(1) A person commits an offence if he arranges or facilitates the arrival in the United Kingdom of an individual (the “passenger”) and— .

(a) he intends to exploit the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or
(b) he believes that another person is likely to exploit the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

(2) A person commits an offence if he arranges or facilitates travel within the United Kingdom by an individual (the “passenger”) in respect of whom he believes that an offence under subsection (1) may have been committed and— .

(a) he intends to exploit the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, or
(b) he believes that another person is likely to exploit the passenger in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

(3) A person commits an offence if he arranges or facilitates the departure from the United Kingdom of an individual (the “passenger”) and— .

(a) he intends to exploit the passenger outside the United Kingdom, or
(b) he believes that another person is likely to exploit the passenger outside the United Kingdom.

(4) For the purposes of this section a person is exploited if (and only if)— .

(a) he is the victim of behaviour that contravenes Article 4 of the Human Rights Convention (slavery and forced labour),

(b) he is encouraged, required or expected to do anything as a result of which he or another person would commit an offence under the Human Organ Transplants Act 1989 (c. 31) or the Human Organ Transplants (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/2408 (N.I. 21)),

(c) he is subjected to force, threats or deception designed to induce him— .

(i) to provide services of any kind,
(ii) to provide another person with benefits of any kind, or
(iii) to enable another person to acquire benefits of any kind, or
(d) he is requested or induced to undertake any activity, having been chosen as the subject of the request or inducement on the grounds that— .
(i) he is mentally or physically ill or disabled, he is young or he has a family relationship with a person, and
(ii) a person without the illness, disability, youth or family relationship would be likely to refuse the request or resist the inducement.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable— .

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years, to a fine or to both, or .
(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.

5. Section 4: supplemental

(1) Subsections (1) to (3) of section 4 apply to anything done— .

(a) in the United Kingdom,
(b) outside the United Kingdom by an individual to whom subsection (2) below applies, or
(c) outside the United Kingdom by a body incorporated under the law of a part of the United Kingdom.

(2) This subsection applies to— .

(a) a British citizen,
(b) a British overseas territories citizen,
(c) a British National (Overseas),
(d) a British Overseas citizen,
(e) a person who is a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61), and
(f) a British protected person within the meaning of that Act.

(3) In section 4(4)(a) “the Human Rights Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms agreed by the Council of Europe at Rome on 4th November 1950.

(4) Sections 25C and 25D of the Immigration Act 1971 (c. 77) (forfeiture or detention of vehicle, &c.) shall apply in relation to an offence under section 4 of this Act as they apply in relation to an offence under section 25 of that Act.

(5) At the end of section 25C(9)(b), (10)(b) and (11) of that Act add “or section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (trafficking people for exploitation).”

(6) After paragraph 2(n) of Schedule 4 to the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000 (c. 43) (offence against child) insert— .

“(o) an offence under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (trafficking people for exploitation).”

(7) At the end of paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (lifestyle offences: England and Wales: people trafficking) add— .

“(3) An offence under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (exploitation).”

(8) At the end of paragraph 4 of Schedule 4 to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (lifestyle offences: Scotland: people trafficking) add “or under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (exploitation)”.

(9) At the end of paragraph 4 of Schedule 5 to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (lifestyle offences: Northern Ireland: people trafficking) add— .

“(3) An offence under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (exploitation).”

(10) After paragraph 2(l) of the Schedule to the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/417 (N.I. 4)) (offence against child) insert— .

“(m) an offence under section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004 (trafficking people for exploitation).”

(11) In so far as section 4 extends to England and Wales, subsection (5)(b) shall, until the commencement of section 154 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (increased limit on magistrates’ power of imprisonment), have effect as if the reference to twelve months were a reference to six months.

(12) In so far as section 4 extends to Scotland, subsection (5)(b) shall have effect as if the reference to twelve months were a reference to six months.

(13) In so far as section 4 extends to Northern Ireland, subsection (5)(b) shall have effect as if the reference to twelve months were a reference to six months.

57. Trafficking into the UK for sexual exploitation

(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally arranges or facilitates the arrival in the United Kingdom of another person (B) and either:

(a) he intends to do anything to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence, or
(b) he believes that another person is likely to do something to or in respect of B, after B’s arrival but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— .

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

58. Trafficking within the UK for sexual exploitation

(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally arranges or facilitates travel within the United Kingdom by another person (B) and either— .

(a) he intends to do anything to or in respect of B, during or after the journey and in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence, or
(b) he believes that another person is likely to do something to or in respect of B, during or after the journey and in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— .

