Practical Solutions
1. Utlilising UK National Anti-Slavery Day (October 18th) to raise awareness for human trafficking and to inspire action. 2. National Watchdog to coordinate all info and statistics from statutory and voluntary sectors and report to parliament once a year. 3. Proactive and dedicated Police Force on Human Trafficking - Pentameter initiatives should be automatic every year in every police force. 4. National Referrals Mechanism (NRM) to be administered by both government and non-government agencies. 5. National Network of Shelters for women and children victims of trafficking whatever their age. At the moment children go into local authority homes. These are not secure. The children may be located by traffickers, persuaded to leave the home and then re-trafficked. 6. Change in visa arrangements so that domestics brought into the UK to work for foreign embassy officials are free to seek other domestic work and not forced to return home. 7. An enhanced Guardian Ad Litem system for trafficked children. Someone specifically deputed to help them through the legal labyrinth and support them in form filling and other administrative tasks. There is already an extensively developed system for UK children but there is nothing for trafficked children. 8. Work Permits and Identity cards for victims of trafficking whilst they are resident in the UK. Giving victims the ability to work in the UK would encourage them to give evidence against traffickers without fear of being returned to the source country where they would be vulnerable to being re-trafficked.
Some more explanation....
Guardianship
Once trafficked children have been identified they need to be given a high level of practical care and support. UK legislation commits to ensuring the safety and well-being of all children in the UK and Local Authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of any child in need, however children who have been trafficked still fall through gaps in services. All trafficked children once identified and, if in need of continuing support and care, become the responsibility of a Local Authority. The numbers of trafficked children who go missing nonetheless demonstrates the failures of current arrangements. A system of guardianship should be introduced for children who currently have nobody to act as their parent or in their best interest. A guardian would advocate on the child’s behalf, represent the child’s best interests and assist the child in accessing all the legal, psychosocial, education and other care services needed in identifying a long-term solution. A system of guardianship would be a crucial step to ensuring that these children no longer go missing.
National "WatchDog" on Trafficking
An independent watchdog (often called a Rapporteur) is needed to ensure that the policies the Government develops can reduce trafficking and ensure survivors are adequately supported. The launch in recent years of the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and the setting up of the current structures – the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UK HTC), as well as the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking are all important developments. However, the creation of a national watchdog would make a great difference in the way these agencies work together. An independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking should be appointed to collect, monitor and analyse data on data on victims of trafficking, examining trends and emerging issues and develop independent oversight and recommendations for improvement in the implementation of the Government’s National Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking.
Law enforcement and implementation of legal guidance
In order for the UK to truly become a ‘hostile’ environment for trafficking, traffickers must believe that their crimes will be investigated and prosecuted and that those prosecutions will involve lengthy prison sentences and serious financial penalties; higher numbers of prosecutions and longer sentences should be given to traffickers. While traffickers often escape the serious punishment merited by their crimes, victims forced into criminal activities by their traffickers are prosecuted.
Training
A greater awareness of trafficking is needed for real progress to be made to combat this crime. Although in recent years there has been growing awareness of trafficking, to ensure protection of all victims of trafficking it is essential for frontline agencies like the police and immigration services to be aware of trafficking and able to identify victims of trafficking in its many guises.
Greater coordination between agencies
As part of the UK’s obligations under the Council of Europe Trafficking Convention, the Government has introduced a National Referral Mechanism which is a co-operative framework to identify, protect and promote the human rights of trafficked persons in co-ordination with civil society. It is hoped that this process will improve the care of victims of trafficking with the implementation of clear processes and their greater vulnerability recognised. In order for this system to work effectively all professionals involved in the NRM system must fully understand their roles and responsibilities.
