By Kez Cawkwell
We recently had the opportunity to speak to Paul Harris, who works with the Salvation Army, who organizes transportation to safe houses for trafficking victims. These safe houses are centers where victims are protected and cared for in secure accommodation, it is in these places that they are given the support that they need.
The Salvation Army is contracted by the Ministry of Justice to manage support for all the adult victims of trafficking in Wales and England, which makes them a vital part of helping victims get the support that they need. Human trafficking is the buying and selling of human beings, the victims are often deceived into going with the traffickers, or they are simply forced into it. The traffickers sole aim in moving these the victims around is to exploit them in any way that they can, be that through manual labour, sexual exploitation or domestic servitude.
Cases of human trafficking are now being reported by the media, both local and national, but there are still many cases that go unreported, and the only people that know what has happened are the victims, the police, the Salvation Army team and Stop the Traffik, who are trying to spread the success stories, and highlight how a similar situation could be prevented in the future. Trafficking victims can be from all races, both genders and all ages, they are not just brought from abroad, but internal trafficking of UK residents happens frequently.
In Kent and Sussex, the average male victim is from East Europe, Romania in particular, whereas the women are mainly from Nigeria. However, Mr. Harris emphasized that “it’s difficult to give you a profile of the average victim as they are all unique individuals”, the victims have to be assessed on an individual basis, rather than as part of greater statistic, something which too often happens when talking about the problem of human trafficking in the media.
The Salvation Army is a first responder to trafficking cases; and when they have a report of a possible victim, they have to refer them to either the UK Human Trafficking Centre or the UK Border Agency. It is then up to the two organizations to decide whether they are an actual victim. If it is decided that the person is a victim of trafficking, then they must agree to be referred to the National Referral Mechanism, which means that they can begin to get help and support.
Mr. Harris told us that overall, in 2012, the Salvation Army made 332 journeys across the UK taking victims to safe houses, of which around 52 were in the area of Kent and Sussex. This averages out to mean that one person a week was being rescued from their traffickers and taken somewhere where they are able to get the help and support they need to re-establish their lives away from the manipulation and fear they face whilst working as a slaves.
The number of people needing transporting is large, but the Salvation Army relies on volunteer staff from its various churches and centers around the UK to be drivers and chaperons. Mr. Harris said that in the Kent and Sussex area, he has about 60 people on the rota, all of whom are Disclosure and Barring Service (the new Criminal Record check) cleared in order to work with vulnerable adults. These volunteers are ordinary people who are willing to go out and drive a victim, who is probably terrified and trust no-one, and take them to a safe point, whether that be a centre, or to another team of drivers if the distance is too great to travel in one go.
Once the volunteer team has dropped the victim off at the centre, they go through a forty five day reflection period, where they receive counseling as well as health care and legal advice. It is during this period that the decision is made as to whether the person are a victim of trafficking, and if so they will be assisted to get access to education and training. The victim will also be able to discuss what they wish to do with the rest of their life and receive assistance to either remain in this country, or return home to their families. This period is vital, as the victim needs to be able to trust that the staff are on their side and they need to know that they are now truly free and able to carry on with lives as best they can.
As a student led volunteering group to be able to discuss human trafficking with such a vital part of the human trafficking support team the Salvation Army, has been really enlightening and helpful, and we would like to thank Mr. Harris for taking the time to answer our questions.
If you would like to find out anymore information about Salvation Army please contact:
Website – http://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/humantrafficking
Twitter – https://twitter.com/salvationarmyuk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/salvationarmyuk
UKC Against Human Trafficking 