1. Child Trafficking, the Problem and how we can ‘COMBAT’ it
…in Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull
Sue Gwyer - CSWP COMBAT
Engagement Specialist 1

2. What is COMBAT?
COMBAT – Combining Against Trafficking - is an EU Daphne funded Project, based within CSWP Ltd, tasked with raising awareness of the trafficking of children and young women across Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull
We are working alongside partners in Brussels, Bulgaria and Lithuania to prevent trafficking, protect those vulnerable to trafficking and improve the prosecution rates of the perpetrators of trafficking

3. TRAINING OBJECTIVES:
Raise awareness of the issue of Human Trafficking, specifically the trafficking of children and young women
Distinguish between trafficking and smuggling
Outline the Legislative Framework
Identify how we can COMBAT human trafficking through prevention, protection and prosecution
Outline the procedures to follow when we suspect that a young person is the victim of trafficking
Signpost to appropriate support agencies and resources
COMPLETE Pre-Training Questionnaire

4. Human Trafficking - the context…
“Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having the control of another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
Protocol to the 2000 UN Convention
Against Transnational Organised Crime – ‘Palermo Protocol’
2000 saw the initiation of international legislation against trafficking per se – recognising it as transnational organised crime. It was from signing this protocol that European wide and national legislation was emerged. So what’s the difference between trafficking & smuggling – discussion.

5. Trafficking VS Smuggling
The two most common terms used for the illegal movement of people have very different meanings
In human smuggling immigrants and asylum seekers pay people to help them enter a country illegally, after which there is no longer a relationship
Trafficked victims are coerced or deceived by the person arranging their relocation and forced into exploitation by their trafficker or person into whose control they are delivered or sold

6. UK Legislation and Guidance
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002: Made the trafficking of people for prostitution illegal
The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002: Enabled the criminal assets of traffickers to be confiscated
The Sexual Offences Act 2003: Introduced legislation making all forms of sexual exploitation illegal – including trafficking into, out of and within the UK
[s.53a amended by s.14 of the Policing & Crime Act 2009]
The Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004: Extended definitions of illegal offences of human trafficking, including forced labour and human organ transplants
The Gangmasters Licensing Act 2004: Established the Gangmasters Licensing Authority and deals with forced labour
The Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2006: Brought in civil penalties and criminal sentencing for employers who employ illegal immigrants
Safeguarding Children who may have been Trafficked 2007: An addendum publication to Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009: Made it a criminal offence for individuals to force others into labour, particularly highlighting aspects of slavery and servitude
The Children Acts 1989 and 2004 & Adoption and Children Act 2002
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006
The UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking 2007

7. The Problem…
UNGIFT {United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Trafficking} estimates that there are 2.5 million people in forced labour (including sexual exploitation) at any given time worldwide as a direct result of trafficking
18.8% of this number are estimated to be in industrialised countries and countries in transition
In emerging democracies and post-conflict states across Europe, the convergence of corruption of officialdom and emergence of organised crime [alongside the implementation of the Schengen agreement ] has provided fertile ground for the growth in human trafficking
Trafficking – modern day slavery – occurs both within and across borders and affects economies, political stability, law enforcement and public health
UNGIFT – founded in March 2007 – figures concurred with by the ILO

8. The Trafficking of Children UNGIFT – United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year worldwide
95% of victims experience physical or sexual violence
43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation
98% of this number are women and children
32% are used for forced economic exploitation
56% of this number are women and children
Mind Maps – flip-chart exercise

9. Child Trafficking in the UK
CEOP recorded 325 children trafficked into the UK between March ‘07 and Feb ’08 – of these approx. 180 went missing from Local Authority care
In ‘Operation Glover’, directed against the internal trafficking of teenage girls for sexual exploitation, rescued 33 trafficking victims

10. But why are people trafficked?
‘Operation Golf’
In 2010 ‘Operation Golf’ picked up 103 Roma children from 13 addresses in East London. 52 adults were arrested. This trafficking ring was operating from one town in Romania.
Between and the UKHTC received 1254 referrals – 322 of which were minors
But why are people trafficked?
For what purpose?

