Frequently asked questions...
1. Useful organisations to know about before you read on:
Charities and Non Governmental Organisations -
- The POPPY Project - Accommodation and support for survivors of trafficking
- STOP THE TRAFFIK - Global movement campaigning against trafficking
- Anti-Slavery - International organisation working to eliminate all forms of slavery
- Amnesty International UK - (Part of) International human rights organisation
- The Anneli Project at Leeds Women’s Aid - Accommodation and support for survivors of trafficking
- NSPCC - Runs a National Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line
- ECPAT UK - Campaigns for an end to Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
- Helen Bamber foundation - National human rights organisation working with survivors of cruelty
Government supported organisations -
- UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) - Multi-agency centre for the development of expertise and cooperation in relation to the trafficking of human beings
- UK Borders Agency (UKBA) - Manages border control, immigration and customs for the UK
- UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) - Undertakes field-based project work, research and analysis on the issue of Human Trafficking, amongst other drug and crime related activities
For more information on these organisations, please click on the Links page.
2. What is the difference between trafficking and smuggling?
Traffickers use force, fraud, or deception to acquire people. The aim of trafficking is exploitation. The UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines exploitation to include: sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. Other reasons people are trafficked include: sweat shops, child brides, circuses, sacrificial worship, forced begging, farm labour, and domestic servitude.
Smugglers receive payment or material benefit for illegally entering a person into a State of which they are not a resident or national. In many cases, people being trafficked believe they are being smuggled. However, the law makes an absolute distinction between the two. People being smuggled have legal responsibility but trafficked individuals do not.
3. What happens on the journey of a trafficked woman?
In the Country of Origin - and this could be anywhere, such as Thailand, Nigeria, Albania - she may either be coerced to take the journey, deceived as to its purpose or forced. This can take the form of a ‘boyfriend’ who has groomed her, a marriage agency or a kidnapping, amongst other means.
From here she may be taken via a Transit country, where papers and documents may be forged or the trafficker needs to lie low for a while.
In the Destination country, the woman will either be taken straight to a brothel, private residence or other sex establishment. In many cases, she will be locked in a room or apartment and often, immediately beaten or raped in order to create a climate of fear and instability. This will prevent her from trying to escape and begins the psychological torment that is her trafficking experience.
There are a number of brutal tortures that have been carried out on trafficked women, such as being burnt with hot irons, kept in baths of ice and being made to watch pornography in order to prepare them for their work to come.
Torture, rape and regular beatings are frequently used to maintain a volatile environment and in case the woman considers risking her own life, threats are often made against her family back home.
4. How many people are trafficked worldwide?
The US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 reports an estimated 12.3 million men, women, and children are trafficked per year.
79% of these people are trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, and the vast majority of those are women and girls.
Trafficking is a global industry; in April 2006, the UNODC published the report, Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns which identified 127 countries of origin, 98 transit countries and 137 destination countries.
5. Where are trafficked people likely to have come from?
Nigeria, China, Thailand, Albania, Brazil, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine are just a few examples.
This information is released from known trafficking cases from the last decade. However, trafficking routes vary and are always changing. There is limited information on such routes, but some have been exposed with thanks to global efforts to stop human trafficking by the UNODC and other organisations. However, it is generally true that women are taken from poorer countries to richer ones - though this by no means indicates that richer countries, such as the UK and USA, don’t also operate as Countries of Origin.
Trafficking also takes place internally, here in the UK and worldwide.
6. How many women are trafficked into the UK each year?
In 2000, the Home Office Police Research series, paper 125 put forward that 1,420 women were trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation in 1998. In 2003, the Home Office estimated 3,812 trafficked women in the UK. Various media reports place the figure much higher, but these numbers are impossible to verify.
1,000 - 4,000 is probably the most accurate we can be. However, due to the covert nature of trafficking, both the lower and upper estimates are incredibly difficult to confirm. What can be said is that there is definite evidence (sourced from research, convictions and referrals from government, academic and third sector agencies) to show that trafficking exists in the UK, and that this exploitative practice, regardless of exactly how many people are trafficked, needs to be abolished.
