Justice & Care is inviting you to stand with modern slavery survivors by supporting our Her Voice campaign. From 13 October to 30 November, every pound you give will be doubled* – meaning your generosity will go twice as far to help women and girls like Sarah* escape human trafficking and raise their voices for change.

Earlier this year, Sarah* stood at a Justice & Care event in UK Parliament and shared her story with MPs, charities and advocates. It was a powerful moment that placed lived experience at the heart of decision-making – exactly where it belongs. 

Mother-of-two Sarah came to the UK full of hope. Offered a job as a care worker, she imagined a future of opportunity, helping others while building a better life for her family. She paid an agent more than £20,000 – using her father’s retirement savings – to arrange her visa, job and travel from India. 

But the promises she was given didn’t match the reality.  Sarah was given only a few hours of work each week. She and her husband survived on one meal a day so their children wouldn’t go hungry. Their accommodation was damp and mouldy, leaving them miserable. When Sarah complained, her bosses threatened to report her to the authorities and told her she would be deported.  

Recalling the painful situation, she said: ‘They were torturing me mentally me and exploiting me with all the thefts. After coming here, I came to know the amount I paid was not the fees from the government, it was the fees charged the employer. I found out that I was cheated from the first day and everything was just false. It was a tough journey because we were unable to pay the rent or feed our children.’

Knowing what her family had sacrificed so she could go to the UK, Sarah began to struggle with her mental health. In her despair she wrote a suicide note.

‘I had lost everything… They were treating me so badly, they were mentally harassing me in everything. I wanted to take my own life’, she said.

Thankfully Sarah’s husband found her in time. She quit her job immediately after – but this placed her visa in danger.

After concerns were raised, our Victim Navigator embedded within the GLAA began working with Sarah – helping her to improve her mental health, pressuring the landlord to improve her home, and working with her children’s school to ensure they were given the support they needed. We also supported her to find new sponsorship in a long process that took eight months.

Sarah is determined to stop others from facing care sector exploitation and has done work with us to raise awareness of the urgent need for prevention, support and justice for survivors.

By raising her voice in Parliament, she showed why survivor stories matter – by bringing lived experience into the room, policy gaps are exposed and assumptions challenged.

‘Without GLA and Justice and Care, I wouldn’t be living my life today’, she said. ‘I have started a new life, the dream life, which I think before coming to UK and I’m working very happily, very peacefully, without any stress, without any fear for anything.’

‘I am grateful to you that you believe in me and invited me to Parliament. It’s my pleasure of standing with such people.’

Sarah’s story is shocking – but it is sadly not unique. Countless overseas recruits in the UK care sector have suffered abuse with little support or justice. Learn more about care sector exploitation on our website and listen to Sarah tell more of her story on YouTube.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected by human trafficking and gender-based violence. Every day, traffickers steal their freedom and use fear to silence them.   

Her Voice is her power. Her Voice is our call to act. Will you stand with her this Autumn? Donate now and your gift will be doubled. 

*name changed and stock image used