The Trade in Human Beings: Human Trafficking in the UK - Home Affairs Committee Contents


Memorandum submitted by CARE

1.  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  1.1  In 2003 the Home Office estimated that there were 4000 women and girls in the UK at any one time that had been trafficked into forced prostitution. In light of this fact, CARE recommends that more resources are dedicated to increased safe housing provision for these victims.

  1.2  A greater level of awareness of trafficking is needed amongst Border and Immigration Agency staff carrying out asylum screening interviews. The current lack of gender awareness and spirit of disbelief often displayed in such interviews is leading to cases of trafficking going undetected and victims being inappropriately placed on the Detainee Fast Track System.

2.  INTRODUCTION

  2.1  CARE is a well-established mainstream Christian charity providing resources and helping to bring insight and experience to matters of public policy and practical caring initiatives. CARE is represented in the UK Parliaments and Assemblies, at the EU in Brussels and the UN in Geneva and New York. We aim to work on behalf of the most needy and vulnerable.

  2.2  CARE has a network of over 180 crisis pregnancy centres across Europe, providing free pregnancy tests, confidential counselling and post-abortion counselling to women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. CARE has developed a resource entitled Evaluate—Informing choice, designed for sex and relationship education in schools and youth clubs.

  2.3  CARE recently ran a series of conferences across the United Kingdom on the subject of internet pornography, aiming to help parents and children use the internet in a safe and responsible way, and continue to provide advice and support to those struggling with addictions to internet pornography. CARE sees a strong correlation between society's attitude towards sex, prostitution and pornography on the one hand and levels of violence against women, human trafficking and prostitution on the other.

3.  TREATMENT OF THOSE TRAFFICKED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM

  3.1  While much has been done in regards to tightening borders and trying to stop traffickers from entering into the UK, there seems to be a great lack of attention paid and action being taken on the side of identifying victims of trafficking and ensuring their care and protection once they have been recognized as such. The only Government funded safe house for victims of trafficking is the POPPY Project which only accommodates for a mere 35 people. When compared with the government's estimation of 4000 people who have been trafficked into the UK for prostitution, this effort seems to fall massively short of the extent of the phenomenon.

  3.2  One of the first instances in which a woman may have a chance to report her experiences of trafficking is during the asylum screening process. The screening interview involves an interviewer and interpreter who ask the individual questions regarding the reasons she is in the UK and how she traveled here. It may be decided after the screening interview alone that her case is "straight-forward" and it will immediately be paced on the Detainee Fast Track System. However, it has been reported that stories of trafficking rarely come out during this interview due to several factors:

3.3  A Lack of Gender Awareness

  Many researchers and NGOs have raised concern at the lack of gender awareness in the interviews. The UNHCR reports of one particular interview which was assessed with a young female who was an alleged survivor of rape. Concern was raised that the "harsh tone of the questioning, coupled with the lack of gender appropriateness of the participants may have had a significant effect on the willingness of the applicant to disclose details of her case."[71] Of the 20 female interviews assessed, the UNHCR only found three to be entirely gender appropriate. What is most concerning is that a number of the gender-inappropriate interviews were relating to cases were there was subject evidence prior to the interview indicating that they raised gender sensitive issues, such as rape.[72]

3.4  Spirit of disbelief

  In their report, Hope Betrayed, the POPPY Project found that all the cases included had been refused at the initial stage of the asylum process, but the women in the study appeared to have a marginally higher rate of refusals than all other female asylum seekers.[73] There seems to be a spirit of disbelief on the part of decision makers in dealing with cases of human trafficking as most of the rejected cases in the report were on the basis of credibility.[74]

  3.5  When individuals are successfully identified and confirmed as victims of human trafficking, the UK does not guarantee them protection. At present, there is no specific provision within immigration legislation to allow victims of human trafficking to remain purely on the basis of their status as victims.[75] All cases are dealt with individually and leave to remain is only granted where it is felt to be appropriate, otherwise victims are able to apply for asylum through regular procedures.

  3.6  CARE recommends that gender sensitive interviewing is essential in the successful identification of victims of human trafficking in the UK. In order to obtain gender appropriate screening interviews the Border and Immigration Agency should seek to:

    —  Always provide female interviewers (when dealing with female interviewees), unless the applicant has been asked what her preference would be and she has shown no partiality to the gender of her interviewer.

    —  Improve the content of the current Gender Guidance to the standard of the IAA/UNHCR gender guidelines.

    —  Compulsory awareness and understanding of the Gender Guidance on part of all caseworkers through better training.

  3.7  In regards to the Detained Fast Track System CARE recommends the following:

    —  A review of the suitability list and gender guidelines to include a non-exhaustive list of types of women's cases which should be excluded from the DFT.

    —  That the DFT be brought in line with the Gender API.

8 February 2008







71   UNHCR Quality Initiative Project, Pg. 14 Back

72   UNHCR Quality Initiative Project, Pg. 15 Back

73   Hope Betrayed, POPPY Project 2006, Pg. 9 Back

74   Hope Betrayed, POPPY Project 2006, Pg. 18 Back

75   Tackling Human Trafficking-Consultation on Proposals for a UK Action Plan, Home Office, January 2006, Pg. 16 Back


 
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