Human Trafficking

CONSULTATION ON PROPOSALS FOR A UK ACTION PLAN

Response by the Mission & Public Affairs Council of the Church of England

The Mission & Public Affairs Council of the Church of England is the body responsible for overseeing research and comment on social and political issues on behalf of the Church.  The Council comprises a representative group of bishops, clergy and lay people with interest and expertise in the relevant areas, and reports  to the General Synod through the Archbishops’ Council.

Consultation Questions

Have we got the scope of the plan right?  Have we adequately covered the various forms of exploitation which can arise in the trafficking context?

Are there any areas for action or specific actions missing from the proposals?

1. We begin by expressing appreciation of the progress made by the UK Government in recent years in recognising and responding to this most serious threat to the dignity and well-being of vulnerable people.  Trafficking, whether for sexual exploitation, forced labour or removal of organs, treats human beings abusively and oppressively as a means to the enrichment and gratification of others.  It is totally contrary to Christian teaching and deserves the same unremitting opposition as other forms of slavery.

2.     We therefore welcome the measures taken, both internationally and within domestic law and policy, “to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons”, to quote the title of the Palermo Protocol of December 2000.  We are glad that the UK has recently ratified the Protocol, and acknowledge that for several years the Government has been moving to comply with the Protocol’s legislative requirements.  We support the widening of the offence of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the new trafficking offences in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004, the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 and the confiscation of assets from trafficking under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Together with the work of Reflex since 2000 and the creation of the Serious Organised Crime Agency, they constitute a substantial basis for action against those engaged in these activities.

3. We note that while Article 5 of the Protocol requires the creation of criminal offences to combat trafficking, Article 6.3  calls for consideration of “measures to provide for the physical, psychological and social recovery” of victims of trafficking.  It refers specifically to provision of appropriate housing, counselling and information in an understandable language, medical, psychological and material assistance, and employment, educational and training opportunities.  These are clearly necessary. 

4. We also strongly support the provisions in Article 9 for research and information in the cause of prevention, and for measures to influence both the supply of, and demand for, trafficked persons.  We consider these to be major priorities, and endorse the references in the Protocol to co-operation with “non-governmental organisations…and other elements of civil society”.  We believe that churches have a major role to play both in prevention of trafficking - not least because of their international networks – and in support of victims, which should be part of their care for the vulnerable.

5. We therefore regard the three areas of the action plan as appropriate: prevention of trafficking; investigation, law enforcement and prosecution; and providing protection and assistance to victims.  Within these areas there may be scope for improvements and additional actions.

Does your organisation have information on cases of trafficking in the UK, in particular trafficking for forced labour, including domestic services?

6. This information is less accessible to the Church of England nationally than to those working locally, for example, with refugees and asylum seekers, with migrant workers and with people engaged in prostitution.  Specialised organisations are likely to possess detailed knowledge of the scope of trafficking and the problems to which it gives rise.

How can we raise awareness amongst potential trafficking victims about the risks and realities of the exploitation they are likely to suffer through being trafficked?

7. There are inherent problems in prevention, because trafficking tends to involve either economic pressure or deception.  If people feel constrained by the need to earn money, they are likely to be less receptive to warnings about the risks of exploitation and correspondingly credulous towards those who offer them the prospect of financial gain.  If they are being deceived, for instance by men posing as ‘boyfriends’, or by well-organised gangs promising legitimate employment, they may not realise the dangers to which they are exposing themselves.  Children in institutional care are also prominent targets, combining vulnerability and lack of awareness of the wider world.

8. In either case there is an important role for information and educational campaigns in source and transit countries.  We are encouraged by the work of organisations such as the Magdala Project in the Czech Republic, which works from women trafficked to the Czech sex industry back to the source countries.  They visit churches and orphanages, schools and detention centres, victims of domestic abuse, the homeless and the poor, to warn potential victims of the ruses adopted by traffickers.

9. It is particularly shocking that churches should be used as recruiting grounds by traffickers, and even more shocking that church members should collaborate with this.  It is important that churches use their international networks, like the Catholic Church’s Caritas organisation, to inform, to warn and to care for potential victims.  It is also essential that governments should be fully involved in promoting, financing and co-ordinating campaigns.

How do we ensure that victims are identified at the earliest opportunity, particularly in source countries (prior to departure) and at our borders where the victims themselves may not be aware that they are being trafficked?

10. This requires accurate intelligence and close co-operation between agencies.  We welcome the instructions given to visa-issuing posts overseas to be vigilant, especially in issuing visas to minors who wish to travel to the UK.  It will also help to raise awareness among airline carriers and Airline Liaison Officers in source and transit countries.  However, in view of the resources and skills devoted by traffickers to concealing their true activities this will always be a hard struggle and will depend upon successful detection and sharing of information.

How can we reduce the demand for the services of trafficked persons, in particular for forced labour, including domestic service?

11. This is to a large extent a function of success in detecting and enforcing the law against illicit activities.  In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, there is much to be done in countering the culture of exploitation and commercialisation of sex and the attitudes which pervade it.  The churches and schools have a role to play through enlightened sex education in upholding the dignity of women, men and children and actively resisting belief – particularly among boys and young men – in the legitimacy of using others for self-gratification and acting violently to further this end.

