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Human Trafficking

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane), who has made his case powerfully as usual. I will talk later about the problem of prosecutions. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Mr. Steen) for securing another debate on human trafficking. His chairmanship of the all-party group has put human trafficking on the agenda in Westminster and hopefully the media will pick up on that. I welcome the Minister, who I know works extremely hard behind the scenes to achieve action against human trafficking. He is to be congratulated on that. Slavery was abolished 200 years ago, but it still exists. The trafficking of women and children into this country to work as prostitutes is modern-day slavery. The severity of this harrowing crime is recognised by all. In its press release on Operation Pentameter 2, the Home Office stated that it is"““one of the worst crimes threatening our society””." Chief Constable Dr. Tim Brain, gold commander of Operation Pentameter 2, described people trafficking for sexual exploitation as"““one of the most distressing aspects of serious and organised crime in this country””." That is the view of a hardened police officer. I will begin by highlighting the experiences of one 14-year-old child from Kenya who was trafficked into this country. She came into the country through one of the major airports with a middle-aged white man. She was a black girl from Kenya. She came in on a passport that did not have her name or photograph on it, but was allowed into the country. She was taken to Liverpool, locked in a house and forced to have sex with numerous men. Luckily, she escaped and is now being looked after by a major charity in this country. How many people who are trafficked into this country never escape and are locked into this modern-day slavery? One of the problems is that this is a clandestine crime. Complete figures and statistics are hard to determine. Operation Pentameter 2 gathered increased intelligence and highlighted organised crime links across the UK and beyond. It is worth reinforcing the clear differences between Pentameter 1 and Pentameter 2. Under Pentameter 2, 167 victims were identified, compared with 88 under Pentameter 1. Pentameter 2 identified 528 criminals, compared with 232. Furthermore, under Pentameter 2, 822 premises were raided, 6,400 police intelligence reports gathered and more than £500,000 seized. That was in just six months. The clandestine nature of the crime can be seen from the fact that of the 822 premises that were raided, 582 were residential properties while only 157 were massage parlours or saunas. The Dutch rapporteur on trafficking in human beings came to speak at the all-party group on trafficking of women and children last month. His main task is to report on the nature and extent of human trafficking in the Netherlands and on the effects of anti-trafficking policies. He also provides recommendations to the Government. In seven years, 66 recommendations were approved. The Dutch are far ahead of us on this issue and have much more detailed information, which has led to them having greater success in tackling human trafficking. For example, last year in the Netherlands about 700 victims were identified and there were 200 convictions. That is more than in the United Kingdom. Having a UK rapporteur—or commissioner because I do not like that foreign word—on trafficking in human beings would be a major step towards tackling this abhorrent issue. It would show that the Government are serious about eradicating it. I will touch on the issue of safe houses for identified victims of people trafficking. Safe houses are a vital tool in rehabilitating victims and improving their chances of living as normal a life as possible. Victims are very vulnerable and need to feel safe and protected. That can be provided by specialised safe houses. To ensure that all victims of human trafficking receive the treatment and care that they need, there must be a revolution in the safe housing that is provided. Non-governmental organisations do a valuable job but the majority of them are not specifically aimed at victims of trafficking and so cannot provide care of a high enough standard. We should look abroad to find out how other people see us. The ““Trafficking in Persons Report”” for 2008 produced by the US State Department demonstrates why I feel we need urgent action on this issue. It states that in the UK:"““Out of 888 adult women victims referred to its specialised trafficking shelter, only 181 victims were accommodated by the limited-capacity facilities, with an additional 141 assisted on a non-resident basis only. Some of the remaining 566 victims who were not accommodated at the shelter did not meet all of the Government's criteria for admission. Victims must be over 18; involved in prostitution within three months of referral, willing to cooperate in the prosecution of their traffickers; and must have been trafficked into the UK from abroad. Victims who did not meet these criteria were reportedly referred to other social service agencies, NGOs or to their respective Embassies.””" That is how the US sees our position. Of the 888 adult women identified as victims of trafficking and referred for specialised care only 322 were given it, while 566 were passed on to other agencies to be cared for. Surely that is not right. If a victim is referred for specialised care, we should ensure that enough places are available to provide it. When looking at providing safe housing for victims, one must not forget the needs of child victims of trafficking. In many ways, children are treated worse than adults under the system. I have met Christine Beddoe, the director of ECPAT UK, on many occasions to discuss this issue. There is great concern about the plight of child victims of trafficking once they have been identified. Child victims are put into social care. However, they often disappear from care, sometimes within days or even hours. One can only assume that such vulnerable children, who have been through the most horrific experiences, are recaptured by traffickers and put into slavery again. This problem must be confronted. I urge the Government to provide secure safe housing for child victims of trafficking to ensure that vulnerable, frightened and defenceless children are given a chance to recover from their ordeals. The Dutch are piloting the idea of having secure accommodation and allowing children to go out with an adult. That means that they are not locked in, but that they are not vulnerable to being picked up by traffickers again. That is a positive move that the Government could look at.