Human trafficking has become a significant issue in the UK because of its growing incidence (Nicola, 2014). Although it is hard to quantify the issue of human trafficking as it is also a hidden crime in many cases, National Crime Agency reports that the 1658 potential victims were submitted to the National Referral Mechanism during the period between April to June 2018, which marks a 2% increase from the previous quarter January to March 2018 (National Crime Agency, 2018). One of the causes of concerns in trends of human trafficking involves the trafficking of vulnerable populations, such as, children and young women who are victims of abuse (MacKinnon, 2012). Literature indicates that there is a link between human trafficking and victims’ home history, wherein those who are victims of abuse being susceptible to trafficking (Hynes, 2010). However, there is lack of in depth analysis in the context of the UK on how this link between abuse and trafficking can be one of the important issues in human trafficking. This research study seeks to explore this link further in the context of the UK. The increasing incidence of human trafficking and the challenges that it poses to the state for controlling and preventing such incidence is one of the reasons for the passage of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This legislation is a response to sexual offences that are an inherent component of much of human trafficking and it criminalises internal and international trafficking. With respect to the present research, the Sexual Offences Act is relevant as it criminalises the trafficking of individuals for the purpose of sex trade. Also of relevance are the measures adopted by the Council of Europe for the prevention of human trafficking. The Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005 also called the European Trafficking Convention and the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims are both such measures which seeks to create a regime wherein the country of origin and the country of destination both have certain obligations for preventing human trafficking (UN OHCHR ). Human trafficking essentially involves cross border transfer or movement of the victims. As there is cross border movement involved, there is domestic and international implications in terms of law and policy related to the prevention of human trafficking. When human trafficking involves transfer of victims from one to the other state, it becomes difficult for the state to make effective laws or policy with respect to prevention of the incidence of human trafficking. RozaPati recognises this difficulty when he states the following:
“The dehumanization of individuals, which it so often entails, takes place within and outside the borders of one state and one legal system. When trafficking occurs within a single state, the government of that state can address the issue comprehensively and effectively within its borders. However, when any element of the process relates to a foreign state, be it the nationality of the victim or the state in which the victim is temporarily crossing during his or her trafficking passage, not only is the control of the state over this activity legally and factually limited, but the victim is also put in a precarious position” (Pati, 2011, p. 82).
As mentioned above, human trafficking involves challenges to the state to control it and it presents difficulties for any one state to control human trafficking in the face of the challenge of controlling a crime that is multi-jurisdictional.
In context of the impact of human trafficking on individuals who are victims of the crime, the key term that RozaPati uses is ‘dehumanisation of individuals’. If one considers the level of exploitation that takes place in human trafficking, it is easy to see the impact that it has on the individuals. Human trafficking is considered to be one of the most serious transnational and organised crimes against individuals. The crime involves use of violence and violent crimes such as forced prostitution, slave trading, and forced organ transplantation (Boister, 2012). The crime is not age specific and there is a rising incidence of human trafficking of children, which leads on to commission of sexual crimes against child victims and forced child prostitution (Nicola, 2014). The crimes involving child victims have increased over time with the involvement of the crime mafia that is involved in sex rings (Nicola, 2014). The impact of these crimes in the society is also serious because the higher prevalence of these crimes in the society is a reflection on the rising levels of safety issues and crime prevalence in the society itself. Literature on human trafficking suggests that emergence of the illegal migration markets in the important global cities is related to the growth of human trafficking in or from such cities as the proliferation of the illegal markets create the conditions that are conducive to exploitation of the trafficked individuals (Salt, 2000). On the other hand, the legal responses to human trafficking have generally failed to respond to the issue of exploitation, focused as it is on the first two objectives of the three-prong framework of prosecuting traffickers, preventing trafficking and protecting trafficked persons (Chuang, 2006). Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes towards victims of abuse from a minority ethnic background and has become an issue which needs to be combated and eliminated. The trafficking of human beings has attracted considerable public and political concern in recent years at regional and international level (Lee, 2007). It is a crime that accounts for two-thirds of traffickers’ $150 billion in yearly profits (Bell, 2016).
There is no one specific definition of human trafficking as they are socially constructed and have developed over a period in numerous countries. While the principal component of human trafficking remains the cross border trafficking in human beings, it is important to define the concept in order to provide a context for this dissertation. As my dissertation is focusing on human trafficking within the U.K, the terminology has been defined by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, or the Palermo Protocol (UN General Assembly, 2001) as: “‘Trafficking in persons’ 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”(UN General Assembly, 2001, Article 3(a)). At the outset, it may be noted that there is no one specific definition of human trafficking. While the principal component of human trafficking remains the inter-border trafficking in human beings, it is important to define the concept in order to provide a context for this dissertation. Human trafficking has been defined by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, or the Palermo Protocol (UN General Assembly, 2001) as: “‘Trafficking in persons’ 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”(UN General Assembly, 2001, Article 3(a)). The definition in Palermo Protocol being adopted by the United Nations General Assembly can be considered to be one of the most widely accepted definitions of the concept, at least in the context of international law (Dewey, 2008, p. 37). The fact that the definition received accord from the majority of the world nations can be seen to be an affirmation of its universal acceptance. Therefore, for the purpose of this dissertation, the Palermo Protocol definition will provide the context of human trafficking. Coming back to this definition, human trafficking refers to a variety of acts, such as, recruitment, transportation, harbouring or receipt of persons. The essential element here is the use of force or the threat of use of force or any other means of coercion, which are also defined by Article 3(a) of the Palermo Protocol. The abuse of power by the perpetrators or taking advantage of the position of vulnerability of the victims is also a possible aspect of human trafficking. Another important element here is that of exploitation, as the victims are subjected to exploitation which may take the form of prostitution, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, or removal of organs. In this way, the Palermo Protocol provides a comprehensive definition of human trafficking.
The overarching research question that this dissertation seeks to explore is: “In what ways does the victimisation by abuse in family settings link with cross border human trafficking?”
Related to the principal research question, are the following sub research questions:
How does prior sexual, emotional and physical abuse and (coercive control) link with human trafficking?
How are family instability and problems associated with the increase in human trafficking?
