Definition of Human Trafficking

Research provided by SPICe (The Scottish Parliament Information Centre)

The internationally accepted definition of human trafficking is the broad one set out in the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. It defines human trafficking as follows:

Trafficking in human beings’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
 
Extent of Trafficking in Scotland and the UK
You asked specifically if the rate of human trafficking was proportionately higher in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.

By its very definition, human trafficking is an underground business and it is therefore very difficult to gain accurate information about the scale of the problem in the UK and in Scotland. The following statistics provide various estimates of the extent of the problem in the UK and Scotland.

• In 2000 the Home Office estimated that in one year, between 142 and 1,420 women were trafficked into the UK 
• By 2003, the UK Government estimated that 4,000 victims of trafficking for prostitution were in the UK at any one time
• A UNICEF report in 2006 suggested that there are at any one time 5,000 child sex workers in the UK, most of whom have been trafficked into the country

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) completed a study into the scale and nature of child trafficking in the UK and published its report in June 2007. The study was a snapshot of available information provided by organisations of cases dealt with over an 18-month period and identified 330 suspected and confirmed cases of child victims. The majority of the cases were female (56%) and 85% were aged between 15 and 17. Sexual exploitation was the greatest form of abuse followed by domestic servitude. 

With regard to Scotland, a report  published in April 2009 by the Justice Analytical Services/Organised Crime Unit at the Scottish Government stated that the picture of human trafficking in Scotland is a complex one with numerous gaps. The report also emphasises that some of the findings should be treated with caution as they are based on analysis of the available data relating to incidents and cases which had come to the attention of statutory and non-statutory agencies. The research did not attempt to estimate the extent of unreported incidents or experiences, of which there may be many.

The report shows that 79 individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking came into contact with agencies in Scotland between April 2007 and March 2008. The majority of cases involved adult female victims who had been trafficked into sexual exploitation, and a smaller proportion represented groups of both males and females who appeared to have been trafficked for exploitation in other industries. In cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation, victims and suspected victims were normally recovered in private flats or houses being used to operate brothels. In the small number of cases of labour exploitation encountered, victims were found to be working in restaurants or takeaways. The Key Findings of the report provide detailed information on those victims identified.

Scottish Government action
Policy focus in the UK has culminated in the creation of a joint action plan on human trafficking in 2008 by the UK and Scottish Governments and ratification of the provisions contained in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on 1 April 2009. The most recent joint action plan was published in July 2008. The Plan outlines the Government’s strategy in relation to trafficking in human beings and sets out work that is underway across the UK to address the requirements of the Convention and address other trafficking related issues. The Action Plan focuses on four key areas:

• Prevention;
• Investigation, enforcement and prosecution;
• Protection and support to adult victims; and
• Child trafficking.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice sits on the UK Interdepartmental Ministerial Group which has responsibility for overseeing implementation of the Action Plan and for ensuring that the UK is fully compliant with the provisions of the Convention. Scottish Government officials sit on the project group responsible for taking forward implementation of the Plan.

In 2005 the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA) Project was set up in Glasgow. It is the only non law enforcement agency focusing specifically on victims of trafficking, which provides services to female adult victims who have been trafficked into sexual exploitation. It liaises with the police, housing departments, health professionals, agencies which work with women in the sex trade and other relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

In response to a parliamentary question in August 2009, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice stated that the Scottish Government awarded grants of almost £75,900 in 2007-8 and £70,950 in 2008-09 to the TARA project to provide support to women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. In 2008-09, the Scottish Government set aside £20,000 to recompense local authorities for any costs incurred by them in supporting adult victims of trafficking, apart from support for women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, who were covered by the grant awarded to TARA.

For 2009-10, the Scottish Government has entered into an agreement with Migrant Helpline, which will provide support to adult victims of human trafficking, other than women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation; funding is called down on a case-by-case basis (see S3W-26276).

Legislation

Current legislation
There are heavy penalties currently in place for human trafficking offences. Section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 provides that the maximum penalty for involvement in trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is 14 years imprisonment on conviction on indictment. Sections 4 and 5 of the Asylum and Immigration (treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 provide for a similar specific offence of involvement in human trafficking for other purposes. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is also 14 years imprisonment.
 
