DEFINE

http://saastucson.com/about-human-trafficking/types-of-human-trafficking/
-define ST

 Sex trafficking occurs when a person is made to perform commercial sexual acts

through force, fraud, and/or coercion; or when a person made to perform
commercial sexual acts is under the age of 18. Examples of sex trafficking include
forced prostitution of adults, any type of child prostitution, trafficking for forced
marriage, and more.

Sex trafficking takes place when an individual is made to carry out sexual acts
intended for financial gain under the age of 18; or when an individual is made to
carry out sexual acts intended for financial gain by means of coercion, force and/or
fraud. Trafficking for compelled marriage, any form of child prostitution and
compelled adult prostitution are a few examples of sex trafficking. 1

http://forum.hrbdf.org/showthread.php?5000-Examples-of-human-
trafficking&p=7095 - define ST

Sex trafficking is a particularly degrading form of human trafficking, defined

generally as recruiting, enticing, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining
either: (1) an adult for commercial sex by force, fraud or coercion, or (2) a
juvenile for commercial sex, regardless of the means. Law enforcement and our
nongovernment-organization partners most often see cases in which pimps
coerce women and girls, both U.S. citizens and aliens, into prostitution.

NATURE

http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/452-nca-human-trafficking-report-
reveals-22-rise-in-potential-victims - nature
Liam Vernon, Head of the UKHTC, said: “Human trafficking for the purposes of
exploitation is an insidious and complex crime and much of the exploitation is hidden
from view.

“Human trafficking for the purposes of exploitation is an insidious and complex

crime and much of the exploitation is hidden from view” as stated by Head of United
Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, Liam Vernon. 2
1
‘Types of Human Trafficking’ (Southern Arizona against slavery) <
http://saastucson.com/about-human-trafficking/types-of-human-trafficking/>
accessed 2 December 2015
2
‘NCA Human Trafficking Report reveals 22% rise in potential victims’
(National Crime Agency, 30 September 2014)
http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/human-trafficking/pages/nature-extent.aspx

 In the United States, law enforcement agencies reported

encountering more female (81 percent) than male (18
percent) victims. When asked what type of trafficking was
represented in their cases, the majority indicated forced
prostitution, followed by domestic servitude, and agricultural
labor. Whether this is the result of trafficking trends or
training is not yet clear. [5]

More female (81%) than male (18%) victims were noted confronted by law
prosecution departments in the United States. Most of them pointed out domestic
slavery and compelled prostitution when enquired what form of trafficking was
signified in their situations. 3

We Pay Article

Some nation-states have realized that the sex industry is an incredible source of
revenue representing a significant part of their government's budget. Selling sex has
become a development strategy for some countries to repay foreign debt obligations
28 and bring in foreign capital. These alleged side-benefits encourage government
officials to be complicit and turn a blind eye to the grave negative consequences to
those forced into prostitution. A government may even take a proactive approach in
recruiting foreigners, especially women, to migrate to their country by granting them
special visas to work in the "entertainment" industry. 29 The illegal sex trade depends
upon similar enterprises and market structures of any legitimate business. Hence, it is
critical to realize that the illegal sex market will not only respond, but also exploit the
legislation pertaining to the legal sex industry and the disparities it creates.
"Trafficking is a dynamic concept, the parameters of which are constantly changing to
respond to changing economic, social and political conditions." 30

Sex business is an astounding cause of income for some nation-states, indicating a

substantial portion of their government’s financial plan. Various nations acquire
overseas wealth and reimburse overseas liability agreements as expansion approach
through commercial sex. 4Hence, acute unfavourable consequences to those who
are compelled into prostitution are ignored by the government due to these claimed
subsidiary benefits. Immigrants, particularly women are allotted distinctive permits
to work in the “entertainment” business and employed to migrate to their nation,

