Church Urges Government to go Further to Tackle Human-Trafficking

|TOP|The Church of England has warmly greeted measures being taken to support the victims of human-trafficking. The announcement comes in response to the British Home Office proposals for an action plan to be launched in the UK, with the ultimate goal, to tackle the increasingly worrying problem.

The Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Revd Tom Butler, has released a paper that backs calls to being about tougher sentences and measures against those that commit the crimes. He said, “Trafficking, whether for sexual exploitation, forced labour or removal of organs, treats human beings abusively and oppressively as a means to the enrichment and gratification of others. It is totally contrary to Christian teaching and deserves the same unremitting opposition as other forms of slavery.”

It is argued that the only ultimate resolution to the problem is to cut off the ‘supply’ and ‘demand’ for those that are caught up in the illegal industry.

|AD|The Church of England’s official response firmly praises the government action to help the victims of trafficking, but it also calls for officials to go even further. Specifically it urges the government to sign up to Article 13 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

By becoming a signatory of the Article, the government would have to put in place measures for recovery and reflection periods of at least one month. The aim of this is to enable a suspected victim to escape from the influence of the traffickers and to take an informed decision on co-operating with the authorities.

Bishop Butler said, “We understand the Government’s hesitation in signing up to these requirements, but we consider that on balance the need to provide unambiguous support to genuine victims in a situation of extremity outweighs the real risk of abuse of these provisions.”

The bishop, in his submission, asked for a more complete approach in the care of victims, including specific procedures in how to deal with those suffering from trauma and disorientation after their ordeals.

Examples were cited of other projects established to aid victims. The paper called for partnerships to be established “in provision between the statutory and voluntary sectors... Co-operation must be pursued between governments, police forces and NGOs, including churches, to develop good practice so as to maximise protection from re-victimisation.”