11. In the UK children are trafficked for: ECPAT – End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
Sexual exploitation
Domestic servitude
Forced labour (including restaurant and catering work)
Cultivation of cannabis
Drug trafficking
Begging
Petty theft
Benefit fraud
Selling counterfeit goods such as DVD’s
Illegal adoption / private fostering
Latest figures show that 45% of victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, 26% for forced labour and 29% other. Cultural and national bias / profiles of particular victims of trafficking: Young women used for sexual exploitation / prostitution – high numbers of Eastern European – Baltic states – specifically Lithuania PLUS Slovakia & the Czech Republic
Domestic Servitude – Central and West Africa
Begging / Petty Theft – Roma
Cultivation of Cannabis – Vietnamese
Illegal DVD’s – Chinese – Snakehead’s – Fujian Province
The cultural bias is more about the organised gangs that provide the victims than their propensity to work in certain sectors!

12. In the UK… [ECPAT]
There is also evidence that children are brought to the UK for forced marriage
There is no current evidence that children are being trafficked into the UK for organ removal although there are documented cases elsewhere in the world including both East and West Europe
But why is trafficking possible? What do you think makes ‘some’ people more vulnerable to trafficking – both from abroad and here in the UK?
Specific problem with trafficking for organ removal Moldova / Israel – Moldova – poorest country in Europe (Romania / Ukraine)
2nd flip-chart exercise – pairs / small groups

13. Poverty – the root cause of vulnerability to exploitation
Lack of education – attendance at school has been a key means of protecting children from all forms of exploitation, including trafficking
Discrimination – this can be based on gender and ethnicity
Cultural attitudes – traditional cultural attitudes can mean that some children are more vulnerable to trafficking than others
Grooming – children are sometimes trafficked out of their country of origin after having been groomed for purposes of sexual exploitation
Dysfunctional families – children may choose to leave home as a result of domestic abuse and neglect or they may be forced to leave home for a number of reasons
Political conflict and economic transition – often lead to movements of large numbers of people and the erosion of economic and social protection mechanisms
Inadequate local laws and regulations – trafficking involves many different events and processes and legislation in some countries has been slow to keep pace. Even where there is appropriate legislation enforcement is often hampered by lack of prioritisation, corruption and ignorance of the law

14. “A barbaric trade in human misery right on our doorsteps” – Grahame Maxwell - UKHTC
"One of the first victims we helped in the UK was a 15 year-old Lithuanian girl who found herself in Sheffield where she managed to escape her trafficker and turned up at a police station.
Her case shows how unsuspecting young victims are lured from their homes into a nightmare world of brutality and rape. She was phoned up by someone and asked if she would like to sell ice cream for the summer in London and was told she would earn about £300.
The traffickers signed a consent form and her parents, believing it was a good opportunity, approved the trip.
She was flown to Gatwick and sold in a coffee shop from one trafficker to another for £3,000.
Her passport was taken off her and sold for £4,000. Later the same night, she was taken to a flat brutalised and raped, and from that moment on she was forced to act as a prostitute.”
The girl was sold six times in six different cities in the UK before finally escaping and helping the police catch her traffickers.
Elena’s evidence secured convictions of 18yrs for her traffickers

15. Behind the Smile on Vimeo
8000 women work in off-street prostitution in London
80% of these are foreign nationals
Over 1000 trafficked women have been referred to the Poppy Project since March 2003
“You can't get away from them. You just want to kill yourself”
ALMA - ALBANIAN SURVIVOR OF SEX TRAFFICKING

16. Candy was born in West Africa
At the age of 15; she was sold and brought to the UK where she was held prisoner and forced to work as a prostitute – seeing up to nine men a day.
She felt isolated and scared in a country where she was totally alone. Candy stayed in the brothel because she was told that if she tried to leave, her family in Africa would be punished.
Candy eventually escaped and found help at the police station.
Masud was 12 years old when he was tricked into leaving his family in Bangladesh with an unknown man. They travelled to England where he was left in an Indian restaurant.
To survive he worked in various restaurants and lived in store rooms. He was not allowed to go to school and his life was controlled by the restaurant owners.
When he was 28, he contacted the local police who helped him get the right documents to stay in the UK and be reunited with his family.