<http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/452-nca-human-trafficking-
report-reveals-22-rise-in-potential-victims> accessed 4 December 2015
3
‘Nature and Extent of Human Trafficking’ (National Institute of Justice, 27
November 2012) <http://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/human-
trafficking/pages/nature-extent.aspx> accessed 1 December 2015
4
Hanh Diep, ‘We Pay – The Economic Manipulation of International and
Domestic Laws to Sustain Sex Trafficking’ [2005] LUCILR 309
which is seen as a pre-emptive way taken by the government. 5 The unlawful sex
business relies upon related market and business arrangements of any lawful
business. Thus, the regulation relating to the unlawful sex market is not only
responded but also exploited by the unlawful sex industry and generate
discrepancies. "Trafficking is a dynamic concept, the parameters of which are
constantly changing to respond to changing economic, social and political
conditions." 6

Traffickers will often target women in poor or war-torn countries. 66 They appear
to be "angels" 67 ready to bring them to a better life with promises of employment as
a nanny, restaurant worker, or member of a dance troupe in a wealthy country. This
manipulative practice deprives these women of true consent, and therefore they are
still considered trafficked.
Traffickers frequently aim women in battle-scarred or deprived nations. 7 These
women are lured into this profession with a deceitful assurance of a better future,
providing work as a waitress, caretaker or a member of an international
entertainment crew. Thus, these women are yet deemed trafficked since the
devious act deprives them of genuine consent. 8

As an example, in 1999, a Russian-American recruited foreign Latvian women

to the United States under the pretense that they would dance in bikinis in respectable
and sophisticated Chicago nightclubs and earn $60,000 a year.75 Instead
they were forced to dance topless and nude in order to get their passports
back at a cost of $60,000.76 Once they paid their debt, he sold them their passports
back for $4,000.7 7
Often, once a sex trafficked person has nearly paid her debt, she is merely sold
again and placed back into debt. As an example, a woman can be sold for
$18,000 to $20,000.78 Even if the woman keeps track of her debt, the traffickers,
or those who have bought her, may tack on additional charges to keep her in
servitude.

Missing the mark Article

Sex trafªcking operates in a manner whereby women in relatively poor countries leave their homes
and source countries—usually induced by force or deception into believing a certain job awaits—
and are brought to relatively wealthier destination countries and forced to work in the sex
industry.6 Many women voluntarily come to work in the sex industry only to find themselves in

5
Elaine Audet, ‘Canada Contributes to the Sexual Trafficking of Women for
Purposes of Prostitution’ (2005) 201
6
Tala Hartsough, ‘Asylum for Trafficked Women: Escape Strategies Beyond the T
Visa’ [2002] HWLJ 85
7
Katrina Corrigan, ‘Putting the Brakes on the Global Trafficking of Women for
the Sex Trade: An Analysis of Existing Regulating Schemes to Stop the Flow of
Traffic’ [2001] FILJ 151
8
Hanh Diep, ‘We Pay – The Economic Manipulation of International and
Domestic Laws to Sustain Sex Trafficking’ [2005] LUCILR 309
unanticipated slave-like conditions. Some victims7 find themselves in horrific, hopeless situations,
forced to work as prostitutes to pay down the “debt” of their passages, while often enduring rape,
beatings, and slave-like conditions.8 Stripped of any documentation, disorientated in a foreign
country, and immobilized by well-founded fears of violence and deportation, these women have
nowhere to turn for help.9 Their illegal status and financial vulnerability leave them at the mercy of
their trafªckers—they are, for all intents and purposes, sex slaves.

Several women who willingly approach to work in the sex market discover
sometimes-unexpected captive-like circumstance (such as persistent whippings,
captive-like circumstances and rape, compelled to work as prostitutes in order to
recompense the liability of their passages). 9These women have nowhere to look for
assistance since their unlawful position and monetary susceptibility abandon them at
the pity of traffickers as sex slaves which is caused due to being baffled in an
overseas nation, restrained by substantiated anxieties of extradition and rampage,
and deprived of any documentation. 10

Stopping Article

A strong ‘outflow’ of women tends to occur with limited employment opportunities

and increasing economic marginalization (whether due to the decline of subsistence farming in
developing countries, the restrictive and exploitative conditions of work
in Free Trade Zones or the feminization of unemployment in central and eastern
Europe). Anecdotal evidence suggests that demand for trafficked women tends to be
strong in countries with an organised sex industry.