The objectives of this research are as follows:
To evaluate the link between cross border human trafficking and victims of abuse.
To increase knowledge and understanding through a critical and comparative analysis of human trafficking.
Human trafficking is a very serious problem, and one that needs response from varied policy and practice contexts. From an academic point of view, human trafficking can be studied from the perspective of law, psychology, social work and social sciences. Research on this topic is sometimes undertaken from an interdisciplinary perspective as well. The seriousness of the problem, its implications for the health, life and safety of victims, and the growing nature of the problem, make it a very relevant topic of study. Human trafficking is a broad area in itself, while this research only concerns itself with exploring the factors that lead to human trafficking of the women from minority ethnic backgrounds in the UK. The questions that the research seeks to answer are related to the links between childhood sexual or physical abuse with human trafficking; domestic violence and its link to human trafficking; and the link between family instability and financial problems with human trafficking. There are several links that may be found in socioeconomic conditions, although such links may not be peculiar to low socioeconomic status, such as deprivation, domestic violence, exposure to material and social inequities, possible child abuse, which may be important factors in human trafficking of women. Such links can be identified by this research. Future research into any of these possible links can be carried out. A better understanding of these links can help inform policy and practice under different areas like law, health and social work to name a few.
This chapter presented the outline of what this dissertation intends to do. Next chapter aims to introduce the background on “Cross-border human trafficking of Victims of Abuse from Minority Ethnic status in the U.K” by accentuating on the numerous definitions of the key terminology this dissertation is focused on; human trafficking. Other terminologies which will help us to unravel this research will also be defined in order to understand the context of human trafficking in more depth in relation to this specific piece of research.
This chapter is an important part of any research being undertaken. It supplies a systematic understanding of variety of studies conducted in the past on the topic where it enables both the researcher and the reader to obtain proper understanding and knowledge and identify the gaps in knowledge. This chapter will review the sociological and policy context, statistics on cross border human trafficking to understand the seriousness of the crime.
The statistics on human trafficking in the UK show it to be a serious issue in the UK. The National police operations in 2006, recorded that there were 88 victims of human trafficking in the 2007, and 167 victims of sexual trafficking (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). In 2009, there were 148 referrals of sexually trafficked women in the period between April to June and 199 referrals were made in the period between July to September as recorded by the National Referral Mechanism (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). The UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center reported that there were 330 cases of child trafficking, with 65% children being trafficked for sexual exploitation in 2007 (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). In 2009, the number of children trafficked as per the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Center was 325, with 56% children being trafficked for prostitution and involvement in sex rings (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). The problem of human trafficking is becoming a significant issue in the UK, so much so that UK has emerged to be one of the hotspots for trafficking globally. The U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report ranks the UK as Tier 1 meaning that it is a significant trafficking spot in the world, although it does meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s minimum standards (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). Tier 1 status means compliance with the minimum standards; but being on the list signifies significance as a trafficking spot (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). Factors that contribute to the development of UK as a trafficking hotspot include its capital, London, being one of the largest and most diverse cities in the developed world, thereby being a magnet for those who want to migrate to the UK, from the EU and beyond (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010).London is also a major port of entry with five international airports, allowing trafficking rings to proliferate with a growing number of women being trafficked from different locations around the world. Major points of origin in trafficking to the UK are located in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010). The UK itself is also a point of origin for trafficking into different destinations, particularly in EU and North America, with girls from low socio-economic backgrounds being susceptible to victimisation from trafficking rings (Roy, Macias-Konstantopoulos and Burke, 2010).
Literature now notes that there is a decided link between domestic violence and human trafficking (Zimmerman and Watts, 2003). A desire for some girls and women to escape difficult home conditions is considered to be a motivation for girls to run away from home and sometimes get involved in sex rings that ultimately may lead on to trafficking. Domestic abuse, in context of childhood, may also take the form of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment by the parents or guardians (Butchart, Putney, Furniss and Kahane, 2006). As such, prior childhood sexual or physical abuse is also identified as one of factors that link to human trafficking (Zimmerman and Watts, 2003). In the context of this study, abuse is defined as both domestic violence and child abuse as the contexts for both kinds of abusive relationships are different. Domestic violence is viewed in the context of intimate relations between the abuser and the victim, as defined by the Home Office as: “Any incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional.” (Woodhouse & Dempsey, 2016, p. 4) Child abuse or maltreatment is defined in context of parent or guardian relationship with the child or ward as follows: “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power” (Butchart, Putney, Furniss, and Kahane, 2006, p. 9). Therefore, the difference is in the relationship between the parties as far as domestic violence and child abuse is concerned. In the context of this study, both definitions are relevant, as girls or women who run away from home may be responding to abusive conditions in context of intimate relations or relationship with parents or guardians.
Family instability is also identified as one of the factors that is seen to link family conditions with human trafficking (Zimmerman and Watts, 2003). Family instability is described as one of the ‘push’ factors for human trafficking, wherein the instability in the family may be one of the reasons why women get pushed into trafficking from source countries (Gajic-Veljanoski and Stewart, 2007). It has been found that young girls or women from unstable or abusive family backgrounds may be easily controlled by the human traffickers as they are not able to easily identify emotional or physical abuse, being used to abusive relations in their family lives (Gajic-Veljanoski and Stewart, 2007). Young girls and women from such families may even have low self worth; and may find it difficult to extricate themselves from sex rings once involved (Family Violence Prevention Fund, 2005).
Human trafficking is facilitated by the global networks of transportation and communication. In that sense, globalisation is an important factor in the growth of human trafficking. Organised groups and crime syndicates that function transnationally are involved in human trafficking and prey on women belonging to low socioeconomic status. Human trafficking victims are often dangerously victimised by transnational and organised groups that are involved in human trafficking and sex rings (Pati, 2011). Due to this transnational nature of the problem, human trafficking is now a global problem. Globalisation creates interdependent markets across the world and also facilitates the transfer of people and commodities across borders. Globalisation plays an important role in facilitating cross border trafficking because it creates and perpetuates market conditions that allow illegal trafficking to provide labor. The networks that are created to allow this are also used for trafficking for the sex industry. Therefore, the network created by globalisation becomes a conduit for cross border human trafficking (Pati, 2011).
