Memorandum submitted by the Refugee Council
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Refugee Council welcomes the present
Inquiry of the Home Affairs Committee into human trafficking.
The Refugee Council is the largest charity in the UK providing
help and advice to asylum seekers and refugees. We campaign for
their rights and help them rebuild their lives in safety. We work
with those seeking international protection at all stages of the
process.
1.2 The Refugee Council welcomes the progress
made by the UK thus far in the area of trafficking, in particular
the UK's accession to the Council of Europe Convention on Action
Against Trafficking in Human Beings. Our interest in this Inquiry
concerns trafficked people with whom we have contact due to their
seeking international protection on human rights grounds and/or
under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
Whilst we note that the vast majority of irregular migrants coming
to the UK are smuggled rather than trafficked and that not all
trafficked persons are refugees, the serious nature of trafficking
has a particular and often severe impact on individuals which
can lead to a need for international protection.
1.3 The Refugee Council will comment on
the primary focus of this Inquiry, namely the response to trafficking
by public authorities in the UK. Our comments and recommendations
are focused on children and young persons since this is the area
in which we have most experience in relation to trafficking. We
will also draw on our ongoing policy work in the area of separated
children.[182]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
— The Refugee Council works face-to-face
with trafficked children and young people and has developed expertise
through our Specialist Adviser on Young Women.
— Victims of trafficking need time
in order to talk about their experiences of trafficking with professionals.
This should be provided for when victims are seeking international
protection and welfare services.
— Victims of trafficking who claim
to be children should be offered safe accommodation as a priority.
If necessary, age assessment can be conducted once the individual
is safe.
— The Refugee Council recommends that
the UK sets up a system of independent support advocates who are
specialists in trafficking to ensure multi-agency working on behalf
of victims.
— The Border and Immigration Agency
and local authorities should remedy the "culture of disbelief"
around the experience of trafficking, for example by affording
time to victims through a three month reflection period.
— The UK's reservation on the Convention
on the Rights of the Child leads to unequal treatment for children
subject to immigration control, including trafficked children.
The Refugee Council hopes that the UK's current consultation will
result in the withdrawal of the reservation.[183]
— Good quality legal representation
is vital for trafficked people; training should be offered to
increase the number of specialist legal representatives.
— Local authorities should offer safe
accommodation in order to prevent children and young people going
missing from their care.
— The risk of re-trafficking as well
as exploitation, including where people are being returned to
another EU country, should be examined by the Home Office in any
assessment of whether return is safe.
— The UK must ensure that anti-trafficking
measures do not restrict access to processes which allow people
to claim international protection.
— Officials responsible for immigration
control- including consular staff—should be given guidance
on the identification of trafficking victims in particular where
they may be in need of international protection.
BACKGROUND
2.1 The Refugee Council has developed expertise
through face-to-face contact with victims of trafficking. Of particular
relevance is Refugee Council's Children's Section which has 34
frontline advisors, including a Specialist Adviser on Young Women.[184]
Through close work for lengthy periods, the team has gained an
in-depth insight into the issues faced by children and young people
who have experienced trafficking.[185]
2.2 In general, it is our experience that
the level of support needed by trafficked children and young people
is greater than other separated children due to their complex
needs. Case workers find that considerable one-to-one support,
encouragement and emotional support is required, entailing increased
amounts of time per case. The fear experienced by these clients,
particularly those who have been sexually exploited, is very real
and generally described as higher than the level of fear experienced
by other young people seen by the Children's Section, even those
who had escaped from civil or political unrest. The reason for
this seems to be that trafficked young people fear that the perpetrators
remain in the same area of the UK in which they live. Overall,
it seems that victims of trafficking have been responsive to the
support received from the Refugee Council, and in many cases,
we have been able to ensure that the young person is linked into
appropriate services to help them re-establish their lives and
reassert their confidence.
ESTIMATING THE
SCALE AND
TYPE OF
ACTIVITY
3.1 For reasons that are well-documented,
estimating the scale and type of trafficking activity is extremely
difficult. Most trafficked young people seen by our Children's
Section are referred by community organisations, solicitors, social
services, other children and health professionals. Whilst each
case that the Refugee Council has seen is unique, some themes
emerge:
3.2 Many of the young people identified
as trafficked by the Children's Section over the past two years
have been females trafficked for sexual exploitation and domestic
servitude. We have also seen young men being trafficked into the
country for cannabis cultivation. In some cases the purposes of
trafficking is not clear-cut, for example, some who came as domestic
servants also indicated that there were attempts to sexually exploit
them.
