‘Scots kids forced into slavery and prostitution’

CHILDREN in Scotland are being trafficked into types of exploitation including domestic servitude, forced marriage and sex slavery.

By CHRIS MARSHALL Tuesday, 10th March 2015, 1:07 am

Barnardo's Scotland insist the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation figure is much higher than cases reported. Picture: PA

In a submission to the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee, academics say 60 children from Scotland have been reported to the authorities via the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a framework for identifying victims of human trafficking, since 2012.

They are likely to have suffered various forms of abuse, including being forced into criminality, researchers say.

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MSPs are currently taking evidence on the proposed Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Bill, which is making its way through the Scottish Parliament.

A submission from child protection figures including Dr Paul Rigby, of Stirling University, notes that there have been 60 child referrals to the National Crime Agency’s UK Human Trafficking Centre and the Home Office since 2012.

“Since 2012 there have been 60 child referrals to the Competent Authorities from Scotland, as recorded by the National Referral Mechanism official statistics,” it states.

“Children referred to the NRM have been victims of various types of exploitation and abuse including sexual abuse, commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced marriage, physical abuse, criminality, benefits fraud and female genital mutilation. Research in Glasgow has indicated that for nearly half of the children identified as trafficked there is evidence of multiple exploitative situations.”

Last week, Kevin Hyland, the UK’s independent anti-slavery commissioner, warned that children living in the UK are being trafficked around the country for sexual exploitation, often by their own families.

Daljeet Dagon, a children’s service manager with Barnardo’s Scotland, said the internal trafficking of children for sexual exploitation was a significant problem in Scotland, with the true figure likely to be much higher than those reported to the authorities.

She said: “Children and young people are being moved for sexual exploitation. It doesn’t even have to happen from one part of the country to another, it can be one street to another or one house to another.

“The awareness of that as an issue hasn’t always been there, but it’s a significant feature in terms of the sexual exploitation of children.”

The submission to today’s justice committee meeting says children were viewed as “mini adults” by the NRM process, meaning they did not always receive the care and attention needed.

It also noted that young people over the age of 16, who are defined as adults in Scottish law, find it difficult to receive supervision under the Children’s Hearing legislation.