Written question asked by Peter Bone (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 June 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 7 June 2007. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Tuesday, 12 June 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Human Trafficking: Females

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate the Government have made of the number of women trafficked into the UK in 2006 for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Answer: The majority of our knowledge regarding the extent of human trafficking in the UK relates to trafficking for sexual exploitation. It remains difficult to make an accurate assessment of the extent of the problem although intelligence suggests there has been an increase in the trafficking problem over the last two or three years. The findings from a Home Office research paper suggests that at any one time in 2003 there were in the region of 4,000 victims of trafficking for prostitution in the UK. In 2006, a police led multi agency operation on trafficking for sexual exploitation led to the identification of 87 victims from 22 different countries, predominantly from Eastern Europe, China/South-East Asia, Africa or Brazil.

Secondary information