The case of Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia brought to fore the social and human costs of human trafficking and the failure of the international and domestic arrangements to prevent human trafficking (Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, No. 25965/04 of 7 January 2010, 2010). The case was instrumental in exposing the proliferation of networks of organised crime groups and sex rings in different parts of Europe, which thrive on human trafficking and the sex industry (Gallagher, 2010). This case in not one of and several such cases have come before the European Court of Human Rights or the ‘ECtHR’, which show the serious nature of the crime of human trafficking and its relevance to human rights and criminal law. The case saw the ECtHR equating human trafficking with slavery, which is a violation of Article 4 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) (Gallagher, 2010, p. 188). The Rantsev case was decided by seven judges of the ECtHR and it is a seminal decision of the court (Sluitor, 2011). Important here are the 7 elements of human trafficking that have been listed by the court and are noted below:
physical and psychological control over the victim of human trafficking which includes the control of movement and physical environment; measures taken by perpetrators to prevent or deter escape by the victim; the use of force, threat of force or other forms of coercion; assertion of exclusivity of control; meeting out of cruel treatment and abuse; control of sexuality and lack of agency over the victim’s body and life; and forced labour.
These elements are important indicators of the crime of human trafficking as defined by the ECtHR, important also because there has been a lack of legal interpretation of the crime in the past (Vilt, 2014). The case is important because it points at the issues that form a link between cross border human trafficking and victims of abuse. Victims of abuse are subjected to physical, mental and psychological force, and may leave their homes due to such abusive conditions. Once away from home, they form part of a vulnerable population, which is preyed upon by traffickers. However, the traffickers also subject the victims to abusive and controlling conditions. The international community and a number of international bodies and institutions, including the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), that passed the Palermo Protocol, have been involved in seeking out measures and ways for controlling the crime of human trafficking. Yet, RozaPati states that there is a “dearth of legal interpretation of the phenomenon of human trafficking” (Pati, 2011, p. 81).This is not to say that there is a lack of literature on the subject, only that there is a lack of legal interpretation on the subject. As the controls for human trafficking come from law, the lack of legal literature would seem to be an impediment in actual implementation of such controls. Therefore, the Rantsev decision is important as it clearly lays down the judicial interpretation of human trafficking. In context of the Palermo Protocol, which laid down the definition of human trafficking so seminally, there is a criticism that the Protocol has failed to deliver valid rights or obligations that can contribute to the specific and effective protection of victims (Heinrich, 2010). One of the reasons for this is that the language of the Palermo Protocol is not binding on the member states, in some key provisions, such as Article 6(3) which provides that the states “may consider” the measures implemented for the welfare of victims of human trafficking (Heinrich, 2010). The UK’s own position on some of the international conventions on human trafficking is not always clear. On one hand, the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005 was ratified by the UK, pursuant to which, the UK established the National Referral Mechanism which functions as the formal trafficking identification scheme in the UK. On the other hand, European Trafficking Convention and the Directive 2011/36/EU, met with some reluctance by the UK because it does not offer ‘”benefits for the UK” (Home office , 2010); although, the UK did reverse its position after the finalisation of the directive text. The 2011 directive is important because it provides a uniform approach to identification and protection of victims in different European jurisdiction. The definition of human trafficking in this directive is identical to the one that is provided by the Palermo Protocol, only expanding on it to include more forms of exploitation of victims through forced engagement in pick pocketing, and drug trafficking (Gromek-Broc, 2011). In the context of the present research, this widened definition of human trafficking is important because it may be relevant to the victimisation of the trafficked individuals by the traffickers. The impact of international arrangements, such as, the Palermo Protocol and the 2011 EU directive is significant in context of the UK as it has enacted the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was enacted to bring the UK into line the international and regional commitments related to prevention of human trafficking. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires all UK companies to prepare and publicise a statement that explains the steps taken to ensure that slavery is not taking place in any of its supply chains, which is targeted at human trafficking that is facilitated by supply chains located in different parts of the world. As human trafficking is akin to slavery per the Rantsev decision, it is easy to see the links between the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and human trafficking. Moving on to the factors for human trafficking in context of those who belong to the lower socio-economic status, these factors have generally been identified in literature to include: domestic violence, prior sexual abuse, and instability in family relations (Zimmerman and Watts, 2003). In order to understand how these concepts may link with human trafficking, it is important to first define these concepts. Domestic violence has been defined by the Home Office as follows:
“Any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to the following types of abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional” (Zimmerman and Watts, 2003, p. 4). Seen in the context of the above definition, domestic violence is defined with relation to intimate relations between the abuser and the victim. For the purpose of this research, it will not be enough to see the definition of domestic violence because it will not explain the violence that occurs in context of children. As this research also seeks to understand the impact of domestic relations and family instability in human trafficking context, child abuse becomes an important component and the definition of child abuse is distinct from domestic violence. This is not to say that domestic violence and child abuse are not co-occurent, because one of the findings of research on this issue is that child abuse is co-occurent with domestic violence (Mahoney, Donnelly, Boxer and Lewis, 2003). In other words, when intimate partners are violent in their relations, there is a possibility of violence being extended to children of the family (Mahoney, Donnelly, Boxer and Lewis, 2003). Having said that, there are a variety of consequences of domestic violence for the children. Even witnessing of domestic violence is a victimisation of the child (Mahoney, Donnelly, Boxer and Lewis, 2003).
Child abuse or maltreatment is defined as follows:
“all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power” (Butchart, Putney, Furniss and Kahane, 2006, p. 9).