17. Trafficking for Domestic Servitude

18. ‘Domestic Servitude’ (S.71 Coroners & Justice Act 2009)
Holding another person in slavery or servitude or requiring another person to perform forced or compulsory labour.
The circumstances must be such that the defendant knows or ought to know that the person is being so held, or required to perform such labour.
The offence applies to legal persons e.g. Companies as it applies to natural persons.
Only since Apr 2010 did it become a criminal offence in the UK to hold a person in domestic servitude / slavery! Parosha Chandran. 18

19. A young Chinese woman, forced into domestic servitude in a UK takeaway restaurant, was confined to live in this outhouse
Rotherham – South Yorkshire – Shaowei He – (25 / 26 but with a mental age of 12) – from Guandong Province in China.
Worked in this chinese takeaway. She also performed unpaid menial tasks to pay back £20,000 she allegedly owed her employer – the takeaway owner, who brought her to the UK in He married her in China in order to get her into the UK. Neighbours say she was treated as a slave.

20. This was her bed – the post mortem on her body indicated that she had died of hypothermia. There was evidence of severe physical abuse on her body
Shaowei was found dead in the yard – she had frozen to death. She had 55 injuries to her body and extensive bruising. She had been punched, beaten with wooden instruments imbedded with nails and kicked. She had trench foot.

21. ECPAT – ‘Missing Out’
In September 2005 six Chinese girls, aged were stopped at Birmingham Airport boarding a plane for Toronto – it is believed that they had been in the UK for two years
Immigration services identified one of the adults with whom they were travelling was wanted for human trafficking offences in Singapore
The girls were accommodated in the care of two separate local authorities – three of the girls went missing within 72 hours
Another of the girls, suffering mental health problems, could not be found appropriate foster care – she went missing shortly after being placed in residential housing
The two other girls remained in foster care for nine months until the younger of the two went missing - she subsequently returned but would not disclose where she had been
No information about the missing four girls was ever forthcoming
Issues for social care about safe placement and also about training for foster carers – Telford case study

22. The Traffickers...
52% of traffickers are men, 42% are women and 6% work in joint enterprise
In 54% of cases recruiters are strangers to victims whilst 46% of victims know their recruiters
The global annual profit made from the exploitation of all trafficked forced labour is conservatively estimated to be US$31.6 Billion {UNGIFT}
This illicit commercialisation of humanity is the fastest growing global crime and is today one of the largest criminal industries in the world second only to the trade in arms
Overtook the trade in arms in the last few years!

23. The 21st Century Slave Trade
“Human trafficking is a crime that demeans the value of human life and is a form of modern day slavery”
UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking - CHP 2
“There are more slaves in the world today than were seized from Africa in the four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade”
‘Free the Slaves’ – Kevin Bales
“The trafficking of women and children is an egregious violation of human rights”
Anti-Slavery International
“ Anyone can report suspected trafficking – as a public service professional it is your duty
Geoff Feavyour – Chief Constable - Leicestershire Police
Egregious = outstandingly bad

24. How do we COMBAT Human Trafficking?
Countries of origin, transit and destination share a mutual interest and responsibility in combating human trafficking - we must work across borders
Human trafficking has a destabilising effect on democratic institutions, the rule of law and respect for human rights BUT…
“Liberation is not just about knocking down doors and dragging people to freedom. Permanent freedom requires survivors to ‘own’ their freedom and to change the systems that support slavery” – trafficking-monitor.blogspot.com
All agencies agree that initiatives designed to combat human trafficking have to concentrate on the three P’s: Prevention, Protection and Prosecution

