Thousands trafficked to the UK and kept in slavery, police report shows
Highest number of people trafficked came from Romania, and most were
sexually exploited
* Annie Kelly <
http://www.theguardian.com/profile/anniekelly>
* Tuesday 30 September 2014 14.23 BST
Thousands of people have been trafficked to the UK and kept in conditions of
modern slavery in the past year, according to the latest police figures.
<
http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/news-listings/452-nca-human-traf
ficking-report-reveals-22-rise-in-potential-victims> Statistics released by
the National Crime Agency (NCA) show the number of potential victims of
trafficking last year increased by 22% on 2012, rising to 2,744 people from
more than 86 countries, of whom 602 were children.
The report drew a critical response from Andrew Wallis, chief executive of
anti-trafficking NGO <
http://www.unseenuk.org/> Unseen, who said it
demonstrated that the UK still did not understand of the scale of the crime.
But Aidan McQuade, director of Anti-Slavery International, said the increase
in the number of reported victims could partly be attributed to a better
understanding of the issue by the government and authorities.
Eastern Europe remains a primary source of victims. The highest number of
people trafficked into the UK came from Romania and most of them were
sexually exploited. Poland was the most likely country of origin for people
facing labour exploitation.
Of all known victims of labour trafficking, 78% were
<
https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea> European Economic Area nationals legally working
in the UK.
There has been a significant rise in the number of UK victims. British
people made up 7% of the overall trafficking figures last year, up from 4%
in 2012. Nearly 90% of UK children identified as potential victims of
trafficking by the NCA had been sexually exploited, an increase of 250% on
2012.
Although the figures were appalling, McQuade said, “paradoxically this is
probably good news because it indicates a more effective scrutiny of the
problem, but saying that it is still a dreadfully high number, which
indicates that more attention needs to be paid to getting to grips with the
push factors that are leading to people being identified as trafficking
victims in the UK.”
“We should also bear in mind that these figures almost certainly
underestimate the actual numbers of those affected, for instance in the
sphere of forced domestic work, which the government seems to be addressing
by simply ignoring its existence,” he added.
The NCA admitted that, despite improvements in identifying victims, the
actual number of people trafficked in the UK is likely to be higher than
those recorded. It acknowledged that some victims may not be identified by
the authorities that encounter them, such as women who have been sex
trafficked into prostitution.
Wallis was concerned about the gap between the reported figures and the
likely real ones. “These figures and data are already nine months out of
date and the report is littered with phrases like, ‘it is not clear why’ and
‘lack of information regarding’. In 30% of all cases the location of
exploitation was recorded as unknown – which goes to highlight that the UK
still remains ‘data blind’ and lacks the necessary understanding of the true
scale and nature of this crime.
“Of particular concern is the explosion in the number of children identified
as trafficked, especially UK nationals, and the acceptance that the true
figure is much higher as we are beginning to understand the true scale of
situations like
<
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/aug/27/guardian-view-rotherha
m-child-abuse-scandal> Rotherham,
<
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/rochdale-child-sex-ring> Rochdale,
<
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-22379415> Telford and
<
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/14/oxford-gang-guilty-grooming-girls
> Oxford, to name but four.”
The NCA admitted that people who were trafficked into the UK for criminal
exploitation, such as being forced to work in cannabis factories or begging
gangs, were still seen as criminals rather than victims in some cases.
The report indicated that some victims had been sold on several times after
entering the UK, for amounts ranging from £200-6,000. Nigerian traffickers,
who arrange for documentation and travel for women who believe they are
coming to the UK for legitimate work, are demanding up to £50,000 from their
victims, who are forced into prostitution to pay off their debts.
The NCA figures were published as the Home Office prepares to put its
<
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27684245> modern slavery bill to the Lords
this year.
“Modern slavery is an appalling crime that has no place in today’s society,”
Karen Bradley, the modern slavery and organised crime minister, said. “Yet
these figures show that it is taking place here – often out of sight – in
shops, fields, building sites and behind the curtains of houses on ordinary
streets.”
Received on Tue Sep 30 2014 - 12:42:29 EDT