Peter Cox, who helped set up CCAT five years ago, will be speaking at a meeting of the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) in Croydon, next Thursday 24th May.  Speaking alongside Antony Botting representing the National Referral Mechanism, the talk will be entitled 'Human Trafficking - Awareness and Prevention'. 

We believe here at YCAHT that the paper Peter has prepared has many interesting and thought-provoking points, and we have copied it for you below.  Let us know what you think! 

Human Trafficking

A Summary of Difficulties and Items for Consideration

BACKGROUND

1. A crime that is so difficult to prove and get convictions.

2. Controlled by people with no conscience who take advantage, in the most evil ways, of the poverty and lack of education of the weak.

3. Victims are invariably scared, controlled and helpless thus don’t easily come forward.

4. It is no one’s priority – the public or the authorities.

5. It only hits the headlines when a tragedy has been uncovered.

6. Croydon is particularly vulnerable because of multicultural population mix, good transport links, considerable business, high proportion of young people, active night life and UKBA.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND SOME QUESTIONS

1. More people know something about HT today but raising awareness needs to be maintained with the public and the authorities.

2. People unaware of it possibly happening near to where they live.

3. Easier reporting of suspicious activity to the authorities.

4. What is suspicious activity? Should the authorities set this out for the public?

5. As traffickers are experts at moving their operations around, establish a co-ordinated approach with other boroughs so that Croydon does not just shift the problem elsewhere.

6. Ensure young people in Croydon know more about trafficking and grooming so they can prevent themselves from becoming potential victims.

7. Help teachers spot the signs in their classrooms and report suspicions.

8. The NRM tends to deal with over 18s who have escaped and get referred but how can the same stakeholders in the NRM process deal with those who do not come through the NRM route?

9. Decisions under the NRM go to UKBA for potential victims outside the EU and to UKHTC for those within EU.  Are decisions being made that are all to do with whether the person being investigated should remain in this country?   If it transpires they should not be in UK, is the trafficking issue still pursued with determination and the victim given appropriate support particularly for non EU citizens?

10. For under 18s, particularly for those in care, is there sufficient safety and protection for both girls and boys?

11. Are dubious ads that sell services, where trafficked people may exist, being investigated effectively?

12. Are the places on which CCAT has completed desk/telephone research operating legally?

PETER COX    May 2012

A gang in Rochdale has been the first in Britain to be convicted of the crime of sex-trafficking within the UK.

The gang, which used a former member to recruit other young victims and lure them in, comprised six men who have been convicted, along with five others who have been released.  Ten of the men are Pakistani, and one is an Afghan asylum-seeker. 

Operating from two takeaway shops in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the men used the 15-year-old former victim as their recruiter, and she persuaded under-age white girls to travel to various locations with her, where they were usually raped or gang-raped.  All the victims were girls who came from broken homes, and spent their days hanging around together, smoking and drinking.

The Greater Manchester police first had the opportunity to move in on the gang after a report of rape over two years ago, but at that time, they 'regrettably' did not make any further moves. 

Source:  The Daily Telegraph, www.telegraph.co.uk
For the full article, click here.

An article that has appeared in Foreign Policy in Focus has highlighted the modern slave trade  - the trafficking of innocent and powerless human beings in ways that exploit and harm them. 

 

Many would claim that slavery is a thing of history. However, ‘the dynamics of global capitalism have reproduced a system of repressive labor globally that is serviced and maintained by legal and illegal labor trafficking’.  Sadly, in places like the Middle East, it is female domestic workers who are the least highly regarded and the lowest-paid, sitting at the bottom of the migrant social hierarchy. ‘Their conditions of work, which often include rape and sexual abuse, constitute a condition virtually indistinguishable from slavery’, writes the author of the article.

 

Read this extract from the article, highlighting the shockingly typical case of a young woman from the Philippines. 

 

‘Here is how the labor trafficking system works in the states in the Arabian peninsula along the Persian Gulf. A recruiter from a Gulf statecontacts his man in the Philippines. The Filipino contact goes to the remote provinces to recruit a young woman promising a wage of $400 a month, which is the minimum amount set by the Philippine government. When she departs, the recruitment agency gives her another contract at the airport, one that is often written in Arabic, saying she will be paid only half or less that amount. On arrival at the destination, she receives from the Gulf recruiter a temporary residence permit or iqama, but this is taken from her along with her passport by the recruiter or by her employer.

‘The migrant worker is then turned over to a family where she labors under slave-like conditions for 18 to 20 hours a day. She is isolated from other Filipino domestic workers, making her communication with the outside world dependent on her employer. She cannot leave the employer because her temporary residence certificate and passport are with him. If she runs away, however, and goes to the labor recruiter, she is "sold” to another family, sometimes at an even lower rate than that paid by the original employer.

‘Unable to leave the country since she has no documents, the runaway most often ends up being sold from one family to another by the labor recruiter. If she is lucky, she might find her way to the Philippine embassy, which operates a shelter for runaways, but it will take months if not years for the Philippine embassy to obtain the necessary permits to enable her to return home’.

This shocking story is one of many we have featured in recent months. What is perhaps more shocking is that this also happens on the streets of the UK....and right here in Croydon. 

We urge our supporters to continue to raise awareness of the issue of modern-day slavery amongst politicians, and the general public.  Just as in the 19th century, we must work together to seek to abolish this crime. 

For the full article, click here.

Source:  Foreign Policy in Focus, www.fpif.org

Picture:  http://www.menassat.com/files/images/phillipino.jpg

 

Many of our CCAT supporters will be interested to know that there is a drama coming to Croydon this summer, as part of the London Festival 2012, that highlights the plight of refugees and local residents - being performed against a backdrop of a Croydon car park! 

