Homeless face ‘inhumane’ ultimatums by London councils | Sex trafficking
An Albanian woman who fled sex trafficking gangs in Belgium and Manchester thought she was finally safe when she arrived in west London with her two young children.
She was a single mother and had been granted asylum in the UK and was ready to start a new life in the capital. But first they needed a home.
She approached Ealing council for help and told housing officers she would feel “completely hopeless and unsafe” anywhere outside the city where she received vital support.
Three weeks later, Ealing council found him a property, but it was 250 miles away in County Durham. If he refused to move he would practically be on the street.
“When I see [the location]it was really bad. “I was crying a lot, I was shaking,” he said, and continued: “My oldest daughter kept asking, ‘What happened, mom? What happened?’ I was crying because I was really stressed. “I felt like they didn’t care.”
The woman, who cannot be named, won a case brought by a high court judge against the move in November. reigned That Ealing council was acting illegally.
Ealing council says it understands the “seriousness of the situation” [high court] “We have taken into account the court’s findings and strengthened our processes to ensure that each case is assessed on an individual basis, taking into account the sensitivity and protection of risks.”
The Albanian woman is one of hundreds of homeless people given “inhumane” ultimatums by London councils in recent years, forcing them to choose between living on the streets or accepting a property hundreds of miles from Britain’s poorest parts.
Charities say some councils in London are acting illegally and targeting particularly vulnerable people, such as refugees or non-English speakers, for exclusion.
When the Albanian woman raised concerns about moving to County Durham, Ealing council officers assured her there would be adequate support services for victims of trafficking in the area. As evidence they emailed him two links to relevant services in Durham; however, one was located in Durham, North Carolina, USA, and the other was located in Durham, Ontario, Canada.
Ealing council still insists the County Durham property is suitable for the woman and is appealing the legal decision, which came after housing charity Shelter came out in support of the woman.
The Guardian has learned of a separate case involving another Albanian woman, a 24-year-old mother who survived sex trafficking.
He was moved 250 miles away to a house in a town in north-east England by Redbridge council last November. The move separated her one-year-old daughter from her father, who still lives in London.
The woman, named IRT in legal proceedings, said she felt pressured to accept the municipality’s offer, otherwise she and her young child risked being homeless on the streets.
The street where he currently lives is partially abandoned, making him feel lonely and afraid to leave home.
“One night, a woman was screaming two meters from my door,” he said. “He was saying, ‘Please don’t kill me,’ and another man said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ There was no one outside. I was getting ready to call the police. My baby was crying, and I was crying too. I was so scared.”
This action also affected his child. “I can see he’s changing,” IRT said, “He’s not happy right now. He’s not playing as much. He’s not that responsive. At 19 months old, I’m still waiting for him to talk. He was very happy with his daddy, smiling, running, waiting to go outside.”
After asking for a review of Redbridge council’s decision, Shelter and IRT have now appealed to the district court.
“When I came here, I was all alone, I had no one, just my baby. And everything came back to me,” IRT said. “I have so many nightmares, so many days when I don’t eat. Now I have to start from scratch again.”
Redbridge council said demand for affordable housing “far exceeds” supply and its staff ensured no decisions were made “without due consideration or in a way that disadvantages certain groups”.
