Tackling trafficking

The trafficking of people and in particular children is a global problem. Rhys Hadden examines the vital role that local authorities have to play in protecting them from harm.

“Today, more than twice as many people are in bondage around the world than were taken in chains during the entire 350 years of the African slave trade. Despite the abolition of slavery, modern forms of trading in human beings continue, whether for sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic slavery or organised crime...In the United Kingdom, many thousands of individuals are bought and sold as commodities and forced into modern-day slavery. This is commonly known as human trafficking.” Anthony Steen MP, House of Commons, 5 February 2010

According to Unicef 1.2 million children are trafficked globally each year. Precisely how many children are brought to the UK is a vexed question. The trafficking of children is a clandestine activity and, therefore, it is difficult to identify and record the number of trafficked children, although some data does exist. The latest statistics published by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre identify a total of 287 children from 47 countries as being potentially trafficked to the UK in the 12 month period from March 2009 to February 2010. For many working in the field this figure is merely the tip of the iceberg of a much wider problem.

The numbers may be in doubt but the horrific stories of victims are not. Last month the BBC reported the story of a church pastor who was jailed for 11 and a half years after being found guilty of trafficking children into the UK for use as domestic “slaves” at her home in Barking, East London. In October 2010, 28 children were placed under police protection after a raid in Ilford. The children, aged between 3 and 17, were believed to have been brought to the UK from Romania by a gang of child traffickers who were suspected of using them to beg and steal on the streets.

Many UK professionals who work with children still find it difficult to imagine that child trafficking is a local problem, believing the problem to be confined to less developed countries or large cities. However, local authorities play a crucial role in identifying trafficked children and then ensuring they are protected from coming to any further harm. This responsibility cannot be over-emphasised. The potential ramifications of inactivity on this issue are simply too great and too serious to ignore.

Defining Child Trafficking

Human trafficking is defined by the UNHCR guidelines (2006) (see note 1) as a process that is a combination of three basic components:

1. Movement (including movement within the UK)
2. Control, through harm/threat or fraud
3. For the purpose of exploitation

The Palermo Protocol (often referred to as the “Trafficking Protocol”) (2) establishes children as a special case for whom there are only two components, namely movement and exploitation. Any child transported for exploitative reasons is considered to be a trafficking victim whether or not she or he has been deceived. Control, to overcome or enforce consent, does not form part of the legal requirement for proof that a child has been trafficked because it is not considered possible for children to give informed consent.

For the purposes of UK legislation and policy, a child is defined according to the Children Acts 1989 and 2004 as anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. As such, even though a child is older than 16, this will not change his or her status or entitlement to services or protection under the Children Act 1989.

The extent of child trafficking in the UK

Child trafficking is a hidden and complex crime and it is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of children trafficked in the UK. Of the 287 potential victims of child trafficking identified by CEOP in 2009-2010, most children were from Vietnam (58), Nigeria (40) and China (42). There were also a significant number of Roma children (32) identified.

The trafficking of Vietnamese children into and within the UK was the largest and most significant trend. Most were boys aged between 13 to 17, exploited as ‘gardeners’ cultivating cannabis plants in cannabis factories. The trafficking of West African, primarily Nigerian, children also remains prominent. These children often arrive in the UK disguised as family members of the traffickers. Many are then exploited in non-registered private fostering arrangements with the abuse hidden and occurring in private residences. Exploitation commonly includes domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and benefit fraud.

The number of potential victims of trafficking who go missing from local authority care is a major concern. Recent research estimates that at least 4 children in the care of local authorities a week go missing (3). Freedom of Information requests made to over 200 local authorities disclose that in the period between April 2008 to August 2009 at least 330 young people aged between 9 to 17 disappeared. From the evidence available it is not possible to say exactly how many of that number have been found. Those responsible for trafficking children deliberately set out to ensure that they do not come to the attention of the authorities or disappear from contact with statutory or front line services soon after arrival in the UK or in a new area within the UK.

Why do people traffic children?