Amnesty International states that there is evidence of cases of trafficked victims in sectors such as the hospitality and catering trade, domestic labour, care sectors, agricultural and food processing sectors, construction and prostitution within the UK.
Sex in the City, a 2004 report by survivor support agency, the POPPY Project, found that women from Eastern Europe, South East Asia and West Africa are known to be trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation.
7. What legislation is in place?
In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children, and this marked a significant milestone in international efforts to stop the trade in people. The Protocol was enforced from December 2003, and more than 110 States have signed and ratified it.
The purposes of the Trafficking Protocol are: to prevent and combat trafficking, to protect and assist victims, and to promote cooperation among State Parties. However, to put the protocol into practice remains problematic, owing to the complex and underground nature of the problem. In some countries, prosecutions are brought forward but the police fail to protect the identity of witnesses or prevent intimidation of survivors and court officials by defendants.
According to the Global Report of Trafficking In Persons of February 2009 by the UNDOC, 98 of 155 countries have "adopted a specific offence criminalizing trafficking in persons at least for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour with no restriction regarding the age or the gender of the victim. 27 of the 155 countries have specific offences of trafficking in persons restricted to varied forms of exploitation and to some categories of victims (although there is no clear definition of the offence). 30 countries do not have specific legislation against trafficking in persons as of November 2008.
Despite this, however, a large amount of countries still do not significantly define human trafficking in their legislation, or only partly do so, which makes it difficult to target such specific crime. The Global Report of Trafficking 2009 reiterates the importance of following the above-mentioned UN Protocol and its stipulated agreements in order to fully examine the extent of human trafficking worldwide.
In March 2007, the UK signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. In December 2008 the government ratified this convention and it entered into force in April 2009.
The Convention aims to:
- Prevent trafficking
- Protect the Human Rights of victims of trafficking
- Prosecute the traffickers
The Convention applies to:
- All forms of trafficking: whether national or transnational, whether or not related to organised crime
- Whoever the victim: women, men or children
- Whatever the form of exploitation: sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, etc
GRETA - the Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings - has been set up to monitor all countries who have ratified the convention to ensure it's being fully implemented.
There are several pieces of British legislation that refer to human trafficking or prostitution offences. People who break any of these laws could receive punishment in the form of a summary conviction or a conviction on indictment. A Summary Conviction is given in a magistrate’s court for a petty crime. The trial does not involve a jury and the sentence is usually quite lenient.
A Conviction on Indictment means that the criminal has to be formally accused of a crime by the Crown Prosecution Service. Convictions on indictment take place in a Crown Court with a jury and typically provide tougher sentencing for perpetrators. The choice between a summary conviction and conviction on indictment depends on the severity of the crime committed.
To make it easier to understand the legislation, some of the important terms are defined here.
Trafficking - ‘the transportation of persons in the UK in order to exploit them by the use of force, violence, deception, intimidation or coercion’ (Crown Prosecution Service, 2010). Exploitation includes forced labour which can be sexual or otherwise.
Prostitute - ‘a person who offers or provides sexual services to another, willingly or unwillingly, in return for payment of some description for themselves or a third party’ (Sexual Offences Act, 2003).
Exploitation - Exploitation means using a person for slavery or any kind of forced labour. An exploited person is one that is being forced, threatened or mislead in to providing a service, including sexual ‘services’, that benefit someone else or allow a third party to acquire some kind of benefit. A person is also exploited when they are persuaded or forced to do something due to mental or physical disability, a family relationship with those committing the act of exploitation, or because of their young age (Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act, 2004).
Current British Legislation
1) Section 145 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum act of 2002
states that a person can commit an offence in three different areas. Firstly,
if they arrange or make possible someone else’s arrival in to the
UK, movement within the UK or departure from the UK intending to control
their work as a prostitute either in the UK or another country, or with
the knowledge that a third person is likely to do the same. ‘Control
over prostitution’ means when someone controls, directs or influences
a prostitutes movements for their own benefit, showing that they are in
some way aiding or making the act of prostitution possible. For all of
these offences, summary conviction would result in a prison sentence of
up to 6 months, and/or a fine. Conviction on indictment could mean a prison
sentence of up to 14 years, and/or a fine.
