A Response to Guardian Article - 20th October 2009

A recent article by reporter Nick Davies appeared in The Guardian (20.10.09), which alleged that the scale and nature of sex trafficking into the UK has been exaggerated by politicians and the media. Whilst Hope for Justice accepts that no organisation has a full picture of the true scale of trafficking, arguing that the problem is insignificant in the UK is dangerous for the victims involved.

The problem of obtaining a true picture, and clear information on trafficking is not because the problem is small, but because of the hidden nature of the crime. A significant number of traffickers are part of organised criminal networks, which mean victims of trafficking, who may have already been brutally treated, are often unwilling to disclose that they have been trafficked, for fear of retribution from traffickers. In addition to this, the victims are often made to fear the authorities – worried they will be treated as illegal immigrants.

REAL VICTIM STORY:

Anna^* is from Africa. Her mother died when she was young and her father was killed because of his political beliefs. Orphaned, Anna found herself in a vulnerable, and desperate position. A person offering her the promise of a job and education in the UK approached her. She had no reason to disbelieve this promise and came to the UK; however Anna was actually being trafficked.

On arrival in to the UK her trafficker took her passport off her and she was taken to a house where she was locked in a cellar for 6 months. Every night she was brought up from the cellar and forced to have oral, anal and vaginal sex with 20 men a night; sometimes with more than one man at a time. Eventually Anna was rescued and placed into an aftercare facility. Hope for Justice are working hard with existing NGO’s, Police and Government organisations to end all forms of trafficking in the UK and Worldwide. There is a lot of hard work to be done, but Hope For Justice has set up a project with the specific aim of identifying key problems in legislation and policy; so that rates of rescue, rehabilitation and prosecution increase, and we can see the end of trafficking and slavery in our lifetime.

^*Name has been changed for legal reasons