Policy into practice - Child trafficking
Anne Longfield
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
THE ISSUE: Child trafficking is the movement of young people through abduction, deception or force, for exploitation. Children and young people have been found sold into prostitution, drug smuggling, domestic slavery, and forced marriages, with little means of getting help.
Last year, 330 children were found trafficked alone, but the true scale of child trafficking is unclear while comprehensive data and policy work in the UK is still at its early stages. In fact, until 2002, the UK had no legislation that defined the trafficking of people as a crime.
But government commitment is moving in the right direction. In March 2007, the government published its Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking and signed the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
CASE STUDY 1
With Heathrow Airport in its area, child trafficking is high on the agenda in the London Borough of Hillingdon, which has led the council to develop a sub-group to tackle the problem. Its approach has child safeguarding at its heart and helps to focus strategies; from helping victims find a safe home, to delivering cross-agency training to staff.
Trafficked children are often hidden from public view and beyond the reach of authorities, however through giving out leaflets at airports, the trafficking team is opening up channels in which authorities can intervene and help all trafficked victims.
Recognising that child trafficking is indiscriminate of borders, these leaflets have been distributed elsewhere in the country and are currently being used by the Red Cross to help vulnerable children at holding camps in Denmark.
CASE STUDY 2
Set up by the government in 2006, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) has a dedicated child trafficking unit that is tasked with providing a central point for gathering and disseminating information on the issue.
For the first time, this unit works across police forces, social services and non-governmental organisations and pulls together crucial data to enable frontline services to tackle child trafficking through an intelligence-led approach.
In 2007, Ceop was funded by the Home Office to carry out a scoping study into child trafficking in the UK, which looked to establish its scale and nature. The report serves as a baseline for further assessment of the problem.
Through their co-operation, the UK Human Trafficking Centre and Ceop are working together to provide a comprehensive strategic and tactical national response to child trafficking.