2) The Sexual Offences Act of 2003 put in place new laws around both prostitution and trafficking offences. It defines a prostitute as Section 52 of this act makes it illegal to exploit prostitution, i.e. convincing or encouraging a person from any part of the world to become a prostitute and expecting to receive some sort of gain for themselves or someone else in return. This legislation defines ‘gain’ as a financial advantage. Section 53 also prohibits controlling prostitution for gain, namely controlling a person’s actions once they become a prostitute rather than encouraging them to sell themselves for sex in the first place. Both carry the same sentencing terms, with summary conviction resulting in up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine, and conviction on indictment carrying a prison sentence of up to 7 years.
Sections 57 to 59 of the act focus of trafficking. The act prohibits arranging or making possible a person’s entrance to, exit from or movement within the UK at the will of someone else, with the knowledge that an offence may be committed against the trafficked person. The offence can be committed during or after the journey to the UK, and in any part of the world. All of these actions carry either up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine on summary conviction, or the possibility of up to 14 years in prison on conviction on indictment
3) Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act of 2004 is called Trafficking of People for Exploitation. It states that an offence is committed when someone arranges or makes possible a person’s entrance in to the UK, intending to exploit them either in the UK or in another country, or with the knowledge that a third person is likely to exploit them. Summary conviction means a prison sentence of up to 12 months, and/or a fine. Conviction on indictment can mean a prison sentence of up to 14 years, and/or a fine.
4) Schedule 4 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 allows the authorities to seize any vehicles, ships or aircraft connected with trafficking offences committed according to the Sexual Offences Act of 2003.
5) Section 71 of the Coroners and Justice Act of 2009 states that an
offence is committed when someone holds another person in ‘slavery
or servitude’, and knows or should know that this is occurring.
Summary conviction carries a prison term of up to 12 months and/or a fine.
Conviction on indictment could mean a prison term of up to 14 years and
again the possibility of a fine, or both.
Proposed legislation
As well as the current legislation there are also two bills being
takenthrough parliament on the subject of human trafficking. Bills go
through several stages and readings before being adopted as legislation.
They have to pass through both the House of Lords and the House of Commons
before a final decision is made, which can take a long time.
1) The Human Trafficking (Border Control) Bill 2010-11 was presented to parliament on 5th July 2010. It is scheduled for a Second Reading debate on the 17th February 2012. The bill is a Private Members bill and information will only be made available to the public close to its Second Reading debate. Should the bill be adopted, border control police will have to identify, stop and question people who they think could be victims of trafficking.
2) The second piece of proposed legislation is the Human Trafficking
(Further Provisions and Support for Victims) Bill [HL] 2010-11. The bill
had its first reading on 17th March 2011, and currently no date is provided
for its Second Reading debate. It looks at making provisions for preventing
and combating human trafficking, and also for the support of trafficking
victims.
8. What is the role of the National Referral Mechanism?
The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) exists as a system for identifying victims of human trafficking and to provide the victims with the care they require to recover from their experiences.
The NRM allows authorities and organisations, known as ‘First Responders’ that encounter and identify possible victims of human trafficking to refer them on to a Competent Authority (CA). In the UK, this is either the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) or the UK Border Agency (UKBA), but the two agencies deal with reports from different First Responders. The UKHTC takes care of referrals that come from the police, local authorities or NGO’s, and the UKBA takes care of those that are identified through the immigration process.
First Identification with Referral Forms
Adults identified as possible victims of human trafficking must give their
consent to being referred to the CA by signing a referral form provided
by the First Responder.
Should the person be unhappy with being identified and referred, they
can refuse to give their permission by not signing the form. The First
Responder then cannot refer the person to the CA and the case goes no
further. Child victims are also identified using a referral form, but
they are not required to give their consent by signing.
Both forms, laid out in a checklist format, ask the First Responder for evidence to support their suspicion that the person may have been trafficked, for example:
- Indicators of physical/psychological abuse
- Indicators of forced labour
- Indicators of sexual exploitation
- Indicators of domestic servitude
- Strange behaviour, such as actions that suggest fear or anxiety, or that the person is being controlled by another.