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

59. Trafficking out of the UK for sexual exploitation

(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally arranges or facilitates the departure from the United Kingdom of another person (B) and either— .

(a) he intends to do anything to or in respect of B, after B’s departure but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence, or

(b) he believes that another person is likely to do something to or in respect of B, after B’s departure but in any part of the world, which if done will involve the commission of a relevant offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— .

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.

60. Sections 57 to 59: interpretation and jurisdiction

(1) In sections 57 to 59, “relevant offence” means— .

(a) an offence under this Part,
(b) an offence under section 1(1)(a) of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (c. 37),
(c) an offence listed in Schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/1504 (N.I. 9)),
(d) an offence under Article 3(1)(a) of the Protection of Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1047 (N.I. 17)), or
(e) anything done outside England and Wales and Northern Ireland which is not an offence within any of paragraphs (a) to (d) but would be if done in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.

(2) Sections 57 to 59 apply to anything done— .

(a) in the United Kingdom, or
(b) outside the United Kingdom, by a body incorporated under the law of a part of the United Kingdom or by an individual to whom subsection (3) applies.

(3) This subsection applies to— .

(a) a British citizen,
(b) a British overseas territories citizen,
(c) a British National (Overseas),
(d) a British Overseas citizen,
(e) a person who is a British subject under the British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61),
(f) a British protected person within the meaning given by section 50(1) of that Act.

• No one shall be held in slavery or servitude.
• No one shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour.
• For the purpose of this Article the term “forced or compulsory labour” shall not include:

(a) any work required to be done in the ordinary course of detention imposed according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Convention or during conditional release from such detention;
(b) any service of a military character or, in case of conscientious objectors in countries where they are recognised, service exacted instead of compulsory military service;
(c) any service exacted in case of an emergency or calamity threatening the life or well-being of the community;
(d) any work or service which forms part of normal civic obligations.

The 2009 report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights entitled Child Trafficking in the EU – Challenges, perspectives and good practices, makes the point that there is no uniform definition of child trafficking that operates throughout the European Union, with many member states having no formal age assessment policy in place. This feeds into the ‘wide-spread’ disappearance of children from shelters with unknown destinations. The Report found that member states under-use criminal laws for prosecuting child traffickers. Indeed, in ‘five member states no final convictions were issued in the period 2000-2007.’ This is an extremely worrying trend and appears to be replicated in the UK, both in terms of children going missing from care (in Wales) and low conviction rates.

• Offering, delivering or accepting, by whatever means, a child for the purpose of . . . engagement of the child in forced labour;
• Offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution; or
• Producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing . . . child pornography.

This Convention therefore covers child soldiers – often snatched from their villages, made drug-dependent and forced to shoot people they know. The girl soldiers are often used for sex by their captors. Child soldiers can be as young as four. The Protocol also covers using children for prostitution and sexual images, as well as forced labour.

The Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse of 2007 has received few ratifications and relatively few signatures.

Its objectives are three fold:

1. to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings and guarantee gender equality;
2. to protect the human rights of the victims of trafficking, to design a comprehensive framework for the protection and assistance of victims and witnesses, while guaranteeing gender equality and ensuring an effective investigation and prosecution of trafficking; and
3. to promote international cooperation on action against trafficking in human beings.

The Convention is victim-focused, meaning that the UK is committed to providing certain minimum safeguards for the victims of trafficking. In particular, the Convention recognizes the difficult task of identifying a person as having been trafficked. This is not just in terms of the silence of the victim herself, but also because the victim or her family may well have been threatened with death if they reveal their circumstances. It takes time for a victim to have the confidence to come forward to tell the story of how she has been trafficked. This is particularly the case for children. The Council of Europe Convention provides that whilst the assessment is taking place, the person concerned is designated as a trafficked person and able to access certain support and protection in the place they have been found. In that case, any criminal justice or immigration issues must be put on hold until the outcome of the assessment is finalised. In addition, the Council of Europe Convention provides special measures for children who have been trafficked (see below for further details and annex for relevant Convention articles).

“Trafficking in persons” is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation…shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in [above] have been used. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set [above]. “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.

The Palermo Protocol was signed by the UK in 2000 and ratified on 9 February 2006. It prioritizes trafficking in women and children. The Protocol provides assistance and protection to victims and seeks to prevent trafficking through international cooperation and information sharing. The Protocol’s definition of trafficking does not require movement of the victim across borders, international or otherwise. This is an important aspect of trafficking because many children in particular are trafficked within the United Kingdom to serve as domestic slaves, beggars or drug harvesters.