Home Secretary to welcome homeless victims of trafficking in London

Agata Patyna represents AB, a destitute Romanian national, in her challenge to the failure of the Secretary of State at the Home Office (“SSHD”) to provide her with suitable accommodation to protect and assist her as a victim of trafficking. Last week, the administrative court issued an interim order ordering the SSHD to house AB in London and she was granted accommodation on Friday.

AB was trafficked to the UK for sexual exploitation. After her escape, she was subjected to domestic servitude by a former partner. She is very vulnerable. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression and anxiety. She has a history of criminal offenses that professionals have linked to her vulnerability. AB has been homeless since February 2024 and has slept in a tent, despite professional concerns that this put her at very high risk of exploitation.

The professionals supporting AB requested that she be accommodated in London where she could remain close to her support network. The SSHD resisted this, relying largely on assessments by its contractor, the Salvation Army, carried out in circumstances where AB was unable (because of its vulnerability) to specify where it had been exploited. By the time of the interim measures hearing, the situation had been clarified and the Salvation Army no longer maintained that AB was at risk of harm throughout London.

The Court recognized that by failing to consider for itself the professional evidence of AB's needs and the risk of harm to her being transferred outside of London, SSHD arguably acted in breach of AB's fundamental rights and her duties towards victims of trafficking, and exposed her to misery and a risk of re-trafficking. The Court also found arguable AB's contention that even if suitable accommodation could not be found under the SSHD's modern slavery care contract, the SSHD had a separate obligation to provide accommodation in AB under Schedule 10 of the Immigration Act 2016.

Agata Patyna was tasked by Ben Goldberg and Mike Poulter of Turpin Miller. For more information about the Doughty Steet Anti-Trafficking Team, click here.