Forced Labour: Current Issues and Debates 09 January 2013 Sarah Lowe Senior Lawyer, EHRC

9/3/20152 EHRC work 2008 Inquiry into the working conditions in the meat and poultry processing sector 2010 Inquiry into human trafficking in Scotland 2012 Human Rights Review

9/3/20153 Quantification UKHTC – recorded potential victims ATMG – additional victims not in UKHTC figures ACPO – In 2012 of 30,000 in street prostitution 17,000 were migrant women and 2600 had been trafficked ( 9200 induced) Home Office and Home Affairs Select Committee estimates 4000/5000 respectively

9/3/20154 Commercial Sexual Exploitation – EHRC Inquiry Growth in indoor prostitution Demand for “new” sex and sex from exotic others – racialisation of sexual exploitation Evidence of internal trafficking Majority was intra community, victims being from traffickers own ethnic or national community

9/3/20155 Commercial Sexual Exploitation – EHRC Inquiry Private residences with facilities Organised brothels Transported as escorts Significant physical and mental health issues Escape by running away, accepting help from “client” or the police

9/3/20156 Meat and Poultry Processing Inquiry Evidence of widespread mistreatment and exploitation of migrant and agency workers Physical and verbal abuse Lack of proper health and safety protection Little knowledge of their right Affects both migrant and UK workers

9/3/20157 Meat and Poultry Processing Inquiry Inquiry found cases where treatment appeared to qualify as forced labour -Criminal gang charged migrant agency workers for a placement, workers subjected to demands for increasing payment and severe beatings if they couldn’t pay Similar circumstances found in 12 other forces across England and Wales

9/3/20158 Meat and Poultry Processing Inquiry Oxfam 2009 Turning the Tide: How to best protect workers employed by gangmasters, five years after Morecambe Bay -findings indicative of conditions where forced labour might be occurring: construction, hospitality and care sectors.

9/3/20159 Human Trafficking Inquiry Similar problems as those raised by the ATMG 2012 “All Change” report failure to understand what constitutes trafficking lack of familiarity with techniques to identify victims of trafficking lack of training

9/3/ Human Trafficking Inquiry Lack of co ordinated strategic prevention Lack of independent oversight and monitoring body Insufficient co ordinated inter agency working Gaps in knowledge, data and intelligence

9/3/ Human Trafficking Inquiry Significance of problems arising from the lack of trust and understanding of time needed for victims to open up and “tell the truth” Evidence of positive results from increase in resources and having a victim focussed approach Recorded difficulties in sharing of information between agencies

9/3/ Human Trafficking Inquiry Tension between appropriate victim care and ability to gather intelligence and prosecution Concerns expressed about reluctance to take risks in relation to prosecution Problems arise from inconsistency of regulation Low risk destination

9/3/ The Future IDMG? National Crime Agency? EU Directive? National Rapporteur?