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Church calls for joined-up approach to help victims of human trafficking

2 May 2006

The Church of England has welcomed steps being taken to support victims of human trafficking, in an official response to Home Office proposals for a UK action plan designed to tackle the issue.

“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,” writes the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Tom Butler, in a paper that will add to calls for tougher action on those who perpetrate such crimes.

The submission argues that an effective response to the problem will only be reached by targeting both the ‘supply’ of and ‘demand’ for trafficked people.

The response also welcomes recent Government action in responding to the plight of those caught up as victims of trafficking, and urges politicians to go a step further by signing up to Article 13 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. This would require the Government to provide for a recovery and reflection period of at least one month to enable a suspected victim to escape from the influence of the traffickers and to take an informed decision on co-operating with the authorities: “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,” says the bishop.

In the six-page submission, the bishop argues for a more joined-up approach to dealing with the trauma and disorientation suffered by victims of trafficking. Pointing to examples of projects set up to help such victims, the paper calls for “a partnership in provision between the statutory and voluntary sectors… 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”.