3.3 While physical and sexual violence is
a common occurrence for children who are trafficked, the level
of sexual violence specifically experienced by some of the young
women seen by the Refugee Council's Children's Section trafficked
for purposes of sexual exploitation was extremely high.
3.4 The accounts heard by the Children's
Section of children entering into domestic servitude seem in line
with those heard by other agencies. These include being orphaned
or living in poverty and being promised the chance to go to school.
Once in the UK they are put to work in a house and not allowed
out. Many of these children have suffered both verbal and physical
abuse; some managed to escape, either on their own or with the
help of others, when an opportunity presented itself.
3.5 While it appears to be a general trend
that trafficked victims are going missing from care, a very low
percentage of Children's Section cases appear to have gone missing.
This may indicate that the Children's Section provides valuable
advocacy to ensure to victims are in safe accommodation as well
as providing them with the logistical and emotional support they
need and the belief that they are being looked after, thus decreasing
their level of fear and the possibilities of them leaving care.
RESPONSE TO
TRAFFICKING BY
PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
IN THE
UK
The effect of age assessment as a priority in
service delivery to children
4.1 Children who have been victims of trafficking
tend to be vulnerable and in need of specialised care and support.
Many trafficked children have come from a history of abuse which
started long before their trafficking took place. The majority
of the young women seen by Refugee Council were either orphaned,
had escaped violence or were living on the streets prior to being
trafficked.
4.2 The Refugee Council notes that the current
approach that appears to be taken with trafficked young people
is to offer limited support and then increase this as need is
indicated, instead of beginning with a complete child protection
plan ensuring maximum support and then reducing this support,
if appropriate, once the child protection needs are thoroughly
assessed and met. We believe that trafficking should be approached
with the urgency and gravity of a child protection issue.
4.3 A significant proportion of individuals,
including victims of trafficking, who state their age to be under
18 years are not believed by the Border and Immigration Agency
and subsequently have their age assessed by the local authority.
Some may be provided with adult accommodation until the dispute
is resolved which can be a long and extremely stressful process.
For victims of trafficking, the Refugee Council has found that
the effects of age disputes can be detrimental to the individual
as well as counter productive in terms of gaining information
and building trust. More worryingly, there is a risk of victims
going missing or being housed in accommodation that is not safe
for them. Accessing services at the earliest stage possible is
vital to the safety of trafficking victims and the Refugee Council
believes that where there is even a suspicion that an individual
has been trafficked, a place of safety should be provided immediately
until age can be determined.
4.4 Refugee Council would further stress
that the very experience of being trafficked has an impact on
the issue of the age at which a child appears to present him/herself.
A trafficked child is often told by the trafficker to dress and
behave as well as say they are older than their actual age. This
is particularly so in the case of females trafficked for sexual
exploitation and domestic servitude. Similarly, visa applications
may contain false information including the portrayal of children
as being older than 18. This information must be analysed in the
context of trafficking to increase the accuracy of age assessment.
Independent Support Advocate for trafficking victims
5.1 In our experience of working with young
people who have been trafficked, the care package that needs to
be put in place encompasses a range of agencies, not all of which
have expertise in dealing with trafficking victims. To ensure
the trafficked person can turn to an agency that is independent
from the arbiter of their request to remain in the UK and likewise
of their request for service provision, the Refugee Council urges
the government to put in place a system of independent advocates
for trafficking victims, including children and young people.
5.2 The independent nature of such a position
would increase the likelihood of a relationship of trust and therefore
increase the trafficked person's confidence to impart information
on their trafficking experience. The advocate could serve the
vital function of ensuring multi-agency co-operation as well as
ensuring the trafficking victim is fully appraised of their rights
and responsibilities. Overall, it would reduce the risk of the
individual "falling through the gap" in service provision
and expedite the resolution of any age disputes that may arise.
