Human Trafficking Free

In this report I will be writing about human trafficking in Wales, Europe and other parts of the world. Human trafficking is an illegal activity. This involves selling, buying and trading of people. They are transported away from their families and communities and are forced to work against their own will. People are trafficked both between countries and within the borders of a state. It is also known as modern slavery and a form of sexual exploitation; where women’s, girls and children’s are forced to enter in the world of prostitution. Also involves forced labour or services, the removal of organs. People do this to make money, for some people it’s a business a way to make profit. (Ref 1) I chose this topic for research because this is a very sensitive issue and it is shocking that human trafficking still exists today. It’s a very upsetting matter that there is no value for human life and humans are used to make money which is really inhumane. Wales

From BBC news October 2012, I have discovered that human trafficking is increasing in the UK according to the new government testament. Studies say that organised criminal gangs are behind the illegal trade for sex, labour and domestic slavery. Most of the victims come from China, Nigeria and Eastern Europe. The first cases of the victims have been brought to the UK to have organs removed have also been recorded. 712 adult victims and 234 child victims were reported last year. The report suggested an increase in the number of children being forced into crime, including street begging. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre estimates there are about 300 child trafficking victims in the UK every year.

In London, police deal with more than 100 cases of trafficking a year. Some will involve more than 400 victims but the majority involve about 10 to 15 people. There are an estimated 92 organised crime groups in the UK which also involves human trafficking.142 defendants were charged with offences related to human trafficking in 2011/12. (Ref 2) From Wales Online September 2012 I found out that a middle aged woman was trafficked from Uganda to the UK. She was forced to work as a domestic slave by a Cardiff family. She was forced to do all the work such as cleaning, ironing etc. Her freedom was snatched away from her. She was treated like a slave and was abused if she refused to work. She managed to escape after three months. (Ref 3) A lot of things are being organised to prevent human trafficking. In the UK 3rd November 2012 from Christian voluntary sector a lot of other speakers will lead seminars and share different ways in which they are getting involved. These topics will include how

to raise awareness among young people in schools and the work being done by Cardiff churches. (Ref 4) There many strong laws made for human trafficking in Wales. If a person tends to control over prostitution by the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or he believes that another person is likely to control over prostitution by the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere. Under Trafficking in prostitution – section 145 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 he/she can be in prison for 14 years, a fine or both. (Ref 5)

(REF 2)
This graph shows how many people are trafficked from other countries to the UK.

Sweden
In Sweden the government identified 84 victims of trafficking in 2010, an increase from 59 victims in 2009. Thirty-two victims were sex trafficking victims; 52 were victims of labour trafficking. Approximately 2,657 children arrived in Sweden in 2011, from Afghanistan. Some have gone missing since their arrival in Sweden. In 2011, Swedish law enforcement investigated 35 sex trafficking cases, compared to 32 sex trafficking investigations in 2010. Law enforcement investigated 62 cases of labour trafficking and forced begging. An increase from 52 cases in 2010. Thirty per cent of all trafficking cases involved the exploitation of children. (Ref 6) In 1995, Sweden had made a new law which stated that it is not illegal to sell sex but it is illegal to buy sex.

Anyone seen buying sex would have to pay hefty fine, embarrassing public police notification and time in prison maximum four years. You were seen as a loser in Sweden if you bought sex. (Ref 7) There also many stories of human trafficking in Sweden. In February 2012 six men were charged because they were running a comprehensive human trafficking operation where women’s from Romania were trafficked to Sweden to sell sex. They promised the woman to give her a job and but she was forced to be a prostitute and was raped by her first customer. (Ref 8) The government put together an Interagency Working Group to make sure communication on trafficking issues across agencies. The Swedish Migration Board have made strict regulations and better background checks on companies applying for foreign work permits, leading to a reduction in the exploitation of non-EU citizens. (Ref 6)

India
In India each year more than 100 million people are forced to work like a slave. Underage female prostitution is a billion-dollar industry, up 30 per cent over previous years. More than 1.2 million children in India are caught up in human trafficking as child prostitutes. 90 per cent of human trafficking in India centred in the poorest states like Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. (Ref 9) In India alone, there are approximately 2.8 million people trapped in slavery. Government statistics indicate that every year, 70,000 people–largely women and children–go missing in India, with the majority believed to having been trafficked or sold. The most likely victims of this are those living on less than a $1 a day. (Ref 10) A girl called Nirmala in India was a victim of human trafficking. She was a domestic slave. She never received any payment and she said that she used to do all the work, wake up at 5am do all the household chores. She was also physically abused, the wife would hit her and the husband would rape her. (Ref 11)

Another story was about a girl who was sold by a family member. Her father took a loan and couldn’t pay it back so the men forced her father to sell his daughter as he couldn’t repay their loans. (Ref 10) To prevent human trafficking in India Not For Sale supports victims of trafficking and prevents further instances of exploitation by providing specialized job training and employment opportunities at local, ethical companies. Not For Sale runs businesses to these companies to increase production and generate funds to be re-invested more at risk communities. (Ref 13) The MHA’s Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell held meetings on trafficking, which also included participation of anti-trafficking officers from state governments. The Ministry of Home SlaveryAffairs raised public awareness on trafficking through radio talk shows and press conferences and the Bureau of Police Research and Development organized a workshop on the links between missing children and human trafficking and encouraged all police officers to track cases of missing people. Under Indian Penal Code (IPC), the BLSA, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act, India bans most forms of sex trafficking. Penalties for sex trafficking under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) and the IPC, is from three years to life imprisonment. (Ref 14)

India is in the category of tier 2 watch lists which means that human trafficking victims are increasing or the country is doing their best to overcome the problem. (REF 15)

The similarities are that human trafficking is increasing in all of these places and they all have organised institutions to help preventing human trafficking. The statistics are quite high in all of these places. India and Wales have similar laws in terms of human trafficking, in both places selling humans in any form is illegal but in Sweden it is not, it is just illegal to buy any form of human trafficking. Last year human trafficking victim’s statistics in Sweden were higher than Wales but India had the highest number of victims than Wales and Sweden.