Although, the definitions for both are different, there is a strong interplay between domestic violence and child abuse. In context of human trafficking, domestic violence and child abuse are both important factors and are especially associated with low socio-economic status. One research has attributed this link to low self-esteem, which usually associated with those who belong to low socioeconomic status or with unstable family life (Trzesniewski, Donnellan, Moffitt, Robins, Poulton and Caspi, 2006). Being from a minority ethnic background and its link to human trafficking formed the subject matter of a research that sought to study the issue of human trafficking in a broader context of inequality (Barner, Okech and Camp, 2014). The authors argue that the social inequalities that are seen in the society, in terms of economic, social, and political domains have ramifications for the individuals who are caught in the lower strata of the society and are susceptible to negative outcomes which include violence, victimisation, substance abuse, and homelessness (Barner, Okech and Camp, 2014). These have definite interlinks with human trafficking as inequities result in the increasing socio-economic gaps in society and amongst nations, which also add to the global disparity in terms of economic, social, and political domains and leads on to poverty and also facilitates conditions for global sex trade as well as human trafficking (MacKinnon, 2012). Poverty is considered to be a major factor for increasing the vulnerability of women to modern-day sex slave trade and therefore, human trafficking. An example can be found in a study based in Albania, which found that young women are lured into sex trade via human trafficking by promises of employment (Hook, Gjermeni and Haxhimeri, 2006). The link between unstable or violent family relations and human trafficking can be seen in a study based in the UK, which found that there is a significant incidence of traffickers preying on underage runaway women (Biehal and Wade, 2002). This trend is not unique to the UK and has also been seen in other countries, such as the US, where research shows that runaways are tempted into sex trade and victimised by human trafficking by offers of luxuries and emotional support that is missing in the home life of the runaways (Boxhill and Richardson, 2007 ). In effect, runaways are easy targets for traffickers as they are low risk victims. The lifestyle of the runaways and the routine activities of the runaways have been used to explain how teenagers living on their own form a vulnerable group for traffickers to take advantage of (Lutya, 2010). To this end, the lifestyle exposure theory and routine activities theory can be used to explain this (Lutya, 2010). The luring of runaways into sex trade by offering them luxuries or money can be seen in the context of delinquency when the runaways are of very young age. In this context, the anomie theory of Merton may be relevant (Merton, 1957). Merton used the anomie theory to explain the significance of gaps between youth aspirations and means available to attain these aspirations, for the increase in juvenile delinquency. When juveniles are faced with the success ethic or exposed to materialization, they are exposed to ambitions but without having the means to attain them, leading to delinquency (Merton, 1957). Similar argument can be made to explain the link between low socioeconomic status, low self-esteem, a desire to achieve a more prosperous lifestyle and the luring into sex trade for the younger people. For the same reasons, there can be a luring of young people into drug rings and weapon rings and the connection to transnational crime, is strong in all these rings as they are all interrelated. There may be a stronger link between domestic violence, child abuse and human trafficking than what has been seen in literature, particularly because there has been a typical response which sees trafficking of children as a one-off ‘event’ rather than a broader sociological process (Hynes, 2010). It is difficult to develop a create a better understanding of the social and environmental background of those that come into contact with trafficking until incidents of trafficking are seen as events and not a sociological process (Hynes, 2010). The next chapter will present the methods chapter, explaining why specific research methods were employed and how.
This chapter will portray the theoretical framework for this dissertation in order to understand human trafficking in a deeper context by understanding different theories which correlate with human trafficking. The theories that will be discussed are transnational crime, Anomie theory, Lifestyle exposure theory and routine activities theory and business components linked to trafficking.
Human trafficking is usually done across nations and as such, it has elements of a transnational crime, which involves organised criminal groups. Transnational crimes are crimes, the effect of which is across borders and the crime can be perpetrated in more than one country (Boister, 2003). Transnational organised crime refers specifically to crimes committed by organised criminal groups (Boister, 2003). One of the essential elements of transnational crimes is that these crimes may take place in one country but may significantly affect another. Another important feature is that there may be more than one country involved in the transit of the criminal activity (Boister, 2003). Thus, transnational crimes are those that are committed by organised criminal groups that are working or perpetrating their crimes with effect in more than one country. Human trafficking also depicts similar elements and patterns, making it a transnational crime. Transnational crime is proliferated in the current globalised world where the fact of the world becoming a large global village means that criminal organisations get to exploit opportunities for cross-border crime. The construction of continental trading blocs such as the North American Free Trade Association; deregulated international currency markets and developments in communications and transport technologies have all added to the ease with which organised criminal groups effect transnational criminal activities. Potter (2006) writes that transnational organised criminal groups are similar to multinational companies in that they also work towards acquisition of larger profits and employ similar strategic priorities. In their transnational criminal networks, organised criminal groups are aided by the availability of cheap human labour or resources in the developed countries and the open markets and transportation means in the developed countries (Potter, 2006). In the context of human trafficking, the relevance of availability of communication and transportation networks and the open markets with deregulation of international currency, all add to a situation that facilitates the networks that aid in trafficking humans across borders. Transnational organised crime can be explained in the categories of organised groups that are involved in this activity. For instance, Picarelli proposes a typology of three groups: one, small trafficking groups consisting of a few entrepreneurial individuals; two, cooperatives consisting of individuals, and small groups; and three, single large criminal organisation in controls of all aspects of the trafficking process (Picarelli, 2009). Another typology is developed by Shelly, who uses a regional-specific typology of trafficking organisations which define the business model followed by each different category in the typology (Shelley, 2010). According to this typology, the Chinese employ a “trade and development” model in which all stages are controlled (Shelley, 2010). This model is less abusive and the focus is on maximisation of profit over the long-term. The Russians employ a “natural resource model”, which uses high violence and abuses against victims with a focus on maximum short-term profit (Shelley, 2010). The Balkan model is also similar and is described as a “violent entrepreneur” model, which sees traffickers function as middlemen for Russian organised crime (Shelley, 2010). The Balkan model also sees the involvement of top-level law enforcement officials (Shelley, 2010). The American traffickers employ a “pimp model” and the “supermarket” model, wherein smuggling of human beings occurs between Mexico and the US, based on a model of low-cost and high-volume (Shelley, 2010). This typology of transnational organised groups that are involved in human trafficking bring to mind the Potter thesis (2006) on transnational organised crime which sees organised criminal groups akin to multinational companies that have clear strategy on how they are going to achieve the maximum profits for their business. Human trafficking is another business for the organised criminal groups and transnational criminal groups use their own specific strategies for achieving the goals of their organisations (Potter, 2006).