It would further allow one-to-one time to be spent with a victim
of trafficking for support from an advocate with experience and
specialised knowledge that is not currently available. The Refugee
Council's Specialist Adviser for Young Women, a qualified Social
Worker, could provide a model for such an independent scheme to
support child victims, or suspected victims of trafficking.
"Evidencing trafficking" as part of
a human rights and/or asylum claim
6.1 The Refugee Council believes that a
major difficulty experienced by individuals who have alleged trafficking
is the demands made on them by the Border and Immigration Agency—at
the screening unit or by Case Owners—for evidence of
trafficking. The effect of not being believed has a detrimental
effect on victims as well as potentially damaging their credibility
in an asylum claim and/or limiting access to services. As a clandestine
illegal activity, trafficking does not lend itself to substantiating
objective evidence. In any event, most victims of trafficking
are extremely reluctant (through fear) and/or unable to provide
such evidence.
6.2 Many young women are not self identifying
as "trafficked". Building up the trust of is of paramount
importance if appropriate support is to be provided. A person
working with a trafficking victim can build trust in a number
of ways, but a starting point is to believe the young person's
story and age as well as give primacy to their "best interests".
In our experience, here remains a "culture of disbelief"
in the Home Office in relation to both age and experience of trafficking
that the Refugee Council believes needs to be urgently addressed.
6.3 Whilst most children are generally protected
against return (via grants of Discretionary Leave), it is worth
noting that protection needs may continue once the child has reached
18. The assumption that turning 18 signals a green light for return
may have grave consequences for trafficking victims and claims
should be carefully examined on an individual basis. We are also
concerned that the new package of measures announced recently
for unaccompanied children includes an intention to enforce returns
prior to children turning 18.[186]
REFLECTION PERIOD:
OPPORTUNITY FOR
A "PROTECTION
PACKAGE"
7.1 The Refugee Council believes that the
best way to improve the understanding of trafficking is to gain
the trust of the victims through building into the system both
time and advocates to establish trust. In this context, the Refugee
Council urges the UK to ratify the European Convention Against
Trafficking as a priority and in particular to implement the provision
relating to the three month "reflection period" afforded
to victims. In the light of the severe nature of the experiences
of trafficking victims, the Refugee Council views the possibility
of a reflection period as a valuable opportunity to offer specialised
support to victims.
THE EFFECT
ON TRAFFICKING
VICTIMS OF
THE UK'S
RESERVATION ON
THE UN CONVENTION
ON THE
RIGHTS OF
THE CHILD[187]
8.1 Once trafficked victims reach the UK
they need to be protected according to the law. Under the 1989
Children Act, the Government has a duty to take care of all children
in need, regardless of their status in the UK. However, because
of the UK's reservation on the CRC, some social workers and other
child care professionals assume that the provisions in the Children
Act 1989 and 2004 do not apply to children subject to immigration
control.[188]
The Joint Committee on Human Rights in 2004 stated "The UK's
Reservation to the CRC concerning immigration and nationality
appears to legitimize unequal treatment of these vulnerable children
by both the central government and local service providers".
The CRC reservation is indicative of the tension that seems to
exist in the UK between immigration law and child protection issues.
When applied to trafficking cases, this can result in the most
vulnerable being denied help. The Refugee Council hopes that the
UK's current consultation[189]
results in the withdrawal of its reservation to the CRC as a step
towards reducing the differential treatment received by refugee
children.
IDENTIFYING VICTIMS
OF TRAFFICKING
9.1 The Refugee Council believes the identification
of victims of trafficking to be extremely difficult to the nature
of trafficking. We would caution against any suggestion that the
social services conduct a one-off assessment interview to ascertain
whether a person is a victim of trafficking. We would view such
an approach as wholly inadequate and highly unlikely to result
in the correct identification of trafficking victims in order
to protect them. In the experience of the Refugee Council's Specialist
Adviser on Young Women, victims of trafficking rarely trust adults
immediately and it can take many sessions for information to come
to light pertaining to the experience of trafficking. As a result,
we would again highlight the need for trust to be established
in order to trafficking victims to feel able to disclose their
experience of trafficking. This usually takes cumulative one-to-one
sessions.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION
10.1 The availability of good quality legal
representatives with expertise in trafficking is vital to ensure
trafficked victims gains the protection they need. The Refugee
Council would urge for specialised training to cover the particular
skills needed to identify and advise victims of trafficking. In
adult cases, we urge the government to ensure legal aid provision
covers the increased time needed to take instruction from this
client group due to their unique circumstances.
