Two Albanian women who are survivors of human trafficking won a landmark UK High Court case after their children were forced to listen to their accounts of abuse during Home Office interviews because no childcare was available.
The women, both single mothers who were trafficked to the UK and sexually exploited have both been granted refugee status in the country.
Mr. Justice Kerr ruled that the authorities didn’t provide adequate support for asylum-seeking women resulting in further suffering being inflicted on people who have suffered.
The Home Office admitted to the court that they did treat female asylum seekers differently, but they still believed there was no right for them to be entitled to any remedy.
As per the current system, a victim of trafficking who has dependent children may receive a benefit that can be used to pay for childcare during appointments. If however, they receive asylum support, they are not given this benefit. The women state they were denied the trafficking support for their dependent children, meaning the minors had to attend appointments related to their cases.
The appointments include the women having to give specific details about the sexual violence and abuse they were subjected to, in the presence of their children. Concerns were raised that it isn’t possible or safe to conduct a psychological assessment with a child present. This would not only impact the mother, but it could traumatize the child as well.
The Court said that while it’s not the responsibility of the government to pay for childcare, it is inappropriate for children to be present during such sessions. Additionally, the system is discriminating against lone parents of asylum-seeking victims of trafficking.
Albania remains a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking, in particular the trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation. Systems to take care of women in Albania are lacking, as is access to proper psychological treatment. They also risk being rejected by their families, or trafficked by their abusers.
GRETA, the Council of Europe entity that deals with trafficking said there are “very real risks” of returning victims to Albania, and more should be done to allow them to stay in the country they have arrived in.
