By "Ellie Finkelstein, Freedom United"

Economic vulnerability

Lack of legal protections and fear of authorities

Low-paid migrants may not benefit from legal protections available to other workers, discouraging them from reporting abuse. In many countries, their immigration status may be insecure, breeding a fear of deportation and making them easy targets for traffickers. 

The U.K. government, for example, passed the Illegal Migration Act, a law that infringes on the rights of migrants, refugees, and trafficking victims by undermining modern slavery protections and breaching the Refugee Convention, making them vulnerable to being overlooked, detained indefinitely, and deported. 

Read our news coverage on the U.K.’s Illegal Migration Act: From self-styled modern slavery leader to abandoning trafficking victims – what happened?

No safe migration routes

The fact is, migration is human nature, and it is not only traffickers that are to be blamed but also governing bodies that have failed in their moral obligation to protect those on the move.  

On this International Migrant’s Day, show your commitment to protecting all people on the move by calling for genuine anti-trafficking immigration policies.

In solidarity, 

Ellie and the team supporting the Freedom United community