Anomie theory was developed by Merton (1957) to explain the increase of crime in the society. As per the anomie theory, the society or communities are in the state of anomie, where the norms are either unclear or absent from the society, which makes the conditions in the society conducive to the increase in crime (Bernburg, 2002). The society develops rules based on the goals that are collectively sought to by the society and success is defined by the ability of the individuals to achieve success. The society provides the blueprint for success and this blueprint also provides the rules through which success is to be achieved (Bernburg, 2002). Crime is committed when individuals choose illegitimate methods for gaining success as defined by the society (Bernburg, 2002). Merton (1957) used the anomie theory to explain how gaps occur between the aspirations of the youth and the means that are available to them to achieve what they want to achieve, thus giving rise to criminal or delinquent behaviour on the part of the youth. Young people exposed to success ethic or material success, are also exposed to ambitions but they may not have the means to attain the ambitions and some young people may choose to achieve these ambitions through illegitimate or illegal ways. With respect to trafficking, anomie theory can help explain how traffickers may use the anomie in the society to prey on young people by promising them material success and luring them into sex rings. Research indicates that traffickers are able to prey on young women from low socio-economic status by promising them better opportunities (Hook, et al., 2006). Anomie in the society is created through social inequalities and individuals who are caught in the lower strata of the society are susceptible to negative outcomes which include substance abuse, and homelessness (Barner, et al., 2014). The interlinks between these negative outcomes and human trafficking are also discussed in research (MacKinnon, 2012). The underlying factor is poverty and the consequent vulnerability to criminal organisations who prey on poor women and lure them into sex trade via human trafficking by promising them employment or a better living standard (Hook, et al., 2006). Anomie theory has not been used specifically in context of trafficking victims, and this research will explore the link between human trafficking and anomie theory.
The theories of lifestyle exposure and routine activities have been evolved to explain the link between victims and their victimisation. Both the lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories view victimisation by understanding the convergence of offender, victim, and the absence of capable guardianship, which are the three elements of victimisation (Pratt and Turanovic, 2016). There is a crucial difference between lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories, in that, the former thinks of the risk to the victim from the perspective of the behaviours that may expose the victim to risk of criminal victimisation (Pratt and Turanovic, 2016). The routine activity theory views risk from the perspective of the event of victimisation wherein victimisation event is avoided if there is an absence of one of the three elements of victimisation, mentioned above (Pratt and Turanovic, 2016). For the principal part, both the lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories were evolved as a response to or a diversion from the victim precipitation theory, so as to deliberately take a divergence from the perception of positive contribution of victims to their own victimisation (Fisher and Lab, 2010). However, both routine activities and lifestyle exposure theories focus on the role of the victims in their own victimisation (Fisher and Lab, 2010). Lifestyle exposure theory and routine activities theory focus on the passive contribution of the victim to the victimisation as compared to victim precipitation theories which focus on the active contribution of the victims to their own victimisation (Fisher and Lab, 2010). In the context of human trafficking victims, there may be a link between victim behaviour and their victimisation by traffickers that can be explained through the lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories. With reference to runaways, these theories may be relevant to explain their victimisation by human traffickers (Lutya, 2010). Runaways and teenagers living on their own form a vulnerable group with regard to human trafficking because these young people are living without their guardians, and their routine activities as well as the lifestyle they follow can make them susceptible to human trafficking (Lutya, 2010). A study based in the UK found that there is a significant incidence of traffickers preying on underage runaway women (Biehal and Wade, 2002). This shows that there is a victimisation of runaway women by human traffickers and the routine activities and lifestyle exposure theories may be useful in explaining this link. Routine activities and lifestyle of runaway women may involve living on the streets or couch surfing. They may be involved in prostitution as they may not have other means of earning an income. They may be drug abusers, or they may be exposed to people who are involved in prostitution or drug abuse. These activities also expose such women to risks of abuse.
The business side of human trafficking can be understood with reference to the parallels between individuals within the trafficking process and business components as trafficking, involves different components, such as the wholesaler (the trafficker), the retailer or the exploiter (pimp or brothel owner), the product (trafficked victim) and the customer (Aronowitz, et al., 2010). This theory considers that for the government to respond to human trafficking, they will have to target the business aspect of human trafficking. Thus, government can target the business by reducing the supply of victims. For this the government will also have to incorporate mechanisms that will be useful in successful prosecution and imprisonment of the wholesaler and the retailer (Aronowitz, et al., 2010). The government can also drive seizure of the assets of traffickers, which will increase the costs to traffickers (Aronowitz, et al., 2010). In this way, the government can attack the working capital of the transnational organised criminal groups and the individual business components that are involved in human trafficking. This will impact the business and also reduce the incidence of human trafficking. This theory is useful for understanding the contexts in which transnational human trafficking is developed as a business.
This chapter presented a number of theories to understand human trafficking in different contexts. It further shows there are many factors which contribute to a person being trafficked. Chapter 4 will present methods employed to undertake this research effectively.
Despite the fact human trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade, precise figures remain elusive (World Health Organisation, 2012). It is visible of the disturbing fact that a small amount of human trafficking victims turn to authorities to report their experience due to contributing factors such as family instability, prior sexual, emotional and physical abuse and therefore remain quiet. Consequently, by penetrating, selecting and critically analysing prior literature using thematic analysis, both quantitative and qualitative was utilized to identify and make understand of the current literature and established the gaps in knowledge which this study aims to fulfill and which might assist future agendas with policy interventions and practice regarding human trafficking. This chapter builds upon the introductory framework constructed during the literature review in order to sketch the overall research approach, and to clarify how and why the methods chosen are suitable in order to answer the sub research questions which will enable us to understand and answer the overarching research question that this dissertation seeks to explore and focus on. To restate the sub research questions informing the design in this dissertation is:
How does prior sexual, emotional and physical abuse and coercive control link with human trafficking? How are family instability and problems associated with the increase in human trafficking?
The sub research questions will assist me to answer the overarching research question which this dissertation is primarily focused on which is, “In what ways does the victimisation by any abuse in family settings link with cross border human trafficking?” This study seeks to supply a developed insight and to answer the main research question by being able to evaluate the link between cross border human trafficking and victims of abuse by thematically analysing research and policy literature. It also aims to provide the reader an increased knowledge and understanding through a critical and comparative analysis of human trafficking as a contribution to academic research also as there is little literature in the area of study in the UK. There are numerous factors to be considered which contribute to cross border human trafficking of women which have been stated in previous chapters but will be critically analysed in the next chapter; Analysis and discussion, as this is one of the gaps in knowledge that needs to be explored and therefore the methods chosen for this study will facilitate me to do this. This chapter begins with discussing the research methods considered and the justification for the selection of methods, followed by the rationale for the use of qualitative literature review method followed by an analysis of the process of how and why the materials chosen were collected including the problems experienced. To close the chapter, ethical issues and considerations will be addressed.
