Patience's Story

Patience was brought to the UK as a domestic worker and nanny and forced to work for little or no money. She was subject to physical and mental abuse. Her 'employer' took away her passport. When Patience managed to escape with the help of a neighbour and reported her experiences to the police, they refused to take her allegations seriously and closed the case. Human rights organisation Liberty supported Patience to argue that the police had failed to protect Patience's Article 4 right to be free from slavery or forced labour. While the Modern Slavery Act 2015 wasn’t in place at the time, the police could have pursued Patience’s ‘employer’ for criminal abuse. The police reopened Patience’s case and issued her with an apology, compensation, and a promise to improve training given to officers on cases like hers.

(Asuquo v The United Kingdom, 2012)