At least five women who were abused by former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been formally recognised by the Home Office as victims of modern slavery.
The revealed in April that Rachel Louw, who has waived her right to anonymity, had become the first woman known to receive such a decision.
Since then, at least four other women have received positive “conclusive grounds” decisions recognising them as victims of modern slavery, with more expected to follow, according to PA Media.
The latest cases include women who were trafficked internationally and within the UK, including one case in which the trafficking took place entirely within Harrods.
When an individual receives a positive “conclusive grounds” decision through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the UK’s official framework for identifying victims of modern slavery – they are formally recognised as a victim.
Legal experts have previously told the that these decisions can strengthen the credibility of witnesses in criminal proceedings and may influence the way police investigate cases.
The Modern Slavery Act, which came into force in 2015, defines human trafficking as arranging or facilitating the travel of another person within a country or across borders for the purposes of that person being exploited.
The latest decisions include all four members of the survivor advocacy group No One Above, who had been awaiting rulings after being referred to the NRM by the anti-slavery charity Unseen.
According to PA Media, one survivor had been recruited to a false role within Harrods, while two others were employed in legitimate roles before being selected for abuse from the shop floor.
A fourth worked as a domestic employee for the Fayed family after being recruited by a letting agency called Hyde Park Residence.
One of the survivors said receiving the decision was “very significant”.
“Seeing it in writing that you were a victim of modern slavery and trafficking is very… it’s really shocking to read,” she told PA Media.