Month: February 2019

Victims of modern slavery at risk of homelessness – Homeless at risk of becoming victims of modern slavery

Research/
Homelessness and Destitution
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Significant links can be found between modern slavery, human trafficking and homelessness. In 2017 the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner‘s Office published a report entitled ‘Understanding and Responding to Modern Slavery within the Homelessness Sector’, which followed a 2016 exploratory survey conducted in conjunction with the homelessness charity ‘The Passage‘. The main findings, which have since been re-published in The Passage’s 2018 Anti-Slavery Handbook, primarily suggested that those who are homeless and destitute are at significant risk of exploitation, and those victims of slavery are at risk of becoming homeless without proper provision of long term support strategies; accommodation has been identified as one of the most pressing provisions required for victims of modern slavery by other homelessness charities.
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The report found that:
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“… the majority of homelessness organisations (64% of survey respondents) have, to varying degrees, encountered potential cases of modern slavery…” (p.10)
   
And that whilst there is a degree of recording and there is certainly some awareness of the problem:
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“ …data on the numbers of potential victims of modern slavery [within the homelessness sector] is lacking or unreliable. This is either a result of a lack of recording or of a lack of information” (p. 10)
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Aside from the issues in reporting, which were noted as needing improvement in their accuracy and reliability, there was a clear need from the report that greater co-operation was required across different agencies to comprehensively tackle the two overlapping issues. One of the current issues noted by the report is that the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) required reports to come from a designated first responder, which most homelessness charities are not. This causes unnecessary delays, as noted by the report, and clearly demonstrates the need for multi-agency responses, or reforms to the NRM so that a broader spectrum of organisations may act as first responders for a crime that can effect anyone from any background.
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Since the report there have been a variety of handbooks and advice documents produced specifically targeting the issue of homelessness and modern slavery;  from both Non Governmental and Governmental organisations, for a wide range of groups and organisations that may come across modern slavery in the homelessness sector, targeting both homelessness resulting from modern slavery or slavery resulting from homelessness.
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Given the vulnerability of homeless individuals becoming victims of modern slavery, and the risk of slavery victims becoming homeless, the importance of multi-agency responses to both issues to avoid situations where individuals undergo continual cycles of exploitation is clear.  As such, more research into the overlap between homelessness and modern slavery, both in terms of the nature and extent of the overlap and the effectiveness of responses, is greatly required.
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Links to the full report and a short summary of the findings can be found on our e-learning page here.

Europol’s Role in Combating Child Trafficking

Research/

Europol plays a critical role in combating crime rings within Europe through international cooperation. It provides a centre for law enforcement expertise and international data exchange. Combating human trafficking is one of its five core security priorities, with an aim to disrupt organised crime groups involved in the trafficking of people in and out of the EU. Trafficking is often disguised by legal business structures that directly or indirectly facilitate exploitation. The report, Criminal Networks Involved in the Trafficking and Exploitation of Underage Victims in the European Union analyses data from Europol’s 2015 – 2017 findings in relation to child trafficking.

Although a wide demographic is affected by human trafficking, minors are the most extremely vulnerable sector of society. Children are often lured into sexual, labour or other forms of exploitation, and as a result suffer severe physical and psychological damage.

Unaccompanied minors that may be in the process of migration or orphans, are common trafficking victims that need protection from state and law enforcement actors. However one of the most concerning complexities within the regulation of child trafficking, is the role of families in facilitating the sale or exploitation of their own children. The ‘private’ nature of families forms a protective shield against reporting or disclosure of the child’s wellbeing.

In a similar respect, legal businesses such as brothels, red light districts, sex clubs, within some EU states facilitate the exploitation of minor victims. However recruitment processes are shifting, with the use of online advertisement of sexual services being used as a major platform for the exploitation of children, whereby they are ‘sold’ as adults. Cyber security is another core sector of focus for Europol that intercepts with the issue of child trafficking.

Document and identity fraud for fake identification of minors is a core component of child trafficking to conceal the minor’s real age. In tracing the international movement of victims and traffickers, Europol plays a key role working between EU states to intercept organised crime gangs working internationally.

It is clear that Europol’s role in EU state to state data sharing and law enforcement cooperation is critical. The consequences of Brexit must be considered in terms of regulating international security threats. The UK is the second largest contributor to Europol’s information systems, and currently leads the teams on human trafficking and modern slavery. Ceasing the UK’s involvement in Europol’s affairs may have downstream effects on the capacity to respond effectively to such issues.