1. Know and learn the signs to look out for – including trafficking for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, petty crime, street begging (click here for more info)
   
   
2. Know who to contact if you have concerns e.g. Crime stoppers 0800 555 111, Police Freephone 0800 783 2589, Salvation Army 0300 303 8151
   
   
3. Write to your local newspapers about their advertisements for sex establishments and question advertisements for the services of so called massage parlours, saunas and nail bars. It is incredibly hypocritical to sell newspapers by writing a story about ‘sinister brothels’ on the one hand, but on the other, to be making money from the profits of these premises and actually promoting their services which, our evidence suggests, are highly likely to have trafficked women working in them. BUT also write to your local newspaper if they have dropped these advertisements letting them know you support their commitment not to include them
   
   
4. Write to your MP/Councillor/Police to ask what they’re doing. Tell them you think they should make tackling trafficking a priority
   
   
5. Concerned that tackling human trafficking isn't high enough on your local policing or council agenda? Why not have your say and tell your Safer Neighbourhoods Team that you want to see this issue become a local priority. "Safer Neighbourhoods teams are dedicated to the needs of each specific neighbourhood, with the policing priorities for that area decided in partnership with local stakeholders - the public, crime and disorder reduction partnerships (CDRPs), local authorities and other local organisations." You have a chance to help affect policing priorities in your area - why not go to a drop in surgery or public meeting, or get in contact via email? You can find out all about your nearest Safer Neighbourhoods Team here.  Just type in your postcode at http://www.safer-neighbourhoods.co.uk/.  We all have a role to play in ensuring tackling this horrendous crime is made a priority in our areas
   
   
6. Tell others (neighbours/family/colleagues) hold an awareness event put up posters, leave leaflets in your workplace/ community hall
   
   
7. Ask your local school what they’re doing to teach their pupils about the issue. We visit schools and talk to 15 to 17 year olds about modern day slavery which includes trafficking.  This helps raise awareness and so that young people will be better placed to deal with any approaches to them or to any of their friends
   
   
8. Fundraise towards your community's anti trafficking activities
   
   
9. Join our mailing list to receive regular updates and to have access to information to help your activities
    
10. Buy Fair-Trade food and clothing to help reduce slavery abroad.

Like it or not, men are a big part of the problem. If there wasn’t a demand for sexual exploitation in our communities, there wouldn’t be women trafficked into the brothels.  UK Figures now suggest that 1 in 10 men will pay for sex

Who pays for sex

Tackling the demand for prostitution

Who Pays for Sex?

One in 10 men has used a prostitute

The men paying for sex are not ‘dead-beats’. They are, on average, in their 30's, married and have a mortgage. Does that sound like you or someone you know?

We believe that sex with a trafficked woman is rape. If you are someone that uses women in brothels for sex in Croydon, you could be convicted of rape and spend time in prison. But aside from that, try to think about the human being that you are paying to exploit.  You may have chosen her, but she definitely didn’t choose you. Trafficked women and girls are lured from their homes, often in poorer countries, with the promise of a better life. They are kept as slaves, many are not allowed to leave their brothel prisons and are intimidated with violence and fear. The people that traffick them see them not as women and human beings, but as an object to exploit time and again.

Coerced and trafficked women in prostitution: know the signs

1. The women is a foreign national.
2. She appears to be unhappy and unwilling to perform sexual acts.
3. She is frightened or in physical pain.
4. The women sees a large number of clients each day/night.
5. She is able to keep little, or none, of the money she receives from clients.
6. 'Special' services are offered including unprotected sex, often at a low price.
7. She doesn't smile and is reluctant to cooperate.
8. Food is paid for by another person.
9. She has little or no time off.
10. She may only know how to say sex-related words in English.

To learn more, take a look at these links:

Watch the Crimestoppers film here

Behind the Smile

thesohogame.com

It’s true that men are a big part of the problem. Their demand for sex means the supply of women for exploitation continues to increase. But as a woman you still have a big part to play.

You can help speak out on behalf of other women who are enslaved right here in your community, but you can also help stop the demand. The profile of the average man that pays for sex in the UK is a 30 something, married, mortgage-paying man. Sadly you may even be married to, or know someone who uses trafficked women; 1 in 10 men in the UK has bought sex at some point in their life.

With over 70 establishments selling sex in Croydon (for example) the problem is rampant.

The consequences of men using trafficked women will affect you as well. If we allow the problem to continue, Croydon will become an increasingly unsafe place for women to be. More and more men will be de-sensitised to the injustice of exploiting women and using them for their own pleasure. Your partner could even spend time in prison because sex with a trafficked woman is rape. Then of course there is the disease that they could pass on, not to mention the families and relationships that they could break up.

If you think your partner, husband or male friend might be illegally using a trafficked woman, take action.

What is the scale of human trafficking worldwide?

Men, women and children are trafficked within their own countries and across international borders. Trafficking affects every continent and most countries. Every country is affected by human trafficking, whether they are an origin country where people are trafficked from; a transit country where people are trafficked through; or a destination country where people are trafficked to.

Often a country will be all three. Men, women and children are trafficked. Due to the hidden and illegal nature of human trafficking, gathering statistics on the scale of the problem is difficult. The following statistics may represent an underestimation of trafficking, but are the most credible and frequently quoted.

People trafficking is the fastest growing means by which people are enslaved, the fastest growing international crime, and one of the largest sources of income for organised crime. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime

• 1.2 million children are trafficked every year - Estimate by UNICEF
• At least 12.3 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide. Of these 2.4 million are as a result of human trafficking. - A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
• 600,000-800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Approximately 80 per cent are women and girls. Up to 50% are minors. - US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2005
• The majority of trafficked victims arguably come from the poorest countries and poorest strata of the national population. - A global alliance against forced labor, International Labour Organisation, 2005
• Human trafficking in the second largest source of illegal income worldwide exceeded only by drugs trafficking. - (belser 2005)
• There are even reports that some trafficking groups are switching their cargo from drugs to human beings, in a search of high profits at lower risk. - Un office on drugs and crime
• People are trafficked into prostitution, begging, forced labour, military service, domestic service, forced illegal adoption, forced marriage etc.
• Types of recruitment; include abduction, false agreement with parents, sold by parents, runaways, travel with family, orphans sold from street or institutions.