Victims of modern slavery 'reject help for fear of removal'

Modern slavery victims are choosing to stay with their exploiters rather than access government support designed to protect them for fear of immigration enforcement, research has found.

- Diane Taylor

The independent anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, said the system was "deeply broken".

Two pieces of research shared exclusively with the Guardian found that, a decade after the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act, the landmark legislation designed to protect trafficking victims and apprehend their perpetrators was failing.

The first study, from Nottingham University's Rights Lab and commissioned by Lyons' office, will be published on Wednesday. Titled Refusal to Consent, it found refusals to access the government's support system for trafficking victims were at record levels.

Potential victims who come into contact with authorities but do not want to use the national referral mechanism (NRM) are recorded in statistics known as duty to notify. These reports have soared by more than 630% since 2016 - up from 762 in 2016 to 5,598 last year - a sign that victims are losing trust in the system.