At least five Al Fayed survivors confirmed as modern slavery victims
The rulings include women trafficked internationally and within the UK, and one case found to have taken place entirely within Harrods.
At least five women who were abused by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been officially recognised by the Home Office as victims of modern slavery, following positive decisions made through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The BBC initially reported in April that Rachel Louw, who waived her right to anonymity, was the first woman to receive this recognition.
Since then, four additional women have also received conclusive grounds decisions, with more expected. These recognitions, which affirm their status as victims under the UK's official framework for identifying modern slavery victims, could bolster their credibility in legal proceedings and impact police investigations. The survivors, including those from the No One Above advocacy group, have described receiving the official recognition as "very significant" and "shocking," as it provides a formal acknowledgment of their experiences.
The Modern Slavery Act of 2015 defines human trafficking as arranging or facilitating the travel of another person within a country or across borders for the purposes of exploitation.
Brief written by urgent.news from BBC News's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
