Just one day after reporting a Shock Rise in Child Sex Abuse in Greater Manchester, comes this disturbing news. It certainly looks like Britain is losing the fight against sex abuse and child sex abuse in spectacular fashion.
© Sigit Pamungkas / Reuters
Britain has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of alleged human trafficking victims reported by local councils.
The latest statistics released by the National Crime Agency (NCA) seen by the Independent reveal that in 2015, local councils referred 306 people to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s method for identifying victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
This marks an almost 80 percent increase on the previous year.
Greater Manchester leads the way again
Some cities saw a very clear spike in the number reported human trafficking victims. Greater Manchester experienced a 197 percent increase.
Despite the noticeable increase in reported cases of abuse, there are still up to 13,000 victims of human trafficking in the UK, according to the government.
Modern-day slaves are forced into various activities, from prostitution to unpaid work in factories and nail bars. They are often vulnerable individuals who are dependent on their captor in some way, and a disproportionate number are foreign citizens residing in the UK illegally, usually trafficked by their abusers.
The NCA report states that there were victims from 102 different countries, though Albanian, Vietnamese, and Nigerian nationals are the most common. People from Sudan make up the fastest growing category of modern slavery victims.
The main obstacle in dealing with human trafficking is the apparent “hidden nature” of the crime.
In response, the Local Government Association (LGA), a group that represents 370 local councils, urged the British public to be more aware of human trafficking in order to prevent criminal gangs from exploiting vulnerable foreign workers.
“Modern day slavery is a rising threat to our communities, and because of its hidden nature, is a major concern,” Simon Blackburn, the head of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said.
“We want to encourage everyone to report suspicious behavior which may indicate exploitation is happening in their area, such as concerns over the minimum wage, and working and living conditions.
“Tip-offs from communities can help councils work with partners to better tackle slavery and exploitation. A simple phone call could make a world of difference to people living wretched lives at the hands of heartless gangmasters,” Blackburn added.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd recently announced the creation of an £11mn ($13.7 million) fund that aims to deal with the proliferation of human trafficking.
Similarly, British Prime Minister Theresa May called modern slavery “the greatest human rights issue of our time.”
Actually, not even close. Child sex abuse if far and away the worst human rights issue of our time and probably most of all-time.
One of the most recent cases of modern slavery was uncovered last month, when 16 women were released from a trafficking ring operating in Glasgow.
The victims were smuggled from Slovakia and forced into slave labor, including prostitution and domestic servitude.
Trafficking ring which 'sold teenagers and women for £10k' busted in Govanhill
Hannah Rodger, Senior Reporter
A TRAFFICKING ring which sold teenagers and women for as much as £10,000 has been busted in Glasgow, say police.
Women who it’s suspected were raped, abused and forced to work as prostitutes were led to safety prior to the major police raid in Govanhill.
Dozens of officers from Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division and Europol targeted four flats in Govanhill yesterday as part of a three year long operation into trafficking and exploitation.
Two flats on Allison Street, one on Langside Road and another on Calder Street were raided by 70 officers around 8.45am and three potential victims were found inside along with their alleged traffickers.
A further 13 suspected victims, aged between 18 and 25, had already been helped to safety by police ahead of yesterday’s sting from across the UK, including in Glasgow.
Five people have been arrested in connection with the raid, dubbed Operation Synapsis, which has been in development since 2014 and spans the length of the UK.
Two Slovakian women, aged 40 and 25, two Slovakian men aged 58 and 28, and a Nepalese man aged 35, were taken into police custody yesterday and have subsequently been arrested.
They are expected to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court today.
Police claim that Slovakian women as young as 18 were trafficked to the UK by bus and plane, having been promised a better life and work.
When they arrived they were allegedly sold for between £3000 and £10,000 as part of a sham marriage scheme.
Their buyers, mainly men from Pakistan, wanted EU citizenship so they could live and work in Europe, and bought the women to become their wives.
Some of the victims, who weren’t sold immediately, were prostituted, raped and abused while others were abused by their purchasers.
Many have been left deeply traumatised by what they have experienced, with some choosing to stay in the UK and others returning to their families in Slovakia after escaping their abusers.
Officers have previously helped other suspected female victims of the trafficking ring, ranging from 18 years old to their mid 20s, by referring them to support organisations in Glasgow and across the country.
Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division, the National Human Trafficking unit, financial crime and specialist officers from the Rape Taskforce, Europol, Immigration Enforcement, Glasgow City Council’s social work department and Slovakian police were all involved in the Govanhill raid.
Crews from the council’s Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), which helps victims of sex trafficking, were also on hand to support any victims recovered at the scene while members of the public were given letters and advice on how to spot the signs of trafficking.
At the same time, hit squads from Greater Manchester police were targeting homes south of the border as part of the same operation, with the trafficking ring thought to extend to several areas in Britain.
The European Court of Justice in the Hague had to grant Police Scotland permission to form a joint investigation with the Slovakian police force and the Metropolitan police before they could work together on targeting traffickers in both the UK and abroad.
Detective Inspector Steven McMillan, the operation’s Senior Investigating Officer, told the Evening Times the raid was the first of two planned stings.
Police Scotland officers are planning to travel to England next week to target traffickers thought to be involved in the same network.
He said the trafficking victims are often women who “have come from an impoverished area, they have low levels of intelligence and are gullible.”
DI McMillan explained: “There is no conversation about marriage before they get here.
“They arrive in whatever house they end up in and at least two or three males enter.
“[They] have a conversation that they don’t understand as it’s in English or sometimes in Urdu, and it’s the case of ‘You’re with him. He’s got your identity document. You’re going to marry him now.’
“My own view on it is it’s financial. They are treating these girls as a commodity. They can recruit them, it costs them nothing apart from a flight or a bus ticket.
“The original purpose of the trafficking seems to have been the sham marriage but many of these women have been forced in to prostitution, they have been raped, they have been subject to abuse that would never have happened if they hadn’t been trafficked in the first place.
“Very quickly they will move them on and in the cases where they haven’t these girls have been forced in to prostitution, they have that element of control of over them and are still recouping the money
“When you’re speaking to the girls and hearing their story, it’s not one or two clients a night. It’s a procession. It’s absolutely horrible.”
DI McMillan said the force is committed to protecting the public and tackling human trafficking, and has appealed for help from Glasgow residents.
He said: “Any information at all is welcome. We would rather investigate information and find out it’s nothing than receive no information at all.”
Anyone with information on suspected trafficking or labour exploitation is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101, Crimestoppers on 0800 0121 700, or they can contact the Modern Slavery Human Trafficking helpline on 08000 121 700.
Govanhill, Glasgow, Scotland
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