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An England-wide project supporting women who have experienced modern slavery and human trafficking, from point of rescue through to independent living, has received £308,899 from the Big Lottery Fund.

Women at all stages of their journey will be able to access a full range of services from Unseen, a Bristol-based charity. The funding will enable the group to support more survivors through an eight-bed secure safe house where women from across the country can access support in a crisis situation to help them manage the trauma associated with enslavement. Around 120 women will be supported through the project.

The safe house has provided shelter and a place of comfort for many women, including Favour, who came to Unseen because she needed 24-hour care and support. She said:

“I was living a miserable life – cooking, cleaning – just a slavery job. For 10 years I didn’t go outside. Whenever my boss wanted me, I had to sleep with him. I was a slave.”

After 10 years, she was found by a neighbour who helped her escape. Finally free, through the support of Unseen, she was given help to access medical and sexual health care, legal advice, therapeutic activities like gardening and cooking, and techniques to help her cope with the anxiety and flashbacks she was experiencing.

Kate Garbers, Unseen Managing Director, said: “We are thrilled to receive this funding for our women’s safe house. We work with some of society’s most vulnerable women and this funding will enable us to provide the specialist staff necessary to help them journey from victim to survivor, to rebuild their lives and create a new future for themselves.”

Unseen also provides life-skills sessions for survivors where they can learn about safe relationships and rebuild confidence, along with basic educational courses like English, maths and computing. This varied support acts as the first stage on each survivor's long and difficult journey towards rebuilding their lives. Women recover their self-esteem, build their confidence and gain the key skills vital for their future independence.

The Home Office predicts there may be as many as 13,000 victims of slavery in the UK alone. Unseen has provided nearly 11,000 nights of safe, emergency accommodation to more than 135 victims from 37 different countries.

James Harcourt, Deputy Director of Responsive Programmes, said: “The specialist care Unseen offers survivors of human trafficking is crucial in helping them rebuild their lives. We’re delighted our funding is supporting women to gain the skills and confidence they need to move forward.”

One survivor noted the importance of Unseen’s work, which has had a huge impact on her recovery:

“This place has changed my life, from nothing to something, hopeless to a future. Thank you, and thanks to donors, everybody who keeps this house going.”

This is one of hundreds of projects across England sharing around £16 million of funding from the Big Lottery Fund to enable people to improve their lives and communities.

See a full list of all awards

Notes to editors

• The Big Lottery Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. We put people in the lead to improve their lives and communities, often through small, local projects. It is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes. Every year it invests over £650 million and awards around 12,000 grants across the UK for health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
• Since June 2004 it has awarded over £8 billion to projects that change the lives of millions of people. For more information visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/
• For press enquiries call 020 7211 1888 or email pressoffice@biglotteryfund.org.uk. Find us on Twitter at @biglotteryfund
• Unseen began in 2008 and works to support survivors, train frontline staff to correctly identify victims, and collaborate with government and other agencies to combat modern slavery in the UK and abroad. Contact them at 303 040 2888.
• Unseen’s WATER (Women’s Anti-Trafficking Emergency Refuge) project is the only safe-house in the South West of England and is one of only three services in the country offering 24/7 support to female victims of human trafficking. Unseen also offers a resettlement service to help survivors continue their journey of recovery within their chosen community.
• Unseen runs a Room Sponsorship Scheme for people to directly support women survivors at their WATER project.
• Learn more about women like Favour by reading their stories.
• Home Office statistics can be found at www.gov.uk/government/statistics
• Unseen statistics can be found at www.unseenuk.org/our-impact/facts-figures