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Child trafficking in the wider child protection system

Child trafficking in the wider child protection system. Chloe Setter Head of Advocacy, Policy & Campaigns ECPAT UK, 2014. ECPAT UK.

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Child trafficking in the wider child protection system

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  1. Child trafficking in the wider child protection system Chloe Setter Head of Advocacy, Policy & Campaigns ECPAT UK, 2014

  2. ECPAT UK • ECPAT UK is a children’s rights charity campaigning for the protection of child victims of trafficking and the victims of transnational sexual abuse by British citizens • Research / Campaigning / Training / Project Work / Youth Programme & Youth Groups • Network in more than 75 countries

  3. Child trafficking in the UK • Of the 2,255 potential victims of trafficking in 2012, 549 (24%) were children. This represents a 12% increase from 2011 (UKHTC, 2013) • The most prevalent countries of origin of child potential victims were Vietnam (103, 19%), Nigeria (78, 14%), Slovakia (43, 9%), Romania (39, 7%), UK (38, 7%), Albania (22, 4%), China (13, 2%), Bangladesh (10, 2%), Democratic Republic of the Congo (10, 2%) and Somalia (8, 1%)

  4. Child victims in the UK

  5. Impact on children “It’s like their fingers were in your brain. Your heart jumps when you see them” “He didn’t just threaten me, he beat me unconscious” “They used to say things like children's organs are really expensive & children can be kidnapped” “Every single day I heard the threat, I’ll kill you bitch”

  6. Local Authority Assessment Multi-agency response Strategy Discussion S47 investigation Immediate action to safeguard: EPO; S46 Police powers S20 accommodation Child protection medical A.B.E. interview Child Protection Case Conference & Review/ LAC reviews CP trained interpreters Childabuse first - status/ criminal issues later Safeguarding child victims Child trafficking = actual/potential significant harm

  7. Identification of child victims of trafficking • Early identification is vital to safeguard victims against ongoing risks (missing / criminalisation / re-trafficking / evidence) • BUT difficult to identify – children may not disclose, may be inconsistent or lie, may have a ‘learnt’ story to tell authorities • Children may have ‘bond’ with traffickers and they or their family may be in debt to the traffickers

  8. National Referral Mechanism • In 2009, the UK ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Trafficking and created an official system of identification • NRM is the framework for identifying victims and providing support/assistance • First Responders can make referrals to the two Competent Authorities for two-stage decision (the Home Office and the UK Human Trafficking Centre)

  9. Review of the NRM The aim of the review is to establish whether the NRM: - provides an effective and efficient way of supporting and identifying potential victims of human trafficking • can, or should, cover all victims of modern slavery Submit evidence here: NRMReview@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

  10. Criticism of the NRM for children After the NRM’s first year of operation, the ATMG published a report that criticised the lack of sufficient expertise in relation to children of those tasked with identifying child victims. Further, the decision to ‘bypass’ the existing strong and mature child protection system and locate the children’s NRM outside of this system, the report argued, had a detrimental effect on trafficked children.

  11. Criticism of the NRM for children • - Low awareness of the NRM system and child trafficking indicators/definition/profiles among First Responders in particular • - Low referral rate among some local authorities that see little purpose in the NRM for children • - Low conclusive grounds rate decision for children (around 31% from April 2009 up until June 2012), which is lower than that of adults, despite the simpler definition of child trafficking • - Lack of child-specific training and child protection specialism among case owners in the Competent Authorities • - Potential discrimination in the decision-making process

  12. Criticism of the NRM for children • - Poor decision-making that is frequently based on credibility (and often, wrongly, consent) and lacks an understanding of child development and the impact of trauma and abuse • - Lack of a formal appeal system • - Lack of any independent evaluation/monitoring of the operation of the NRM and any scrutiny, either internally or externally, of decisions made • - Lack of multi-agency input in the decision-making process • - Poor communication between First Responders, relevant agencies and the Competent Authorities • - Conflation between asylum claims and identification within the NRM

  13. Criticism of the NRM for children • - Lack of policy/guidance on how the NRM fits within the best interests requirement and the duty to create a durable solution for trafficked children in Article 16 of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive • No statutory basis for the NRM, so no requirement to refer, or for First Responders to participate in identification • - Little known on the impact of NRM decisions on children in the short and long term • - Lack of input by the child into the NRM process and a lack of understanding of the NRM • - Lack of long-term evaluation of the NRM and support for child victims of trafficking

  14. Key principles of a NRM for children These include but are not limited to: •  A child-rights centred approach that puts children’s best interests at its heart • A non-discriminatory model that is purely about the effective identification of trafficked children not conflated with the consideration of the child’s nationality or immigration status • Building on existing child protection structures that recognise child trafficking as child abuse and the provision of an individualised, appropriate safeguarding response

  15. Key principles of a NRM for children • Recognising that a child cannot give informed consent • A fair and trust-based model that incorporates the views & experiences of the child and does not base decisions on the perceived credibility of the child • A model involving skilled and experienced child protection professionals, working together in a multi-agency setting with other statutory agencies, civil society and other relevant organisations • A localised model that empowers professionals and drives up awareness & understanding of trafficking and feeds into a centralised intelligence picture to prevent trafficking

  16. Key recommendations • Multi-agency NRM for children that incorporates best interests principle • Quality and regular training for frontline staff and First Responders • Legal guardianship • Specialist foster care for trafficked children • Improved protocols on missing trafficked children • Non-prosecution • Offence of child exploitation

  17. Thank you www.ecpat.org.uk +44 (0)207 607 2136 info@ecpat.org.uk c.setter@ecpat.org.uk

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