Human Trafficking
There has been a growing awareness of human trafficking, in particular the trafficking of women and underage girls into the UK for forced prostitution. A particular high profile case resulted in the conviction of five Albanians who trafficked a 16 year old Lithuanian girl and forced her to have sex with as many as 10 men a day.
Cases of sex trafficking in England and Wales are dealt with under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This act deviates from the International definition of trafficking (from the UN Protocol) in that it does not require that a person is trafficked for sex against their will or with the use of coercion or force. Simply arranging or facilitating the arrival in the United Kingdom of another person for the purpose of prostitution is considered human trafficking.
Section 57 (Trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 reads:
(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally arranges or facilitates the arrival in the United Kingdom of another person (B) and either—
- (a) he intends to do anything to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence, or
- (b) he believes that another person is likely to do something to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence.''
Offences relating to trafficking within and out of the UK are contained in sections 58 and 59 of the Act. These offences apply in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, with section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 providing similar offences for Scotland .
The UK government signed The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in March 2007, and ratified it in December 2008 .
Internationally, the most common destinations for victims of human trafficking are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the United States, according to a report by the UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).
The major sources of trafficked persons include Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.
Read more about this topic: Prostitution In The United Kingdom
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