Previous literature gathered was qualitative based analysis as it allows you to examine people experiences in detail. It allows you to identify issues from the perspective study participants, and understand the meanings and interpretations that they give to behavior, events or objects (Hennink et al, 2011, p. 10). This research method is appropriate for this study as it is the most effectual way to understand victims attitudes, feelings and behaviours and can aid researchers uncover unanticipated findings or avenues for further exploration (Leko, 2014, p. 276). In relation to this study, analysing quantitative data which gathers data in numerical forms (McLeod, 2008) neglects the profundity and explanatory understanding of the topic. Fink (2014, p.3) stated, “A research literature review is a systematic, explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and synthesizing the existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and practitioners”. This procedure was undertaken when reviewing past literature as it allowed me to identify and interpret what is known about the topic and effectively answer the research questions. Conversely, this research will make use of statistical data as it will allow for a broader study and make sense of how serious the issue is. Kruger (2003) states that, “Quantitative methods allow us to summarize vast sources of information and facilitate comparisons across categories and overtime.” This method of thematically analysing existing literature was employed to ensure validity and reliability and was further analysed and compared with similar studies. Since there is record of tremendous qualitative work such as “Sex Traffickers’ Views: A Qualitative Study into Their Perceptions of the Victim- Offender Relationship” commenced on cross border human trafficking, past literature has been reviewed to understand and be familiar with what prior evidence is obtainable to analyse which further allowed me to spot the gaps in knowledge which this study will accomplish. The literature utilized was selected to illustrate how cross border trafficking as the world’s fastest growing criminal industry, affects every nation across the globe and is a grave violation of human rights which needs to be addressed despite the fact there are numerous factors contributing to why this occurs. It has also given me an indication of why victims who undergo prior abuse are more likely to be cross border trafficked and whether it still continues to and what other factors contribute to cross border trafficking of people from minority ethnic backgrounds. In addition, it has provided me with further proposals to further improvements that need to be considered in relation to primary research for future researchers who will be possibly undertaking research on this topic. The collected literature that has been utilized in this dissertation has been numerous mixtures of books, academic journals, articles, government works and past reviews on cross border human trafficking. It was important to examine all these different type of collected works in order to discover a recurring theme and therefore meet the crucial aim of what this dissertation tends to meet.
After evaluating the collected literature on cross border human trafficking, it was clear that there was a deficiency of literature and studies on how prior abuse and family instability and problems are associated with the increase in human trafficking, especially being from a minority ethnic background and therefore this gap was identified and will be fulfilled in this study. .
Data collection process is defined and understood as the systematic approach to collecting and measuring information from a variety of sources to get a complete and precise picture of an area of interest (Rouse, 2007). It also allows an individual to answer stated research questions, test hypotheses and evaluate outcomes which aids the research to make future predications by being able to analyse trends. By gathering previous published literature and data, this research seeks to gain a clearer understanding of what ways does victimisation by abuse in family settings link with cross-border human trafficking of in the UK. Additionally, the study aims to specifically focus upon how a factor such as family instability and prior sexual, emotional, physical and coercive control links with the chance of increase in human trafficking. Previous research and literatures have been discovered and assessed for relevance and quality via the library and online search engines; Findit@mybham and Google Scholar. They were the most appropriate online search engines to use because it allows you to refine the materials you are searching for and ensures the literature gathered are defined and accurate for the study. The keywords searched when searching for the specific materials for this study were:
“Human trafficking”: This key term was used to gather precise material as it is the topic of the research and it allowed me to remain focused on the subject matter as there are different type of human trafficking.
“Cross border trafficking”: This key term was used to remain focused on the subject matter.
“UK”: This key term was used because the study only focuses on cross border trafficking of persons within the UK and therefore was important that the literatures gathered were from the UK in order to analyse themes and trends.
“Anomie theory”: This theory was also searched up in order to understand trafficking of persons in more depth and detail and understand how it links to human trafficking.
“Minority ethnic background”: This key term was used to understand how a person being from a minority ethnic background is more likely to be a victim of trafficking as they are triply susceptible to exploitation and is less likely to have access to justice, reparation and rehabilitation, even were she to escape her exploitation (Shiva Foundation, 2003).
“1990 and onwards”: It was ensured that all literatures were refined to 1990 and onwards when searching in engines to assemble more modern and precise data. This was important because it allowed me to understand what the current issues are for actors within the study such as policy makers, victims and services and further permitted me to spot the gap in the literature for further studies and assist in meeting the aim of this research.
Gathering literature for my research was quite simple and straight forward as the search engines allowed me to congregate suitable and specific materials for this dissertation. However, some studies that I searched did raise questions as they did not cover the elementary information required for my research. These specific studies were not evaded but were reviewed and highlighted within the conclusion section. This did however did take up a lot of my time as collecting literatures and deciding whether they are appropriate for your research can be time consuming. So therefore, I studied further case studies such as legal cases and news reports to analyse.
When commencing research, it is vital to consider the possible ethical issues involved and attempt to diminish them. The researcher is required to make sure that every step in the research process is protecting all actors involved; policy makers, victims, researcher, society etc. However, in this dissertation no actors were involved. In terms of ethical consideration when undertaking a literature review based dissertation, it is significant that:
No data is altered No findings are manipulated and Plagiarism is avoided.
Avoiding plagiarism is the priority in this literature review based research as materials were critically analysed from prior research written by others. This was avoided by ensuring all researches used were referenced and cited when using others publications. Other ethical elements were also considered as being important and were therefore managed.
This chapter presented a synopsis of the research methods applied and executed in order to answer the research questions stated in chapter 4.1 and fulfill the aims this study intends to. Chapter 5 will present the findings attained from the collected literatures which have been critically analysed after undertaking secondary research.
