The union for equality

Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children

Conference is deeply concerned about the substantial escalation in child trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and girls, some as young as 12. It has been estimated that over 6,000 women and girls have arrived in the United Kingdom in the past five years to find the promises of a “better life” are in fact a life of being used as sex slaves and prostitutes and sold on time and time again.

The vulnerability of children makes them prime targets for traffickers and the United Nations estimates that half of all victims of trafficking are children. Conference calls on the Government to take further action against this scandalous violation of human dignity and human rights.

The following speech was made by Community Union Delegate Tracy Clake.

Motion 41 CHILD TRAFFICKING AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

Tracy Clarke, Community, moving motion 41.

Conference, Child-trafficking into Britain is a fact which destroys young lives and shames our nation.

Child-trafficking to Britain is a stark reality, although the government admits it does not know the scale of the problem.

I must confess that the figures given in this motion are widely recognised as falling far short of recording the full scale of this inhuman trade.

The women and children trafficked into Britain come from all over the world - from Eastern Europe, Africa, the sub-continent and South East Asia. Some have already been sold into slavery in their home nations; others are lured by promises of a better life.

When they arrive in Britain they are either held in debt bondage, their documents held while they are forced to pay off invented debts or they are held by threats of violence.

These women and children are brought into our country to serve in bonded labour as domestic servants or as prostitutes held in sexual servitude.

The government has recognised people trafficking in law. In 2002 trafficking people for prostitution became illegal. In 2003, this was expanded to include trafficking for all forms of sexual servitude and in 2004 the government recognised the need to criminalise people trafficking for all purposes including forced labour.

This was a good start, but unfortunately the government had begun to follow the old adage – when your only tool is a hammer; every problem begins to look like a nail. The government response to child trafficking was to criminalise the process. I applaud this; child trafficking is an undisputed evil which deserves strong, resolute punishment.

But this issue cannot be tackled simply with sweeping laws which criminalise not just the trafficker, but the trafficked.

That is why the most recent move by the government is, I think, more positive.

The Government signed the European Union Convention on Action against Trafficking in 2008, which requires support for victims, temporary residency permits and access to medical services and housing. These are necessary steps to protect victims from the horrors that they have endured and to protect them from the traffickers.

This recognises women and children trafficked into Britain as victims.

Where children have been abused in Britain, our reaction must not simply be to put the child on a plane home. Though the original crime was not here, you cannot repatriate this country’s shame for not taking action. You cannot escape the simple truth that the victims’ pain and suffering happened on our soil and in our cities and towns.

By accepting our obligations under this convention, we ensure that those who have escaped the violence and abuse of sexual exploitation are not forced onto the streets and into a similar exploitation driven by the needs of poverty and the wants of hunger.

Conference, the government has taken the first steps to protect people, but it will require constant vigilance to ensure that this issue remains a priority. In the hope that with your support the government will make the eradication of this sorry trade in human lives a priority, I move this motion.