Children are trafficked for all kinds of reasons. Most children are trafficked for financial gain. This can include payment from or to the child’s parents and can involve the child in debt-bondage to the traffickers. In most cases, the trafficker also receives payments from those wanting to exploit the child once in the UK. The exploitation of trafficked children can be progressive. Children trafficked for domestic work may then also be vulnerable to sexual exploitation or children initially trafficked for sexual exploitation may be resold.

The most recent figures published by CEOP indicate that of 219 cases where the type of exploitation was identified 35% (76) of children were sexually exploited, most of whom were female; 18% (39) were exploited for cannabis cultivation; 11% (25) were exploited for domestic servitude; 11% (23) for benefit fraud; 9% (20) for street crime; 4% (8) for servile marriage; 2% (4) for illegal adoption; and 2% (5) for various other types of exploitation.

Research indicates that children who have been trafficked will have experienced abuse and neglect and require a high level of care and protection (4). Charities such as ECPAT UK identify significant protection needs of children who are likely to be suffering from fear and anxiety, as well as manifestations of physical, sexual or emotional abuse (5).

The role of local authorities in safeguarding risk

Local authorities play a key role in identifying trafficked children in their communities. A local authority in England and Wales is under a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in need in their area, regardless of their immigration status. They also have responsibilities for unaccompanied children, as well as those who arrive in the UK with their parents and for whom there are concerns regarding their safety and welfare.

The responsibility of each local authority and the mechanism for multi-agency working is set out clearly in the guidance produced by the Department for Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2010 (6). Supplementary guidance specifically dealing with trafficked children was produced in 2007, Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked (7) and similar guidance has been produced for Wales and Scotland.

Where a child has been referred to the local authority because of trafficking concerns, children’s social care should decide within 24 hours whether to undertake an initial assessment to determine whether the child is a child in need and, where appropriate, to initiate a section 47 enquiry under the Children Act 1989.

National Referral Mechanism

In 2008 the UK Government ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Convention came into force in the UK on 1 April 2009 and provided a framework of obligations with which the UK has to comply. As a consequence, the Home Office introduced the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) as a system for identifying and recording potential victims of trafficking and ensuring that they are provided with appropriate support wherever they are in the UK.

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a child has been trafficked, front-line professionals, such as social workers, teachers or police officers, are required by the NRM to refer potential victims of human trafficking to one of two ‘competent authorities’, either the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) or the UK Border Agency (UKBA).

After months of concerted criticism and political pressure, on 22 March 2011 the UK government announced that it will apply to opt in to the EU Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Protecting Victims. Amongst other things, the EU Directive requires that an independent guardian be appointed to children whose parents are not in the position to represent them. It also broadens the definition of trafficking to include forced begging, an issue in the UK with the trafficking of the Roma people.

Identifying Trafficked Children

Most trafficked children enter the UK openly via a port of entry or covertly in the back of a lorry. If they are picked up by the UKBA, immigration officers make an initial decision and refer the young person to the local authority if necessary. However, it is often hard to identify potential victims as they are often unaware they have been trafficked.

Trafficked children do not generally come to the attention of social services or the police with a complaint that they have been trafficked. Trafficked children may not even understand their experience as exploitation because of trust in their traffickers or because of a lack of understanding of their rights to be protected from abuse and to access education, safety and care.

The NSPCC suggests that one of the biggest barriers to local authorities to identifying trafficked children is the fear of breaching anti-discriminatory practice, where professionals accept a strange relationship because they believe it is part of African culture, when in fact what is going on is domestic servitude. Another common complaint made to the NSPCC is the lack of continuity some children have with social workers as they are constantly reassigned.

The Safeguarding Trafficked Children Toolkit

Before the Council of Europe Convention on the issue, awareness of child trafficking amongst local authorities was low and the response mechanisms unclear. To counter this lack of awareness, a child trafficking “toolkit” was developed by the London Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB). The toolkit provides guidance to assist professionals make an early identification and assessment of children who may have been harmed through being trafficked and exploited.

