what language they speak," she said. "This exhibition was an important opportunity to remind our country and the world of the thousands of women who survived sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, and who are still waiting for justice," Women for Women International’s Kosovo Country Director, Iliriana Gashi, said. To date, only three cases of wartime sexual violence have been prosecuted, and survivors continue to face stigma, with few resources available for support. Last year, Gashi called for an end to impunity and for greater support for survivors of wartime sexual violence, and shared the experiences of women in Kosovo at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict held in London, which was hosted by Angelina Jolie and then-UK Secretary of State William Hague. But now it seems that the money Britain spent hosting that global summit was five times higher than the entire confirmed budget the UK has dedicated to tackling rape in war zones this year. And one year after the high-profile London summit concluded, with Hague pledging "to end one of the greatest injustices of our time", the Observer said that the initiative 'has had negligible impact' and that 'British funding has been withdrawn from vital projects'. Hague stepped down as the special envoy in charge of the initiative last week, although on 12 June he pledged to use his "unusual alliance" with Jolie to continue fighting sexual violence. Evidence of the continued targeting of women and a failure to prosecute perpetrators, the Guardian reported, will inform discussions this week as a new parliamentary inquiry into the "preventing sexual violence in conflict" initiative launched by Hague and Jolie in 2012 takes place. A House of Lords committee is to begin examining Hague's initiative as part of an evaluation into what the project has so far managed to achieve. According to the Guardian, Baroness Nicholson, who is to chair the inquiry, said: "The Hague initiative was magnificent, a brilliant beginning, but what now? What has actually happened since the summit? What actually did it do? And miles more importantly: "How do we move forward?" In response to the criticisms levelled, Madeleine Rees and Christine Chinkin, writing for the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), said it was wrong to look at short term indicators such as the number of prosecutions, the number of experts deployed etc. Results, they pointed out, will take many, many years. ‘Rape in DRC will not end before the conflict does and even then will continue unless attitudes towards women also change. ‘Legal frameworks have to be reformed and applied, mindsets transformed, social and economic systems put in place. ‘These can only be achieved by national governments and hence the need to bring them on board and to keep them committed, a job started at the PSVI Summit in 2014 and continuing through UK embassies. ‘Budget is important and funding has been used to support elements within the UN and also for work with local and international non-governmental organisations. ‘Greater coherence is needed in this to ensure that money is most beneficially applied. ‘To those who complain about the £ 5 million spent on the Summit, in relative terms, that was a tiny investment and it got over 100 States to sign up to commit to the cause.’ ‘The funding strategy,’ they continued, ‘should match what we know, and are continuing to learn, about effective prevention strategies. ‘There can be no serious prevention without respect for, and delivery of human rights, including economic and social rights and equality. State legal systems must incorporate these fundamental obligations and they must be complied with. And, they concluded, ‘those of us who work in civil society want this initiative to succeed and will give it the support is so merits. We also understand that there is no quick fix and that we all need to be in this for the long haul.’  |
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