25. Prevention…
In the year 2000 the United Nations adopted the ‘Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children
The Palermo Protocol entered into force on 25th December 2003 and had been signed and ratified by 117 countries worldwide, including the UK, by June 2010
CET 197 – The Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings [Warsaw 2005] entered into force on 1st February 2008 and had been signed and ratified by 34 European countries, including the UK, by July 2010
The UK Government directed SOCA [Serious and Organised Crime Agency] to take governance of the UK’s anti-trafficking strategy
In October 2006 SOCA launched the UKHTC [United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre] as a multi-agency decision making body with responsibility for enforcing the UK Action plan on Tackling Human Trafficking
The UK Action Plan tasks the public, private and voluntary sectors to work together in a co-ordinated and directed manner to combat the trafficking of human beings
CET EU states ratified by July 2010

26. Prevention > Protection…
Much work has been done over the last decade, since Palermo, to get legislation in place worldwide to back the fight against human trafficking
It is now key that all agencies involved in the safeguarding of children and young people adopt best practice regards dealing with ‘trafficking situations’ to ensure compliance with both the UN & UK Action Plan
Both safeguarding & non-safeguarding professionals, who may come across victims of trafficking in their everyday working lives are directed to ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and more specifically the addendum publication ‘Safeguarding Children Who May Have Been Trafficked’
Professionals working in the children’’s workforce should familiarise themselves with the LSCB’s ‘Trafficked Children Toolkit’ now accepted by the UKHTC as the most appropriate guidance and assessment matrix for identifying victims of human trafficking - (
ECPAT exercise

27. Protection > Prosecution…
The UKHTC is the nominated ‘Competent Authority’ (along with the UKBA). They have responsibility for making decisions as to whether a referred person is a victim of trafficking
Any First Responder that wishes to refer a potential victim of human trafficking to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is required to fill out a standard referral form
First Responders are the only people entitled to fill out this form and currently they are; Police, UK Border Agency (UKBA), Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Local Authorities / Social Services, Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) plus a range of NGO’s and charities working with victims of trafficking
The Competent Authority assesses whether there is ‘reasonable’ or ‘conclusive’ grounds to decide if a referred person is indeed a victim of trafficking.
Victims are given a 45 day reflection period (extendable) to decide whether they wish to pursue prosecution and / or be repatriated

28. Prosecution…
In 2006 there were just 5,808 prosecutions and 3,160 convictions throughout the world for human trafficking
Put into perspective, this means that for every 800 people trafficked just one person was convicted in 2006
This is organised crime on a global scale and if we are to tackle it we need to be equally well organised in our strategies and responses to this ‘egregious violation of human rights’
There are no black and white answers to tackling trafficking – we need to look at a multi-agency 3P approach differentiated according to the needs of each individual situation
No prosecutions as of yet in Scotland and Wales…

29. The Human Trafficking Venn:
Prevention
Education – tailored packages for professionals and non - professionals
Cross border cooperation – countries of origin, transit & destination
Campaigning – ASI, Stop the Traffik, ECPAT, MTV Exit, Blue Blindfold, ATA, Unchosen, Unseen, CROP, Just Whistle…
Social Cohesion – involve communities
Reduce demand
Protection
Prosecution
Multi-Agency
Improve victim identification
Support victim service development & provision
Enshrine rights-based approach in policies & programme planning
Engage public, private and voluntary sectors
DO NOT RE-VICTIMISE
Liaise over necessary use of CP procedures
Enact Palermo / simplify laws
Collaborate with law enforcement agencies: Police / UKBA / IA
Confiscation Orders / tougher sentencing
Share intelligence: UKHTC / CEOP / Crimestoppers
Use contacts and intelligence in custodial estate – work with perpetrators?
Collaborate with & use
SOCA & UNODC

30. Signposting: www.combattrafficking.eu
UKHTC
London LSCB -
ECPAT
NSPCC / CTAIL –
CEOP / 2307 –
Children’s Legal Centre
CFAB – Children & Families Across Borders (ISS) –
CRIMESTOPPERS