Once a possible victim has been referred to the relevant CA using the referral form, decisions must then be made as to whether there are ‘reasonable grounds’ and ‘conclusive grounds’ to believe that the person is a victim of trafficking.
Reasonable Grounds Decision
The Reasonable Grounds (RG) decision is the first step, aimed to be made
within 5 days of receiving a referral form. The basis of this decision
is the information supplied on the referral form completed by the First
Responder.
If the CA decides that there are reasonable grounds to believe that a person is a victim of human trafficking on the evidence provided by the referral form, then the initial steps in the care and recovery of the victim can begin. Firstly, if the person needs a secure place to stay, they will be accommodated in a Ministry of Justice safe house. Secondly, they are given a 45 day ‘reflection’ period, in which to recuperate and begin to make decisions as to what to do next.
Conclusive Grounds Decision
During the victim’s period of recovery, the CA continues
to gather evidence of their trafficking in order to make a Conclusive
Grounds (CG) decision that the person is definitely a victim of trafficking.
They aim to make the decision within the 45 day period. Once the reflection
period is over, a decision may be made to allow the victim further time
to recover, or to grant them a year-long renewable residence permit for
the UK.
Negative Decisions
Should a negative decision be made at any point during the process,
for example if the CA decides that there are not reasonable grounds to
believe that the person in question has been trafficked, then the person
cannot appeal. Whilst the possible victim can ask for their case to be
reviewed or challenge it with a judicial review, they do not receive any
legal assistance throughout the process, and cannot be referred or represented
by a lawyer.
To download a flow chart of the NRM procedure, click here.
9. What stops people getting help?
Trafficked victims commonly blame themselves for what has happened to them; they may have agreed to be smuggled in the first place and are therefore in the country illegally, or without documentation.
In, ‘A global alliance against forced labor’, the International Labour Organisation states that the majority of trafficked people come from the poorest countries and poorest strata of the national population. Most migrants have borrowed money from family, friends or loan sharks in order to travel abroad and when they find out they have been deceived they still have a debt to pay back of several thousand pounds.
Trafficking from abroad is also often arranged as a “package” with fees charged for travel, accommodation and ‘management’ in the destination country. This then creates a form of debt bondage that can rarely be fully paid. On occasion, if a trafficked person pays back this debt, they will be released, but more often than not; it is merely another means of enslaving the person for as long as the traffickers have a use for them.
Trafficked people will also be kept socially isolated. They will also be subject to intimidation, violence, torture, and rape. A trafficked woman may be raped up to 40 times a day and threats may be made against her family back home in an attempt to ensure she does not try to escape.
The UNODC's research shows that people who have been trafficked are often duped by a recruiter who is a relative, a supposed friend or seems like someone they can trust. Traffickers and trafficked people often share the same nationality and traffickers can take the form of a ‘boyfriend’, ‘friend’, marriage agency or other professional-looking establishment. In some parts of the world, female traffickers are selected to recruit women.
Trafficking is almost always a form of organized crime; it has globalized rapidly and generates tens of billions of dollars in profits for criminals each year.
11. Are the traffickers prosecuted?
According to UNODC, the number of convictions is increasing, but unfortunately not proportionately to the growing awareness and extent of the problem. There may be a lack of anti-trafficking legislation, or law enforcement officials who are not trained to use the existing legislation.
Another potential obstacle to securing convictions may also be corruption. Further to this, sometimes prosecutions are not successful because of the understandable unwillingness of survivors to cooperate with the criminal justice system after they have been threatened and intimidated by traffickers.
12. What should I do if I suspect trafficking
is taking place in my area?
There are a number of ways that you can report your suspicions, some of
which allow you to remain anonymous:
- Contact your local constabulary or police area. Every police force will have a point of contact on trafficking. Ask to be put in contact with this person
- Contact the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre - UKHTC. Tel: 0114 252 3891
- Call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 to report anything that you know about any crime
- Call STOP-UK 0844 800 33 14
For more information on trafficking, please visit the organisations listed on the Links page