In the analysis section, data, including statistics is used to explain the relevance of socio-economic background and minority status to human trafficking. Recent research has explored links between minorities and human trafficking, which shows that there is a greater vulnerability to human trafficking that is found in the minorities (Hynes, 2016; Hynes, 2015; Pearce, et al., 2013). Minority ethnic populations in the UK are especially susceptible to trafficking due to a range of factors, including but not limited to socio-economic background, migrant status and family conditions (Pearce, et al., 2013). Community knowledge about trafficking and the ‘wall of silence’ described as an environment of disbelief, denial and silence that surrounds the issue of human trafficking, in particular, child trafficking, is also an important aspect of human trafficking and minorities’ link (Pearce, et al., 2013, p. 76). For people who are victims of human trafficking, this wall of silence can serve to both stifle their own voices as well as the deliberate ignorance of the community in recognising or acting on the issue of human trafficking. In minority ethnic communities, this can be even more problematic as it may create additional impediments in reaching out to agencies other that the existing impediments in form of language barriers, migrant status and community disapproval for contacting agencies of the government (Box, 2011). Trafficking is not a one off event but a process which includes organisations that are involved in trafficking of vulnerable populations for the purpose of illicit business. This is explained by the development of transnational criminal networks, and proliferation of organised criminal groups that are using the open markets and transportation means in the developed countries like the UK for the purpose of human trafficking (Potter, 2006). The development of human trafficking as a business activity is also related to the development of groups of organised criminals who work in small to large criminal organisations for the purpose of developing trafficking as a business process (Picarelli, 2009). The basic model that is being followed by these organisations is to ‘smuggle’ people into the UK from other countries where victims are bought from, or lured into trafficking, or kidnapped (Hynes, 2014). This process also creates a space for vulnerable populations fleeing war or inhumane conditions through the routes that are developed for smuggling victims of human trafficking and many such vulnerable populations fall into the gaps that are exposed by the smuggling processes (Hynes, 2014). In other words, there are points of vulnerability, rooted in the socio-economic or minority ethnic status of people in different countries of the world, which is taken advantage of by human trafficking organisations. Many such organisations combine kidnapping, buying, promising jobs or promising aid in asylum to vulnerable populations, in order to victimise them for the purpose of human trafficking (Hynes, 2014). Therefore, there is a link between asylum and human trafficking, which affects the minorities in the UK. The asylum seeking process itself is complex and many children and young women face violence through the process of transit as indicated in the research by Thomas, et al. (2004), which found that almost 50 percent of the unaccompanied asylum seeking children have experienced violence, including rape when they are transported to the UK for asylum. This becomes significant in the context of victimisation due to routine activities or lifestyle theories of crime victimisation. To explain this link further, the data from asylum authorities on asylum seekers who are also victims of human trafficking may be noted here. Although, there is a limited availability of data on asylum procedure and victims of human trafficking, an indication into the scale of the problem was given during a respense to a written parliamentary question on the issue, which revealed that “between 1 January 2010 and 30 September 2015, 1,200 applications for asylum were submitted by individuals recognised as victims of human trafficking by the National Referral Mechanism. Of those, 782 individuals (65.2%) were successfully granted some form of leave to enter/remain in the UK as a result of their asylum application” (TRACKS, 2017, p. 29).This response indicates that there is a link between asylum seeking and human trafficking, which may show the victimisation of asylum seekers by networks of organisations involved in human trafficking. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of statistical information in the public domain that can clarify the matter further, however, based on the response noted above, a link between the status and activities of the people and their victimisation by human trafficking can be explored further through the theories of lifestyle exposure and routine activities. These theories have been evolved to explain the link between victims and their victimisation by understanding the convergence of offender, victim, and the absence of capable guardianship, these being the three elements of victimisation (Pratt & Turanovic, 2016).
Lifestyle exposure and routine activities theories are different in that the former thinks of the risk to the victim from the perspective of the behaviours that may expose the victim to risk of criminal victimisation, while the latter views risk from the perspective of the event of victimisation wherein victimisation event is avoided if there is an absence of one of the three elements of victimisation (Pratt & Turanovic, 2016). Lifestyle exposure theory and routine activities theory focus on the passive contribution of the victim to the victimisation (Fisher & Lab, 2010).In the context of human trafficking, the response to the written parliamentary question above shows that those seeking asylum, are vulnerable to human trafficking. This vulnerability can be explained by the fact that the victims are involved in a process of transit, which may expose them to criminal organisations that are involved in human trafficking and sex trade. The UK has a National Referral Mechanism which is a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking and providing care to the identified victims(TRACKS, 2017). National Referral Mechanism framework contains detailed data on the victims of trafficking seeking support and formal identification but the statistics maintained by the Mechanism are not reflective of a complete overview of the scale of the phenomenon(TRACKS, 2017). With respect to the UK, it has been noted that “only a small proportion of victims ever encounter authorities, and among those that actually do, they are not all being recognised and referred and are thus not captured in the NRM’s statistics”(TRACKS, 2017, p. 26). Nevertheless, the data from the National Referral Mechanism can provide a good indication of the phenomenon of human trafficking or the extent of the problem in the UK and the latest data is provided here. Data fromNational Referral Mechanism statistics from the year 2017, shows that there is an increase in potential victims by 35 percent from 2016 (National Crime Agency , 2018). In 2017, 5145 potential victims were submitted to the National Referral Mechanism and the victims belonged to 116 nationalities. The most common nationalities represented in the data were from Albania, Vietnam and the UK (National Crime Agency , 2018). The victims were exploited for labour and there was also criminal exploitation involved. Of concern was the increase by 66 percent in minor exploitation referrals. These referrals stood at 2118 in 2017, while referrals in this category stood at 1278 in 2016 (National Crime Agency , 2018). The statistics of the National Referral Mechanism are an important indicator of the trends in human trafficking and the statistics show a worrying trend in increase in child trafficking with those who are from countries that are hit by violence and conflict being significantly impacted. The statistics maintained by the National Referral Mechanism are related to human trafficking within the UK as well as human trafficking into the UK from other countries. With respect to child trafficking, the statistics indicate that the most prominent country of origin for trafficked children is the UK, with a total of 255 reported cases during the year. This was followed by Albania with 227 reported