UK BME Anti-Slavery Network

We at @BASNET UK BME Anti-Slavery Network recently held our Modern Slavery Knowledge Mobilisation conference where we were proud to launch five new research reports by our members, each addressing different themes of modern slavery and it’s various intersections. We were delighted to be hosted by our partner St Mary’s University, Twickenham.

BASNET Statement on The King’s Speech The King’s Speech, delivered on Wednesday 13 May 2026, offered this government a rare chance for genuine reflection. Sadly, that opportunity has been passed up. Instead, the government signalled it will be moving forward with immigration and asylum policies that have proven not just politically disastrous, but will have detrimental consequences for many in our community who are victims and survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. At the heart of the issue is the government’s refusal to decouple two distinct issues: immigration on the one hand, and modern slavery on the other. This exposes highly vulnerable modern slavery survivors to the UK’s punitive ‘hostile environment’ policies. As has been repeatedly documented, traffickers often use fear of the immigration system as a means of controlling those they seek to exploit. Ministers have been made perfectly aware of this, yet are consciously choosing to chase ill-informed political objectives over evidence-based policy. We see this manifest through unsubstantiated claims of ‘abuse’ of the modern slavery system by bad-actor migrants. The reality is the opposite: survivors are being consistently let down by consecutive governments and a crumbling safeguarding system. More widely, government proposals around so-called ‘earned’ settlement are utterly egregious, particularly the indication that changes will be applied retroactively. This means people who have been forcefully or deceitfully brought to the UK to be exploited and enslaved will be denied succour and will further have the rug pulled out from beneath them by the same government meant to protect them. This is cruel. This policy, if brought forward, is guaranteed to have the exact opposite outcome to its purported intention. Instead of making the system fairer, it will place our service users—and migrant communities more broadly—in an extended period of socio-economic insecurity. It will reduce opportunities for meaningful integration and, in doing so, further stoke the flame of ethnonationalism. We urge the government to reconsider.

“Amplify Voices of Communities and Lived Experience in Modern Slavery Policy and Research” - BASNET Participants at a major conference to be held later today to launch BASNET - The UK BME Anti-Slavery Network’s 2026 Knowledge Mobilisation Research Project Reports are expected to strengthen calls for the sector to amplify the voices of ethnic minorities in modern slavery and human trafficking policy and research. BASNET’s Knowledge Mobilisation Programme is aimed at creating an ethnic minority led body of knowledge on issues of exploitation, modern slavery and human trafficking. The goal is for BASNET members who are community and lived experience leaders to “tell their stories” of exploitation through the prism of Black and minority ethnic leadership, filling a crucial gap in inclusivity in modern slavery research. To download and read BASNET’s 2026 Knowledge Mobilisation research reports, please visit BASNET website /knowledge-programme

Certificate of Sponsorship visa for Care Workers. Awareness raising events across Greater Manchester @sawn_oldham , @afruca , @houseofrainbow_ , @wonderfully_made_woman , @Gambian Manchester Network

BASNET 2026 Research Residential Programme We are excited at @basnet_uk The UK BME Anti-Slavery Network will hold our Third Research Residential Programme for UK BME Anti-Slavery charity and lived experience leaders in May 2026. The BASNET Research Residential is a comprehensive and rigorous two-day skills development event, designed to support participants to build their research skills and understand how to develop and refine their own research ideas from the outset. Through structured sessions and collaborative learning, participants will shape their initial concepts into viable research proposals. They will also learn from our expert trainers, including senior academics from Kings College, St Mary’s University, the Modern Slavery Policy & Evidence Centre and STOP THE TRAFFIK, about the ins and outs of the research process, what it takes to lead a successful research project, and how to most effectively translate their insights into fully developed outputs. What to Expect At the training event, we will: - Deep dive into the rudiments of conducting a community research project - Learn how to take your ideas to proposal stage and take raw concepts into a viable research plan - Learn from the experts: Master the research process alongside our trainers. Date: 19-21 May 2026 Location: AFRUCA Office, Manchester Cost: Free for BASNET UK members. We are happy to have a few number of non-BASNET members attend for a fee. For enquiries, please contact Thomas, BASNET Policy and Research Officer at [email protected]

We @basnet_uk are so happy to be celebrating @afruca 25th anniversary this year 2026. We have a lot of positive memories of all AFRUCA’s work and achievements since inception in 2001, propelled by the deaths of children newly arrived in the UK, killed by their carers and others. AFRUCA has been around to participate and influence a range of government policies, legislation and systemic changes to improve protection and safeguarding of children, improve protection for victims of abuse, modern slavery and human trafficking. AFRUCA’s work has directly and positively impacted tens of thousands of children, young people, their families and their communities. The past few years have been tough, just like for many other small charities in the UK as a result of gaps in financial support but we are very delighted AFRUCA will still be around to continue fighting for children for many years to come.

We are delighted to welcome over 20 member organisations of our network UK @basnet_uk BME Anti-Slavery Network to our 2026 online capacity building programme. Over the next three days, we will engage in a series of training and capacity building activities to help strengthen our members’ resolve in addressing modern slavery and exploitation in their various communities. We look forward to having @Vic Hancock Fell @James Clarry @Advita Patel @Robin Brierley @Debbie Ariyo OBE join us at this important gathering, sharing their knowledge and expertise with our members.

UK Certificate of Sponsorship Visa - Exploitation of Care Workers and Your rights This March 2026 our members at BASNET are holding events across Greater Manchester to raise awareness about Care Workers Visa, Exploitation and Problems with employment. We will signpost or refer you to appropriate support - free support - no payment, no fee. Join our members’ events holding in Rochdale, Manchester and Oldham. See attached flyers for details on how to register. @acrossummah_ @sawn_oldham @cas_rochdale @houseofrainbow_ @afruca @greatermcr

UK Certificate of Sponsorship Visas for Health and Social Care Workers: Awareness Events on Exploitation and Access to Support Alongside our partners across Greater Manchester, we are holding a series of community engagement and awareness raising events between February and June 2026 on social care work visas, the risks of exploitation and to explore access to available government support for displaced workers. Our project is funded by the @greatermcr Mayor of Greater Manchester Greater Manchester Combined Authority, co-ordinated by our Network @basnet_ukBASNET - UK BME Anti-Slavery Network and will run till end of June 2026. In February 2026, we held five awareness raising events across Greater Manchester and virtually, attracting over 400 participants and resulting in over 50 requests for additional support and signposting to services. Please see details of planned March events on the flyer. To attend any of our partners’ events, please send us an email (See flyer) @afruca @houseofrainbow_ @acrossummah_

Alongside our partners across Greater Manchester, we at @basnet_uk are holding a series of community engagement and awareness raising events on COS social care work visas, the risks of exploitation and explore access to available government support for displaced workers. Our project is funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and will run till June 2026..

Alongside our parent charity @afruca and eight partners, we are delighted to have won a major grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to work across Greater Manchester and conduct community engagement on Social Care work visa and the risks of exploitation. Our project will work across all 10 borough working deeply and broadly in different communities to reach as many people as possible, ensuring we can help to safeguard as many people as possible from exploitation and human trafficking linked to social care work visas. Mayor of Greater Manchester, @houseofrainbow_ , @wonderfully_made_woman , @sawn_oldham , @acrossummah_ , @cas_rochdale , @infoibda @greatermcr Gambia Support Network, Noble Arise

Many congratulations to our Founder and Chair Debbie Ariyo OBE on winning the Reducing Vulnerabilities Outstanding Contribution Award at The Human Trafficking Foundation and Marsh Charitable Trust Awards ceremony in Parliament yesterday. Kudos