London: Ministers,
police and social workers in Britain have failed to prevent the
spread of "modern slavery", leading to sexual exploitation and
forced labour of adults and children from across the world, a
study has said.
The study says political indifference, ignorance and a leadership
vacuum has meant that Britain that led the way in abolishing
slavery in the 19th century is now a "shameful shadow" of its
former self as the practice has made a comeback in a contemporary
guise, the Guardian reported.
Describing ministers as "clueless" in their response to tackling
human trafficking, the report titled "It Happens Here" by the
Centre for Social Justice said the approach to eradicating modern
slavery was "fundamentally wrong-headed".
Instead of helping victims trapped into forms of slavery after
being trafficked from overseas, the legal system prosecutes many
for immigration offences, it said.
Researchers said there was a lack of awareness among officials
whose job was to identify and help trafficked victims.
"We have encountered unacceptable levels of ignorance and
misidentification of victims among the police, social services,
the UK Border Agency, the judicial system and others," the report
said.
While social workers were "not equipped" to identify victims of
modern slavery, police officers often chose to arrest trafficking
victims instead of protecting them, it said.
One police official recalled the case of a girl who had managed to
escape from a brothel and flee to a police station where she
described how she had been trafficked.
"She had no passport. Under these confusing circumstances, we
chose to arrest her for being an illegal immigrant," the policeman
was quoted as saying.
Although the government requested that each force have a senior
officer responsible for human trafficking, only half of the 33
forces that responded had appointed one.
In addition, 90 percent of police officers ignored an online
educational course designed to raise awareness of modern slavery,
the Guardian said.
The study said foreign adults and children as well as British
citizens were being exploited in factories, fields, construction
sites, brothels and houses.
It identified more than 1,000 cases, but cautioned that official
figures remain "a pale reflection of the true size of the
problem".
The 224-page report was written after an 18-month investigation.
Experts interviewed hundreds of witnesses, including journalists.
The investigation found people were used for forced criminality
including benefit fraud, organised begging and forced
pickpocketing and drug cultivation.
British girls were being trafficked within the country for sexual
exploitation. In one case, a girl taken into captivity by a group
of men was allegedly raped 90 times.
In 2011, of the 2,077 potential victims of modern slavery
identified by the UK Human Trafficking Centre, 40 percent were
men.
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