*Names in the case below have been changed to maintain confidentiality.
When Flora was finally granted refugee status in August 2019, it was the end of a long struggle to be recognised and accepted as a victim of modern day slavery and trafficking by the Home Office.
Flora’s early life had few advantages. She was born to a single mother in rural Albania, a region where strict family traditions are observed. Her mother was ostracised and they both left for Italy when Flora was 12 years old. Her mother worked hard to keep a roof over their heads but when Flora was 16, her mother suffered a severe accident, leaving her paralysed. She became reliant on her boyfriend’s care and married him. Flora had a difficult relationship with her stepfather and felt compelled to leave home.
Initially things went well. Flora found a good job, working in customer services at the Press Office. However, when she was made redundant, Flora was left in a very vulnerable situation – unable to find work and at risk of homelessness. She accepted what she believed was a job offer in a restaurant from a fellow Albanian but on her first day she was kidnapped, drugged and raped. What followed were horrific months of forced prostitution by her kidnapper.
Eventually, Flora escaped and returned to Albania where she met her partner and tried to start a new life. Her trafficker managed to trace her and attacked them both. They then fled and travelled through a number of European countries pursued by her trafficker, before arriving in the UK. The pair claimed asylum and were immediately detained.
When we encountered Flora at IRC Yarl’s Wood, she was noticeably distressed and displaying symptoms of PTSD. Her recall was also affected. Although Flora had informed the Home Office that she was uncertain of some dates, the mistakes that she initially made in recording the date of her escape from her trafficker, encroached on all the Home Office’s decision-making for the next two years. She was refused asylum and received a negative trafficking decision.
We succeeded in obtaining her release on bail to a safe address and obtained a psychiatric assessment confirming Flora’s PTSD diagnosis and need for treatment. Nonetheless, her asylum appeal was dismissed for the same reasons of credibility.
Permission for judicial review of the trafficking decision was refused. The application was then pursued to the Court of Appeal with both solicitor and counsel acting pro bono. Legal aid was continuously refused for Flora’s case, despite three applications being made over the course of about five months.
We simultaneously sought permission to appeal the First-tier Tribunal’s dismissal of her asylum claim. The appeal was based on the fact that the FtT judge’s decision was significantly flawed, especially in relation to the treatment of the medical evidence from a qualified psychiatrist, which supported the appellant’s credibility. The Upper Tribunal agreed with us, found errors of law and remitted her case to the First-tier Tribunal, where her trafficking claim was also reconsidered. The judge concluded that the Home Office actually raised very few credibility issues, and that Flora and her partner had been consistent with their accounts throughout, except in relation to a single date.
The judge agreed that her medical evidence confirmed PTSD and depression, and that sufferers of PTSD are known to find it hard to recollect events. He also agreed that factors which increase the risk on return to Albania, included the social and economic status of the family, and in particular mental health. Flora had started her life with the stigma of being born out of wedlock, and thus her background and mental health issues meant that she would face a significant risk of being re-trafficked within Albania, as well as social persecution.
Flora’s case demonstrates the hurdles that victims of trafficking have to overcome to secure international protection. Often coming from disadvantaged or violent backgrounds, they start out with an enhanced risk of being exploited as they try to escape difficult situations. They subsequently face a culture in which any single mistake is seized upon as evidence of poor credibility, rather than evidence of illness or trauma.
Flora’s struggle to be accepted as a victim of trafficking and of her circumstances ended nearly 3 years after it began. Her reaction upon finding out she had been granted refugee status was one that we will never forget. The hard work and tenacity of her legal representatives ultimately paid off.
Flora’s dedicated legal team included immigration solicitor Nazia Khan with Grace Capel and Emma Fitzsimmons of Garden Court Chambers as counsel.
Co-authors of this article Nazia Khan and Director Zofia Duszynksa are based in the Immigration department of Duncan Lewis’ Harrow office.
About Nazia Khan
Nazia is a solicitor in the Immigration department working under the supervision of Zofia Duszynksa. Nazia specialises in civil litigation and frequently represents clients at the High Court in their judicial review matters. She also takes on a wide range of immigration related cases.
To contact Nazia directly call 020 3114 1324 or email naziak@duncanlewis.com
About Zofia Duszynksa
Zofia is a director in the Immigration department where she supervises a team of solicitors and caseworkers. Zofia specialises in asylum work, representing victims of torture, human trafficking and gender-based persecution, as well as those excluded from the protection of the Refugee Convention.
To contact Zofia directly call 020 3114 1188 or email zofiad@duncanlewis.com