The drama, called Unfinished Dream, is the work of Iranian Hamid Poorazari who works with the Perpanata Theatre Company to tell the stories of some of the victims of those whose lives are in limbo - in such cities as Croydon. 

Those who wish to see the drama, please click here.  It starts 21 June-1 July and is based near the Fairfield Halls. 

Source:  London Festival 2012
Picture:  taken from the web page Unfinished Dream

Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, met trafficking victims on Sunday during a visit to India.  The victims narrated their stories to Mrs. Clinton and other NGOs who were present, and also put on a performance of dance and karate.

Mrs. Clinton, who is well known for her anti-trafficking stance, met daughters of sex workers, and other activists involved in the rehabilitation of trafficking victims, during her time in Kolkata, India. 

Those who work against trafficking in India expressed hope that the US would add its weight to the fight against trafficking in a more concerted way, following the Secretary of State's visit. 

Source:  IBN Live (India)
For more, click here.

Hollywood stars Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding) star in a major new anti-trafficking movie, due for release in September 2012.  The movie, which has been previewed to rave reviews at Yale University, deals specifically with child victims of human trafficking. 

According to the producer Jim Schmidt, Trade of Innocents differs from other movies which have been released on the subject because it gives the audience a 'comprehensive view of the crime' of trafficking.  He adds ' "Trade of Innocents" depicts the various aspects of child trafficking from "the mother that sacrifices one child to the sex trade in order to provide financially for the rest of the family; to the cop who turns a blind eye; to the brothel owner who uses a perverted twisted sense of family to control his girls; to finally, the main characters who show that the people who do human trafficking investigations and rescues have real problems and challenges in their own lives."

Set in Cambodia, the film stars Mulroney as a human trafficking investigator, who with his wife, Sorvino, is grieving the death of his young daughter.  In Cambodia, they quickly become tangled up in the lives of young Cambodian girls who are being used and sold as sex slaves. 

Source:  www.christianpost.com
For full article, click here.
Photo:  From Trade of Innocents Facebook page.

 

There is concern that the London Olympics could see an increase in trafficking this summer.  This is due to the fact that those who deal in human trafficking often profit from the fact that many people attend major sporting events, travelling across continents, a fact which makes it easier to smuggle people in. It is also easier to exploit trades such as prostitution among those who may not use discernment when they are visiting the host country, as well as abuse other jobs that may be in demand at such times, such as construction and retail.

 

However, there is also an awareness that these same sporting events that may pose a threat and danger to trafficking victims also provide the opportunity to raise consciousness among the general public of the crime of human trafficking. 

 

The ‘GIFT’ box, created by the UKHTC andStop the Traffik, has been created to inspire visitors and residents of the UK alike during the 2012 Olympics to take steps to stop the trafficking trade. 

 

The box will demonstrate to the public how appealing the opportunities promised by traffickers appear to the victims.  Once the viewer enters inside the box, the reality of trafficking is revealed.  

Source: www.the-platform.org.uk

For the full article, click here.

Stop the Traffik have released a powerful video that shows the other side of the Amsterdam Shop Window girls.  The city is famous for its freedom with regard to prostitution and drugs, in particular in its Red Light district which has girls 'showing off their wares' in shop windows, as if they were goods for sale. 

The new video shows girls dancing, watched by a large crowd, before a large paper unfolds with the words ''Every year, thousands of women are promised a dance career in western Europe.  Sadly, too many of them end up here'. 

At this point, the shocked crowd disperses. 

The video helps to highlight the plight of so many of those trafficking victims, who leave their country because of the promise of a better life, but never find it.  Instead they are trapped in a world from which they cannot escape. 

You can view the video by finding the Stop the Traffik 'so you think you can dance?' link on You tube or click here.  

Photo:  from stopthetraffik/wordpress.com
For the full article, visit the Stop the Traffik website by clicking here.

Source: (photo and article) Stop the Traffik

TIME magazine, hugely influential across the world, has highlighted the plight of women, who continue to suffer disproportionately across the world.  They investigated conditions for women across the world and found that, whilst there has been a moderate improvement over the last 20 years, many areas see women as victims.  Following the information found by Foreign Policy magazine, the article explores nine factors, including physical security, maternal mortality, government participation and educational disparity, and found Afghanistan to be the worst place in the world to live as a woman.  
According to the article, 'One of the most striking findings, was that of sex trafficking. According to Foreign Policy‘s map, it appears that nearly 75% of the world has lax trafficking laws. Almost all of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia fall into one of three categories: "Trafficking is illegal but still practiced,” "Trafficking is limitedly illegal but is still practiced,” or "Trafficking is not illegal and is commonly practiced.”'

Source:  TIME magazine newsfeed.
For the full article, click here:

 

• Forced labour is found in a number of sectors of the UK economy including food and agriculture; care; construction; domestic work and hospitality.
• Intensification and pressure to reduce labour costs increase the risk of using forced labour.
• Migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and forced labour and high concentrations of migrant workers are found in the industries in the report.
• The use of subcontracted and agency labour in long supply chains can lead to less formal and more exploitative labour conditions with labour providers or agencies acting illegally.
• Businesses can do a whole range of things to prevent forced labour from being present in their supply chains in the UK. This includes more formal and detailed service level agreements with labour providers; greater scrutiny of agency workers’ terms and conditions; not facilitating ‘bogus’ self-employment; increasing knowledge of their suppliers and the use of audits and workforce engagement strategies.
• The government needs to increase the scope of its regulatory and enforcement action for labour providers to prevent exploitation of the most vulnerable workers and consider the role of immigration policy in facilitating migrants’ vulnerability to exploitation and forced labour.