The LSCB ran a 14-month pilot scheme from 2009 to 2010 to monitor and trial the toolkit amongst 12 port-of-arrival local authorities. The findings of the scheme and accompanying guidance were published in February 2011 (8).

The report identified that some trafficked children face strong pressure to go missing, i.e. to return to the trafficker or trafficking network, within 24 hours of being identified. The guidance recommends that local authorities must recognise the importance of the first ‘golden hour’ in rapidly implementing safeguarding measures for newly identified trafficked children. If child protection intervention is not taken swiftly then the child will remain under the control of the trafficker, making it impossible to remove from them the exploitative situation. The failure of local authorities to identify these children as ‘at risk of significant harm’ leaves them highly vulnerable to going missing.

The LSCB report also found that identification of trafficked children remains a major challenge for local authorities in a context of low public awareness. There is a professional reluctance to accept child trafficking as a live issue in the UK and inconsistent levels of multi-agency engagement.

Good Practice

Some local authorities are adopting the right approach. For example, ECPAT UK praises Hillingdon Council for its proactive approach to preventing child trafficking at Heathrow Airport, which falls within its borough.

In a recent interview with Children and Young People Now (9), Paul Hewitt, safeguarding service manager at Hillingdon, says it also has a clear strategy when suspected trafficked children are identified in the community. Any child felt to be a victim is referred to children’s social care and assessed using the LSCB trafficking toolkit. If the child is felt to be at risk, safe accommodation is provided – either at a children’s home, foster placement or semi-independent living facility. Their mobile phone is taken away so the traffickers cannot reach them. If there is criminal involvement, a strategy meeting is held with the police to aid their investigation, and a child protection inquiry opened. Either way a case conference is held to bring the agencies together to discuss the child’s welfare in the long term.

Time is of the essence, says Hewitt: “…You have to get involved with the young person as soon as possible, because they’re most at risk within the two weeks of arrival. You must intervene decisively in that time to build a trusting relationship to encourage them to stay put.”

Through this approach Hillingdon has cut the numbers of trafficked children running away from residential care to rejoin the traffickers, according to the Metropolitan Police.

What support is available for local authorities?

In order to successfully combat the invisible and pernicious threat of child trafficking, it is clear that trafficking training needs to be rolled out to all social workers. In addition, the LSCB guidance recommends that local authorities nominate a ‘local trafficked children lead’ who can develop specialist knowledge in relation to trafficked children.

Central government has also recognised the need to work closely with local government. To that end the Home Office has funded a number of initiatives designed to assist and provide guidance to local government. These include:

• The NSPCC run a National Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (CTAIL) on 0800 107 7057 that offers advice to individuals and professionals who come across children whom they suspect may have been trafficked.
• An E-learning package has been funded by the Home Office and developed by ECPAT UK to train practitioners to improve their skills in identifying and taking appropriate action to safeguard trafficked children (see http://course.ecpat.org.uk/).

Rhys Hadden is a barrister at Field Court Chambers. He is available to present seminars on this topic – contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Notes

1. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Guidelines on International Protection No. 7: The Application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention and/or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees to Victims of Trafficking and Persons At Risk of Being Trafficked, 7 April 2006, HCR/GIP/06/07.
2. The Palermo Protocol To Prevent, Suppress And Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women And Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime to the UN Convention (2000) was ratified by the UK on 6 February 2006.
3. Statistics collated by BBC Radio 4’s The Report in conjunction with the Care Leavers Association in January 2010. It is available as a podcast here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pxslj
4. Stolen smiles: a summary report on the physical and psychological health consequences of women and adolescents trafficked in Europe, Dr Cathy Zimmerman, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Gender Violence & Health Centre, 2006
5. Child Trafficking in the UK: A Snapshot
6. http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/DCSF-00305-2010
7. http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/HMG-00994-2007
8. The London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Guidance and accompanying Toolkit (February 2011) is available to download at: http://www.londonscb.gov.uk/trafficking/
9. http://www.cypnow.co.uk/Social_Care/article/1061025/trafficked-abandoned/