11th June 2025 – New data obtained by After Exploitation, as part of a fact sheet on modern slavery and access to mental health support, shows that only 4% of potential trafficking and slavery victims access ring-fenced, Home Office-funded counselling for survivors of this crime.
Whilst survivors are able to access general NHS services, charities and experts with lived experience reported inconsistent experiences getting support in this way.
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by After Exploitation found that only 515, compared to 13,100 (4%) adults referred as potential modern slavery victims, accessed counselling through the Home Office-funded Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) in last year—down from 13% in 2020.
There are a number of barriers preventing survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking from accessing Home Office-funded counselling they are entitled to under international law,[1] including:
- Evidence burden: Charities and practitioners explain[2] that current Home Office policy only deems victims eligible if their trauma is ‘directly linked’ to exploitation. This is often impossible to prove.
One charity explained that a victim of both domestic abuse and human trafficking initially struggled to get counselling through the MSVCC because it was not clear which experience had caused her symptoms. - Paperwork burden: Victims are expected to gather GP approval, evidence of long-waiting times, and secure proof a new counsellor is willing to take on patients before they can access counselling. Paperwork is the last thing people in need of mental health support should be contending with.
- Help is under constant ‘review’: Survivors receiving counselling through the MSVCC have to keep asking their support worker to submit extensions on support, as there is no guaranteed minimum amount of sessions. This means survivors cannot always trust the recovery process, as there is always a risk the support will come to an end.
Whilst NHS services can be more appropriate for some survivors, there is no dedicated pathway for victims of modern slavery or human trafficking to be referred through, leaving many with months or years-long waits for appropriate care alongside the general population.
“When you’re referred into the NHS, it’s a long waiting list.
If you have someone like me who’s been trafficked for 11 years, it’s a long-term trauma. I can’t just wait three years. I have not even had my counselling yet”
– Expert with lived experience of modern slavery
“The fact that only 4% of adult survivors accessed counselling through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (MSVCC) last year is unacceptable.
Survivors should not be forced to navigate complex bureaucracy or prove the unprovable to access basic mental health support. Survivors deserve dignity, compassion, and a clear pathway to recovery. The Government must act now to make sure that all survivors can access the support they are entitled to.”
– Eleanor Lyons, Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner
“Through our campaigns and research, After Exploitation encounters many survivors who have had to advocate for themselves for months or years in order to secure the help that they need to recover.
Sometimes, the mental health support never comes.
Ring-fenced counselling for victims should be easily accessible, not designed to trip up survivors at the most vulnerable point in their recovery journey.
Expecting survivors to gather paperwork, persuade GPs to recommend their care, and provide evidence of long waiting times, puts needless strain on people who should be able to access support from the moment they come into contact with the authorities.”
– Maya Esslemont, director of After Exploitation
The government must urgently ensure survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking can access specialist therapeutic assessments and care immediately upon request. Ring-fenced counselling for victims, funded by the Home Office’s MSVCC, must be available without the bureaucratic burdens currently working against survivors.
Download the report
Data tables
| Year | Adult modern slavery referrals | Adult survivors accessing counselling via MSVCC | Survivors accessing counselling via MSVCC (%) |
| 2019 | 5,866 (source) | 272 | 5% |
| 2020 | 5,087 (source) | 679 | 13% |
| 2021* | 6,411 (source) | 565 | 9% |
| 2022 | 8,854 (source) | No data | No data |
| 2023 | 8,622 (source) | 485 | 6% |
| 2024 | 13,100 (source) | 515 | 4% |
*2021 data covers 1 January – 6 December 2021
Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted by Emily Vaughn of the Human Trafficking Foundation Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) outline the MSVCC counselling data from 2019 (pg 75), 2020 and 2021. FOIs submitted by After Exploitation outline the MSVCC counselling data from 2023 and 2024.
Please note that FOIs covering periods prior to 2022 ask for successful purchase orders made for counselling under the MSVCC, whilst the FOI covering 2023 and 2024 asks for the number of individuals accessing counselling. Any year-on-year comparison should account for the difference in wording used to secure this data. Despite limitations, in the absence of public data on the government’s performance in this area, these FOIs are the only available statistics on survivors’ access to counselling via the MSVCC.
References
[1] Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings Article 12. Accessible: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a75ae20e5274a545822d636/8414.pdf
[2] Report testimony is provided by independent lived experience expert Laura*, Anti-Slavery International, The Helen Bamber Foundation, Hope for Justice, The Medaille Trust, Snowdrop Project, and Dr Sian Oram of King’s College London and the Panel of Experts with Lived Experience (PELE) interviewed as part of After Exploitation’s ‘A can of worms’ report (2024).
After Exploitation 