12. The Government’s strategy on off-street prostitution is also relevant here: in a previous submission in November 2004 we expressed broad support for the aims of prevention, protection and assisting those engaged in prostitution to leave it, and we accepted that punitive strategies should be directed against the client and pimp rather than the prostitute who is a victim of poverty and intimidation.  While this is not a complete solution, it offers constructive possibilities of undermining and limiting the damage caused by the trade.

13. Similar considerations apply to the demand for forced labour.  We recognise that no amount of moralising will counter the economic deprivation which makes people vulnerable to traffickers, and the callous and unscrupulous approach of those who take advantage of those needs.  Like the flow of legitimate migration, patterns of trafficking reflect economic and even political factors which must be dealt with in their own terms.

We have provided heavy maximum sentences for trafficking offences.  Are we achieving the right sentences in these cases?

14. The publicity given to the trial, conviction and sentencing of five Albanian traffickers in 2005 was salutary.  It conveyed the message that the law regards these offences, and the harm done to their victims, with appropriate gravity.  It is true that the deterrent effect may be limited when traffickers weigh the possibility of their being detected and arrested against the huge gains which they stand to make, but there is no point in weighting the scales inadequately.  It is also important that victims who have suffered appalling indignities and intimidation should feel vindicated by the action of the criminal law, and that the consequences of detection should be communicated to potential traffickers in source and transit countries.

How could support services provided to victims of trafficking be replicated or expanded?

15. The measures to provide for the “physical, psychological and social recovery” of victims of trafficking, listed in Article 6 of the Palermo Protocol and reiterated in Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (adopted in May 2005) are extensive.  They reflect the need to deal with the trauma and disorientation suffered as a result of multiple violations in the course of trafficking.  There is a broad consensus that primary needs include safe housing, medical care, psychological support and counselling, translation and interpretation as necessary, legal advice and in some cases, witness protection – but these are expensive to provide.  The generally-admired Poppy Project provides 25 beds on a short-term basis, against a huge background of demand.

16. There would appear to be a need for partnership in provision between the statutory and voluntary sectors.  CHASTE (Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking across Europe) is developing its own Sanctuary Project to co-ordinate safe housing and first-stage care with the support of the churches.  It is estimated that the cost of providing 20 beds in 4 houses by 2007 will be £1 million.  It is worth exploring the possibility of non-residential services in cases where these would be adequate to the need.  Similar facilities would be required for the victims of forced or exploitative labour.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of providing reflection periods and/or residence permits to victims of trafficking?

17. One of the most difficult questions in this area is the desirability or acceptability of returning victims of trafficking to their country of origin.  It is easy to see the possible dangers, either of continued threats and intimidation by traffickers or of rejection by the victim’s family and community, particularly if sexual exploitation has taken place.  There are also disadvantages in speedy repatriation in terms of the need of police investigations for evidence and testimony to proceed against traffickers.  It is reported that persistent tensions have arisen between the police and immigration staff in their respective dealings with traffickers and their victims, because their priorities differ.

18. For these reasons, Article 13 of the of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings - which the UK has not yet signed - requires States to provide for a recovery and reflection period of at least 30 days to enable a suspected victim to escape from the influence of traffickers and to take an informed decision on co-operating with the competent authorities.  During that period no expulsion order may be enforced, and while the suspected victim may communicate with the authorities if she wishes, this is not demanded.   Such a requirement seems appropriate from the point of view of the victim and the authorities: time is required for both recovery and reflection.  This arrangement is currently in force for women who are supported by the Poppy Scheme.

19. However, it is also easy to see possible objections to an automatic right rather than a discretionary arrangement arrived at on a case-by-case basis.  In matters involving immigration there is always a need to establish the facts of the case: a suspected victim may be misrepresenting the situation from quite other motives, which leads to the concern that such a provision might act as a perverse incentive to illegal immigrants to claim the status of victim of trafficking.  Even for a genuine victim, from the point of view of the police a recovery period might also result in the loss of forensic evidence and the blurring of personal testimony against traffickers.

20. Similar considerations apply to the requirement in Article 13 of the Convention that a State shall issue a renewable residence permit to victims on the ground their stay is necessary either owing to their personal situation or in order to co-operate with the authorities in criminal proceedings.  This objection might be weakened if the duration of the permit were relatively short.

21. We understand the Government’s hesitation in signing up to these requirements, but we consider that on balance the need to provide unambiguous support to genuine victims in a situation of extremity outweighs the real risk of abuse of these provisions.  There is a danger of serious injustice and injury on one side, and compromise of criminal proceedings on the other, if decisions are made rapidly on a case-by-case basis.  Article 15 of the Convention provides for repatriation and return of victims “with due regard to their rights, safety and dignity” by both the returning and the receiving State.  We therefore hope that the Government will sign the Convention and implement the provisions of Articles 13 and 14, as other nations have done.

How can we ensure that vulnerable victims returning to their country of origin are not re-trafficked? 

How can we ensure safe and sustainable return and reintegration of victims into their home communities?

22. Sadly, there is no way of ensuring those outcomes, but co-operation must be pursued between governments, police forces and NGOs, including churches, to develop good practice so as to maximise protection from re-victimisation, as in the case of prevention.  This makes it all the more important that decisions about repatriation and return should not be taken hastily or carelessly.

The Rt Revd Tom Butler

(Bishop of Southwark)

Vice-Chair: Public Affairs

Mission and Public Affairs Council

Church House

Great Smith Street

London

SW1P 3NZ