UK must do more to deter human trafficking

by Annalisa Lista - 2013.02.11

The UK must do more to tackle human trafficking seeing as the current strategy of repression has not been effective. These are some of the conclusions reached by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a UK-based thinktank, in its recent report on human trafficking from sub-Saharan Africa. The report takes the example of a Nigerian woman who was abused when she arrived on UK soil. She was told by her traffickers that she had work as a baby-sitter in the UK. However, they then stole her passport and she was beaten, raped and dumped on the street. To avoid such abuses, the IPPR calls for the UK to intervene earlier to stop the crime of human trafficking and to work more closely with countries of provenance and with international organisations. This would be more effective than internal prevention policies. The UK should also strenthen its border security, integrate legislation on child labour as well as its sex and labour laws. Information campaigns should be carried out among local immigrant populations.