Human trafficking is a despicable crime. Is our system fit for combatting it?
Photographer McKissock 2019
Human trafficking or modern-day slavery is defined by the United Nations as ‘the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of person through force, fraud or deception, with exploiting them for profit’. According to the International Labour Organisation, at least 40.4 million people around the world are coerced into situations of exploitation or forced to work against their will. Sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and forced marriage are amongst the most prevalent types of exploitation.
Human trafficking diminishes the significance of human life as it involves the recruitment and movement of vulnerable men, women and minors for the purpose of abusing them in degrading circumstances for monetary benefits. It often takes place across international borders; but can also occur within the United Kingdom. In particular, victims may be foreign nationals but can involve British citizens. More importantly, it has a detrimental impact not only on the individuals who are trafficked, but also on their families, who may be threatened or owe money to traffickers.
Evaluations vary enormously regarding how many victims of trafficking there are in the UK. The Government previously implied that there were between 13,000 to 136,000 potential victims. Nonetheless, the true number is expected to be far higher because many victims are unable or reluctant to engage with authorities out of fear. Additionally, they may be moved regularly across geographical boundaries.
The UK has taken some steps to address human trafficking. Domestically, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (the Act) advances the legislative framework to equip law enforcement agencies to successfully prosecute and convict the perpetrators and afford better protection to the victims. This legislation extends to public and private corporations who have a worldwide net turnover of more than £36 million. Firms that meet this criteria must issue a ‘slavery and human trafficking statement’ every six months after the end of their fiscal year. Section 54 of the Act is essential as it specifies the measures taken by companies to ensure that slavery and human trafficking do not occur within supply chains or any part of their business. This section places a duty on corporations to proactively set out what steps have been adopted to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place. Ultimately, this statement must be approved by an appropriately senior person within the corporation and published prominently on the company’s website.
Total direct government spending to combat human trafficking has increased considerably from £39 million in 2017, to £61 million in 2019. Additionally, an investment of £10 million over a five-year period to fund a new Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre was approved. Following this, they also persuaded national authorities to sign an international Call to Actions and promote a ‘Hidden in Plain Sight’ campaign to highlight victims of trafficking and trigger intervention.
The British government has been vocal in diplomatic efforts and foreign policy through financing a wide range of anti-trafficking programs worldwide. For instance, support in Nigeria and Vietnam has been aimed at upgrading the organisation, operational and management capacities of law enforcement officers, counsellors and social workers. More specifically, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and judicial authorities have proved beneficial in improving victim identification techniques.
To implement international obligations under the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe’s Convention of Action against Trafficking in Human Beings; the UK has set up the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). This is a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate protection and support. It is an online process that allows first responders to submit an NRM referral through an online form irrespective of their location in the UK, or whether the victim is an adult or child. Those who are recognised as potential victims have access to specialist tailored support for a period of 45 days while their case is being considered by the Single Competent Authority. The Single Competent Authority is a group of trained decision-makers drawn mainly from the Home Office, but also from the other public authorities. The Single Competent Authority decides whether, based on ‘reasonable grounds’, an individual could be a victim of modern slavery.
Unfortunately, the NRM is not running quite as envisioned. There is a lack of resources and delays within the system, due to slow and disappointing decision-making. For example, in 2017, there were 5,145 referrals, but by the end of the year only 665 of these referrals had resulted in a conclusive ground assessment that demonstrated that the individual was a victim of modern slavery. There were 1,049 referrals with a negative decision, and approximately 3,273 pending referrals that same year.
Since there is minimal proactive activity, an independent agency should be created to oversee what factors should be considered when deciding the ‘conclusive grounds’ of a decision and whether someone has survived trafficking. The decision-making process itself is fairly resourceful, however, the support delivered to victims is unpredictable and local authorities can make errors. This was demonstrated in OXY v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, where a claim for damages was brought by a Ghanaian refugee. In this situation, the Single Competent Authority concluded that she had been trafficked into forced prostitution, but then placed her into accommodation with five men. She then raised a complaint and subsequently alleged that one of the men sexually harassed her. However, this complaint was overlooked. She was vulnerable and felt scared and traumatised by the experience. As part of the overall efforts to support victims, local authorities should be obligated to provide medical and psychiatric assistance for PTSD trauma victims, as well as legal and financial aid.
Evidence of progress is encouraging, but there is still an enormous amount of work to be done. While the legal framework may be in place, the real challenge is implementation. Establishing effective partnership arrangement between agencies to co-ordinate local activities and build up intelligence is necessary. Of particular importance is the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, which is a victim-focused organisation which operates in the UK and internationally. They tactically coordinate and analyse information on trafficking and ensure that the correct information is disseminated to the operational frontline.
However, this requires extensive efforts and several interviews before victims are forthcoming and disclose information that is needed for a criminal prosecution. There is a social stigma attached to victims of human trafficking that intimidates victims into remaining silent about their experiences. For instance, traffickers may lead them to believe that law enforcement officers will arrest them, or worse deport them, if they are an illegal immigrant. Ultimately, this is the reason why education about human trafficking is vital in combating this growing criminal enterprise.
In my view, a human rights approach is also essential in advancing anti-trafficking policies that prevent trafficking and provide guidance on how to safely rescue victims. The strength of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 alone is minimal without holistic wrap-around support.
Here are some organisations to get in touch with if you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking:
By Saousan Henan Jaouani student of LLB Senior Status at Queen Mary University of London.