New legislation
The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill was introduced into the Scottish Parliament on March 5, 2009 and makes provision in relation to trafficking in human beings to:

• extend the scope of current offence provisions concerning trafficking in human beings so that they refer to facilitating the “entry into” as well as the “arrival in” the UK
• ensure that where a person outwith the UK (irrespective of his/her nationality) undertakes trafficking activities and an individual is trafficked to, within or out of the UK for the purposes of sexual or non-sexual exploitation it will constitute an offence under Scots law
• make clear that the sheriff court as well as the high court has jurisdiction to deal with these offences and
• amend the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 to provide for the closure of premises associated with commission of offences in relation to the trafficking of human beings for exploitation

Further details on the investigation, enforcement and prosecution of human trafficking offences, along with details of the provisions contained within the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill are available on the Scottish Government’s website.

Local Authorities
Since the ratification of the provisions contained in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on 1 April 2009, a National Referral Mechanism (NRM) for trafficked individuals has been put in place. COSLA has been involved with the Scottish Government’s Human Trafficking Stakeholders Group, which has focussed on the practical issues of operating the NRM in Scotland. The NRM provides a framework within which public bodies such as criminal justice agencies, local authorities, and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) can work together to identify individuals who may be victims of trafficking and provide appropriate protection and support.

Under the NRM, front-line professionals will refer individuals who they think may be evidencing signs of being a victim of trafficking to designated ‘Competent Authorities’ who will work with partners to make an assessment. There is a central multi-agency Competent Authority based in the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) (see below); and linked but separate Competent Authorities in UKBA to assess cases where trafficking is raised as part of an asylum claim or in the context of another immigration process.

Front line staff in any public body such as the police and local authorities and government funded third sector service providers should refer possible victims of trafficking to the Competent Authority based in the UKHTC using an agreed format (initial target referral time is 48 hours). Where UKBA identify a potential victim the case will be assessed by designated specialist staff within a UKBA Competent Authority, which will also work with other relevant partners.
 
Police action/Intelligence

Launched in early 2006, Operation Pentameter was the first UK wide police operation to focus specifically on tackling human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation. The operation was carried out over three months and involved all police forces in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, along with the UK Borders Agency (UKBA), the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) and other agencies. The original operation was followed by Pentameter 2 in 2007, a much longer operation in which the focus was widened in order to include other forms of trafficking in adults and children. During this time a Regional Intelligence Cell for Scotland was established within Strathclyde police.

In Scotland, Pentameter 1 resulted in 25 premises being visited, 12 arrests being made and the recovery of 10 female adult victims. In Scotland, Pentameter 2 resulted in 56 premises being visited, 59 potential adult victims recovered of which 15 female adults were confirmed as victims. In Scotland, 35 individuals were arrested during Pentameter 2. Of those arrested 18 people have been convicted, mainly for immigration or prostitution offences, and sentences ranging from imprisonment to financial penalties have been imposed. No child victims of trafficking were recovered in Scotland during either operation.

The report ‘Human Trafficking in Scotland 2007-08’ published by Justice Analytical Services/Organised Crime Unit at the Scottish Government examined the challenges for policy and practice for policing with regard to human trafficking. With regard to the priority of human trafficking, the report states:

Human trafficking is a high priority for the Scottish police service and there is a centrally driven will to include human trafficking as core police business, which has very high level support. In practice, however, data showed that action on human trafficking was still considered to be an addition to everyday police work. Forces set their own intelligence and operational priorities within individual control strategies and these strategies relate to their respective local public concerns.
 
On the issue of “actionable intelligence” the report states:

It is clear that human trafficking is a difficult area in which to gather and present intelligence. Actionable intelligence requires reliability and it is measured by a formal grading system on the Scottish Intelligence Database. Sheriffs are briefed on the system so that they can make informed decisions when considering whether or not to grant warrants. From interview responses it appears there was often a lack of actionable intelligence to support suspicions of human trafficking. Although police can make routine visits to saunas, massage parlours and private residences which may be functioning as brothels, they cannot force entry without a warrant and there needs to be justification for this. Usually the level of intelligence required for a warrant is at the level gleaned by surveillance, first hand observation or reliable third party sources. These require intense and costly resourcing. 

Other developments/Campaigns
 
The Poppy Project was set up in 2003 and works to improve the safety and well-being of women who are victims of trafficking.

In November 2006 the UK Human Trafficking Centre was established. This is a multi-agency law enforcement centre, designed as a hub of expertise to support agencies across the UK in dealing with cases of human trafficking.

The Blue Blindfold campaign was launched in 2007 and aims to raise awareness among key groups of the nature and extent of human trafficking in the UK.