In 2021, we are supporting Justice and Care (one of our key project partners) to develop and expand their outstanding Victim Navigator programme. This project sees specialised team members embedded in police forces across the UK, helping to bridge the gap between victims of slavery and the criminal justice system.
This story highlights the realities of modern slavery in the UK and the incredible impact of the Victim Navigator programme:
Alone in the North Sea, giant waves pound the fishing vessel. Icy rain, mixed with biting seawater, threatens to submerge the trawler as it crashes through the Scottish waters. Two Ghanaian men, Ben and Gabriel*, fight against the fierce weather, focusing on their work and wishing they’d never left home.
Offered lucrative ‘jobs’ fishing in the North Sea, the two men left behind wives and children in Ghana, with the promise of earning more than enough to support their families. But it was all a lie.
Ben and Gabriel were enslaved to work long hours in dangerous conditions, receiving next to nothing whilst making tens of thousands of pounds for their exploiters through the valuable shellfish they caught.
Malnourished and close to starving, the men were forced to beg for food from strangers when their fishing vessel was in port. For sixteen long months, they dreamt of being back home.
Until, earlier this year, they were intercepted at the border in Glasgow Airport without proper documentation and with no money, desperately trying to get a flight home. Here, with the help of the Justice & Care Victim Navigator based at the Airport, Ben and Gabriel were rescued. The Victim Navigator was able to provide the two men with emergency support and worked tirelessly with Border Force UK teams to secure their safe return home.
“Helping a victim return home safely and smoothly during the current climate presents its own challenges. We had the privilege of being able to assist in providing emergency support and longer-term support to our clients while we worked tirelessly alongside Border Force UK teams to secure a return home. We are so pleased to know they have been reunited with family.” – Justice and Care Victim Navigator, Glasgow Airport
Now, despite the pandemic and the need to wait for COVID tests, the two Ghanaian fishermen are finally safe at home with their families.
We are supporting Justice and Care to develop and expand their outstanding Victim Navigator programme. Together, we go further and faster to end modern slavery.
Let’s Do This!