Transcript Human Trafficking – a Health Perspective Sue Gwyer - CSWP COMBAT Engagement Specialist www.combattrafficking.eu.

Human Trafficking – a
Health Perspective
Sue Gwyer - CSWP COMBAT
Engagement Specialist
www.combattrafficking.eu
UK Government Strategy on
Human Trafficking [July 2011 p.29]
• The Department of Health (DH) will work with the UKHTC and
others, to improve the response from health services to victims
of trafficking
• This will include equipping more health services and
professionals with the training and skills to become first
responders
• DH is working with the Women’s Health and Equality Consortium
on the trafficking and health project to agree specific actions
to promote greater awareness of human trafficking and provide
health professionals with guidance on how to respond to victims
appropriately
• The DH has also recognised the need for better understanding
of the issues around health and trafficking and has therefore
invited bids for a piece of research in this area which is due to
commence in 2011
TRAINING OBJECTIVES:
• Raise awareness of the issue of Human Trafficking,
specifically the trafficking of children and young women
• Outline the Legislative Framework
• Identify discreet issues for health professionals
• Identify how we can COMBAT human trafficking
through prevention, protection and prosecution
• Outline the procedures to follow when we suspect that
someone is the victim of trafficking
• Signpost to appropriate support agencies and resources
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’
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
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
•
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
•
Safeguarding Children who may have been Trafficked 2011: Addendum to Working
Together to Safeguard Children 2006
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 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 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
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
Child Trafficking & 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 2008-09 ‘Operation Glover’, directed
against the internal trafficking of
teenage girls for sexual exploitation,
rescued 33 trafficking victims
‘Operation Golf’
• In 2010 ‘Operation Golf’ picked up 103
Roma children from 13 addresses in
East London. 52 adults were arrested.
The trafficking ring was operating
from one town in Romania.
• Between 01.04.09 and 31.03.11 the
UKHTC received 1481 referrals – 390
of which were minors
But why are people trafficked?
For what purpose?
In the UK children are trafficked for:
ECPAT – End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes
• Sexual exploitation
• Forced labour (including restaurant and catering
work)
• Domestic servitude
• Cultivation of cannabis
• Drug trafficking
• Begging & Petty theft
• Blood rituals
• Benefit fraud
• Selling counterfeit goods such as DVD’s
• Illegal adoption / private fostering
In the UK…
[ECPAT]
• There is also evidence that children are brought to and removed
from 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?
• 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
• 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 / or neglect or they may have parents /
guardians with substance dependency issues
• Political conflict and economic transition – often lead to movements
of large numbers of people and the erosion of economic and social
protection mechanisms
• Natural disasters – Earthquakes, Tsunami’s etc – displacement leads
to separated children and vulnerable adults
• 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
“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.
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
Identifying Victims of Trafficking
Health Indicators [Harrow LSCB]
• Untreated injury / medical condition [unexplained delay in
seeking treatment]
• Indications of abuse / neglect
• Not registered with GP
• Use of different doctors / A&E Departments
• Evidence of substance misuse
• STI / unwanted pregnancy [possibly numerous] – lack of medical
attention during pregnancy
• May have tatoo’s or other marks indicating ‘ownership’
Physical Health Symptoms
Stolen Smiles – a summary report on the physical and psychological
health consequences of women and children trafficked in Europe
•Fatigue & Weight Loss – easily tired, loss of appetite
•Neurological – headaches, dizzy spells, difficulty remembering, fainting
•Gastrointestinal – stomach or abdominal pain, upset stomach, vomiting,
diarrhoea, constipation
•Sexual & Reproductive Health – urination pain, pelvic pain, vaginal
discharge, vaginal pain, vaginal bleeding [not menstruation], gynaecological
infection
•Cardiovascular – chest / heart pain, breathing difficulty
•Musculoskeletal – back pain, fractures / sprains, joint or muscular pain,
facial injuries
•Eyes – vision problems, eye pain
•ENT - ear pain, colds, flu & sinus infections
•Dermatological – rashes, itching, sores
The NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors)
Regulations 1989 (S.I. 1989/306)
• Amended to provide a new exemption from charge
category for anyone who the ‘Competent Authorities’
of the UK have identified as a victim of human
trafficking
• Or consider that there are reasonable grounds to
believe is a victim of human trafficking for whom a
‘recovery and reflection’ period has not yet expired
• This will extend to their spouse/civil partner or
dependent child
• As of 1 April 2009 trusts must not charge those
patients who are identified as actual or suspected
victims
Trafficking for Domestic Servitude
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/news/ukengland-london-12799805
‘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.
A young Chinese woman, forced into domestic servitude in a UK
takeaway restaurant, was confined to live in this outhouse
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
ECPAT – ‘Missing Out’
•
In September 2005 six Chinese girls, aged 16-17 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
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
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
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
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. It came into force in the UK on 1st April 2009
•
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
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 (www.londonscb.gov.uk)
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
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
• In the UK between 2006 and 2010 109 people were sentenced for
trafficking offences receiving an average custodial sentence of 4yrs
2mths
• In the same period 254,980 people were sentenced for drugs
offences receiving an average custodial sentence of 2yrs 8mths
• 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
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
Signposting:
• UKHTC - 0844 778 2406 - www.ukhtc.org
• London LSCB - www.londonscb.gov.uk
• ECPAT - 020 7233 9887 - www.ecpat.org.uk
• NSPCC / CTAIL – 0800 107 7057
• CEOP - 020 7238 2320 / 2307 – www.ceop.gov.uk
• Children’s Legal Centre - 01206 872 466
www.childrenslegalcentre.com
• CFAB – Children & Families Across Borders (ISS) – 020 7735 8941
• CRIMESTOPPERS - 0800 555 111
• www.combattrafficking.eu