cases, Vietnam with 227 reported cases, Afghanistan with 74 reported cases and Eritrea with 48 reported cases (National Crime Agency , 2018).Countries like Sudan, Pakistan and Syria also show an increase in child trafficking into the UK (National Crime Agency , 2018). All these countries are significantly impacted by war or have a significant amount of internally displaced populations. The at risk populations in these countries are those that are poor, come from rural areas or belong to minorities (Box, 2011). Within the UK as well, there is a significant number of people who are victims of human trafficking from the UK to other countries. Many of these are children as noted by the National Referral Mechanism (National Crime Agency , 2018). In fact, out of the total number of child referrals of human trafficking, a third were British (National Crime Agency , 2018). An interesting finding of the study is that many of these children who were victims of trafficking were used as drug runners (National Crime Agency , 2018). Therefore, the drug trade may also be using victims of human trafficking as slaves, or the trade may be responsible for encouraging human trafficking. The recent National Referral Mechanism data reveals the link between drug trade and human trafficking in a disturbing way as UK nationals have for the first time been the majority of the cases reported to the National Referral Mechanism (Dixon, 2018). British children who are victimised by human traffickers are also used as drug runners in the drug distribution model which is known as "county lines" (Dixon, 2018).The city gangs that are involved in drug trade branch out into county or coastal towns to sell heroin and crack cocaine and they use children who are trafficked for the purpose(Dixon, 2018).In fact, drug trade employs children from other nationalities also who are trafficked into the UK, particularly, Vietnamese children who are used as ‘Cannabis slaves’ to tend to cannabis plants in hidden homes and dangerous conditions (Gentleman, 2017). These children are often kept in captivity for years at a time and may also be forced into sex trade (Gentleman, 2017). One of the commonalities between the British and the other trafficked children who are used as drug runners is that they are usually from poor families and therefore belong to a low social economic status background (National Crime Agency , 2018). Some of the victims may also be those who have run away from home and are living on the streets, thus being exposed to criminal groups who are involved in human trafficking (National Crime Agency , 2018). Again, this presents the possibility of routine activities or lifestyle exposure that may be responsible for the victimisation of certain individuals by human traffickers. A recent case involving prosecution of two individuals under the Modern Slavery Act,for luring a teenage girl into human trafficking for the purpose of drug trade exposes the link between socio economic conditions of victim’s family, and human trafficking (Metropolitan Police, 2017). The girl was lured into human trafficking through Social Media, and later held in captivity for the purpose of being used as a carrier of drugs for the criminal gang that is involved in ‘country lines’ drug pedalling (Metropolitan Police, 2017). The victims are usually children from broken homes and girls who have been sexually abused or are victims of violent relationships (Hynes, 2014).
Despite the social and criminal implications of human trafficking, at its heart, it is an economically driven offence as human traffickers respond opportunistically to the tensions between the economic necessities and the social and economic restrictions that impede the fulfilment of such necessities (Wheaton, et al., 2010).Both the human traffickers as well as the victims may be responding to the economic compulsions in their lives which leads to the creation of structures within which human trafficking is facilitated. The statistics from the National Referral Mechanism show that the majority of the victims of human trafficking in the UK are those that belong to minorities ethnic groups (National Crime Agency , 2018). As mentioned earlier, the statistics of the National Referral Mechanism are not representative of the true extent of the problem of human trafficking and modern slavery (TRACKS, 2017). The estimates of different reports developed by the government agencies points to a more serious problem, with much greater number of victims of human trafficking (Department of Justice, 2017).Other than the National Referral Mechanism, there are two other methods by which the numbers of victims can be ascertained. These are the referrals of potential victims under the provision of ‘duty to notify’ under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Department of Justice, 2017). This duty is placed on specified public bodies if they encounter an adult victim of modern slavery (Department of Justice, 2017). Adding the number of referrals under this provision to the number of referrals under the National Referral mechanism, the total number of potential victims in 2016 can be put at 4,586 (Department of Justice, 2017). The third method is through the police records, as per which the number of recorded cases with the police in England and Wales stands at 2,255 modern slavery offences (Department of Justice, 2017). This brings the number of human trafficking victims as per the records by that much. However, the actual estimates of the victims of human trafficking as per the Department of Justice (2017) is significantly higher, which the department putting the number of victims between 10,000 and 13,000 in 2013 alone. Out of these, it is hard to estimate the socio-cultural background and minority status of the victims. There are no numbers other than the National Referral Mechanism data that bifurcate the victims as per their race and economic status. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain with certainty the extent of the human trafficking crime with respect to minority ethnic victims.
To conclude this research study, the issue of human trafficking is very serious and there are many aspects of this research problem that needs to be considered. With respect to minority ethnic communities, there is very little research on the issue of human trafficking and this means that it is difficult to understand the problem and the extent of the problem in the UK. This research finds that there is an increase in the number of minority ethnic groups in terms of their representation in human trafficking figures as per the National Referral Mechanism statistics. However, these numbers do not represent the extent of the problem in the UK. What is clear is that a great number of such victims of human trafficking are those that have come into the net of human traffickers due to their asylum status and there is a link between asylum and human trafficking from that aspect. This research finds that there is a link between socio economic status of minority communities and human trafficking. For the purpose of this, it may be noted that minority status may put a person at a vulnerability for human trafficking and studies have shown that those who are of minority status in their own countries and are at risk for persecution due to that status are also at risk of being trafficked through asylum or migratory networks at play. Criminal organganisations that are involved in this business of human trafficking prey upon such people and victimise them. In the same way, those who are minorities in the UK may also be at risk for human trafficking due to their socio economic status and the fact of their victimisation may be veiled behind a wall of silence that may be an impediment to reporting of such victimisation as the community may also disapprove of reaching out to agencies involved in help. In order to come to more definite conclusions regarding human trafficking, there is a need to conduct deeper and empirical research into the issue of human trafficking and minority ethnic groups. Such research can be conducted with the help of agencies and help groups that are involved in helping victims of human trafficking. For now, it may be noted that the issue of human trafficking is related to socio economic and minority status and further research will be useful in providing clearer insights into the links.
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