PLACEMENT OF
TRAFFICKED CHILDREN
11.1 There appears to be no consistency
around housing for trafficked children and many are placed in
potentially unsafe and insecure environments. The Refugee Council
would urge the government and local authorities to address this
issue in order to minimise children going missing from their care.
We would recommend foster carers of children under 16 be supported
and trained in issues affecting trafficking victims and high support
accommodation—possibly foster care—for 16 and 17 year
olds.
"RETURNABILITY"
OF TRAFFICKED
VICTIMS
12.1 The Refugee Council urges the government
to consider the risk of re-trafficking in any assessment of return.
The speed at which asylum and human rights applications, particularly
in the detained fast track process, are currently decided mitigate
against the proper assessment of this risk. For example, victims
of trafficking may take a longer amount of time to feel safe enough
to talk about their experience of trafficking for which there
is no allowance in the current system.
12.2 In children's cases, any assessment
of returnability should be focussed on the best interests of the
child since it cannot be assumed that the child's best interests
are to return to their family in all cases. This is relevant to
cases where families may have been involved in trafficking due
to a range of circumstances, including poverty.
12.3 In the context of return under the
Dublin II Regulation, the Refugee Council has come across examples
of exploitation upon return to another EU state, and urges the
government to take this risk into account when considering return
(in particular that of children).
TRAFFICKING AND
SMUGGLING PREVENTION
AS AN
INTERCEPTION MEASURE
13.1 In response to this Inquiry's examination
of international co-operation on trafficking, the Refugee Council
would urge the UK to recognise that an increasing number of refugees
are being forced to use the services of smugglers or traffickers
as a result of the lack of legal routes to enter the UK to claim
asylum. As a result, border guards and officials need to take
into account that persons who are smuggled, trafficked, or are
potential victims of trafficking may also be in need of international
protection. Officials tasked with immigration control should be
provided with guidance on the identification of persons who may
be victims of trafficking which should also include guidance on
asylum law. This also applies in circumstances where the UK provides
funds for the training of border guards in other countries in
order to reduce the supply side of trafficking.
13.2 When screening visa applications to
identify persons who may or are about to be trafficked, consular
staff should also be directed to assess whether the applicant
may be in need of international protection or belong to a group
which may have fear of persecution in their country of origin
to better judge if the person should be granted a visa.[190]
7 March 2008
182 The Refugee Council has a Policy Advisor on Unaccompanied
Children; we are a member of the Separated Children in Europe
Programme and chair the NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information
Line Advisory Group. Back
183
Q16, The Border and Immigration Agency Code of Practice For Keeping
Children Safe From Harm, Consultation, 31 January 2008. Back
184
Funded by the Home Office and charitable agencies- Big Lottery
Fund, Camelot, Colyer Fergusson. Back
185
The trafficking of children (those under 18 years or age) is distinct
from that of adults (those over 18 years of age) in that it is
not based on coercion, deception or any illicit influence. By
this definition, if a person under 18 years of age is moved for
purposes of exploitation that person is a victim of trafficking. Back
186
See BIA "Better Outcomes: the way forward, improving the
care of unaccompanied asylum seeking children", 31/1/08 at
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/consultations/closedconsultations/uasc/betteroutcomes.pdf
and Refugee Council response at: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/news/press/2008/January/20080131.htm Back
187
The Reservation states: "The United Kingdom reserves the
right to apply such legislation, in so far as it relates to the
entry into, stay and departure from the United Kingdom of those
who do not have the right under the law of the United Kingdom
to enter and remain in the United Kingdom, and to the acquisition
and possession of citizenship, as it may deem necessary from time
to time". Back
188
See Crawley, Heaven (2006) "Children First. Migrant Second:
Ensuring that Every Child Matters", ILPA Policy Paper. Back
189
Q16, The Border and Immigration Agency Code of Practice For Keeping
Children Safe From Harm, Consultation, 31 January 2008. Back
190
The Refugee Council is currently running a research and advocacy
project on access to asylum called the Protection Sensitive Borders
Project. Back
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