Safety from any Trafficker
or Other Abusers

Mimi's explains the history of the UK Domestic Workers' Visa, and how the current situation is unsafe

We are on a clock and all the time we have fear, tick tock tick tock: In the year 2012, the UK Government removed the rights attached to the UK Domestic Worker visa.

Before 2012, domestic workers had the right to renew their visa, the right to eventual settlement and British citizenship. Since the change, domestic workers have only six months to stay in the UK. In 2015 they obtained the right to change their employer which is vital to ensure they are not in the power of one employer who could exploit them. However, they would have to try to change employer very quickly, and after only six months they will become undocumented in the UK and therefore lose their right to work.

What we explain all the time in our campaign is that no decent employer is going to hire a domestic worker within this short term period, unless they are an abusive employer who will take advantage of the workers' vulnerability. This happens a lot and workers are hidden in abusive, private households. If we are referred to the NRM after the six months, we lose our right to work. So many domestic workers are trapped in exploitation in the UK because they must send needed money back to their families.

Shandra Woworuntu, international survivor leader, on work related to safety of survivors

"It is important to have survivor leaders professionally employed in criminal justice systems as independent expert consultants, victim support advocates and victim navigators. I work as an expert consultant on organized crime and illicit ‘massage parlors’ for Attorney General hearings in the USA, and I also work ‘on the ground’ with police and prosecutors. In the course of my work I have helped to close down many brothels in the USA in collaboration with police, and I have also undertaken vital outreach work to help women who are, or have been, trapped in situations of sexual exploitation. This includes providing individual support throughout criminal investigation, prosecution, and vital follow up after a case has concluded. Survivor Leaders can understand the specific needs of victims: we are trusted by survivors, so we can provide support, guidance, mentorship and empowerment. We can help survivors to pursue justice against their traffickers, and by securing convictions, we prevent other adults and children being victimized.

When survivor leaders act as consultant experts, it supports survivors to feel more confident about providing their own witness testimony. Survivors know better than anyone the abuse and violence that traffickers inflict on their victims and their information can help Judges and courts to understand operations, trends and patterns of human trafficking. It also lessens the need for excessive questioning of victims.

The ISTAC Code of Practice is clear on the need for appropriate renumeration and professionalization of survivor leadership: our narrative must not merely be inspiring, but the lessons that lie within must be turned into solutions."

In 2011 Shandra co-founded a survivor leadership program called “Voices of Hope” in New York. F.2013-2017, she was the State of New Jersey Commissioner on Human Trafficking. In 2014, Shandra participated in the first Federal Survivor Forum Listening Session at the United States White House and she was appointed by former President Barack Obama to be a member of the first United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. Since 2017, Shandra has been a survivor advisor, consultant and trainer for ODHIR-OSCE and is a consultant expert for the 2nd Edition NRM Handbook.* Shandra has been honored by multiple government and non-government organizations and has been a motivational and inspirational speaker at events for institutions around the world. She was a 2017 L’Oréal Paris Women of Worth National Honoree and she was one of the year of 2020, and 2021 Top 100 Most Influential Asian Americans in New York politics and policy. In 2022 Shandra received recognition as one of The 2022 Power of Diversity: Asian 100 New York’s Asian American trailblazers. Shandra is a human trafficking expert witness, specifically on Illicit Massage Parlors and organized crime. Shandra has also authored Taste of Freedom, recipes for resilience to benefit survivors of trafficking.