The feminization of unemployment in eastern and central Europe or the unfair and
obstructive situations of work in Free Trade Zones by the virtue of downturn of
sustenance agriculture emerging nations are rising commercial relegation and
restricted occupation prospects which cause a robust ‘outflow’ of women. 11

EXAMPLE

9
Susan Tiefenbrun, ‘The Saga of Susannah: A U.S. Remedy for Sex Trafficking in
Women: Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000’ [2002] ULR
107
10
April Rieger, ‘Missing the Mark: Why the Trafficking Victims Protection Act
Fails to Protect Sex Trafficking Victims in The United States’ [2007] HJLG 231
11
Liz Kelly and Linda Regan, ‘Stopping Traffic: Exploring the extent of, and
responses to trafficking in women for sexual exploitation in the UK’ [2000] PRS
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/publicati
ons/gamag_research_agenda_annbarnet.pdf - Sex trafficking in mass media:
gender, power and personal economies (Examples of ST)
Trafficking for sexual exploitation is an activity that reduces humans to commodities. It has been
characterised as a ‘modern form of slavery that is one of the fastest growing forms of crime throughout
the world’ (Wilson, Walsh and Kleaker, 2008, p.145).
Scholars have suggested that contemporary media accounts of trafficking parallel press accounts of
‘white slavery’ published in the 19th and 20th centuries, in which magazines in England and the United
States published investigative stories on the kidnapping and sale of young white women by mysterious
criminals, typically ‘foreigners’ from developing nations (Saunders and Soderlund, 2003). Such
accounts supported racist and sexist notions about white privilege and women’s proper domestic
‘place’ in society (Doezema, 2000).
Current media stories have tended to focus on deceived victims from developing nations and noble
rescuers from industrialised countries (Doezema, 2000; Mohanty, 1991; Ricchiardi, 2003; Soderlund,
2005; Yea, 2010), but ‘offer neither true analysis of the problem nor a discussion of the sources of the
problem, its consequences, or the state’s obligations’ (Lasocik, 2010, p.31).
Studies of media suggest a superficial and limited coverage of trafficking. Arthurs (2006), in an
examination of British documentaries, suggests that these films celebrate women’s economic success
and their ability to shake off repressive sexual rules, ignoring the dangers of prostitution. She also notes
that economic pressures on media to produce profit have led to a decline in public affairs reporting that
might actually shed light on trafficking. One study of Serbian media found that journalistic stories were
dominated by sensational accounts of crimes, with no articles or editorials supporting the trafficked
women themselves (Dekic, 2003), and a separate study found that media stories on trafficking were
replete with traditional masculine and feminine stereotypes (Denton, 2010). Vijeyarasa (2010, p.590)
found in her study in Vietnam that government frames of prostitution ‘negatively influenced attitudes
toward sex workers and victims of trafficking for sex exploitation alike’. Barnett (2013) examined a
decade of magazine coverage of trafficking and found that stories focused on the sale of sex, not the
purchase of sex, thereby making women both villains and victims in trafficking and ignoring the larger
systems of gender inequality that make trafficking profitable

Humans are demeaned to mere possessions due to trafficking for sexual abuse. It is
one of the quickest emerging modes of misdemeanour all over the globe, which has
been considered as a contemporary practice of bondage. 12 Media reports of ‘white
slavery’ covered investigative tales reported to be broadcasted in England and
United States magazines in the 19th and 20th centuries on abduction and trade of
young white females by secretive offenders, classically immigrants from evolving
countries which are parallel to modern press reports of trafficking. 13 Chauvinist and
discriminatory views concerning white prerogative and women’s appropriate
domestic position in the community are reinforced by such accounts. 14

12
Wilson, D.G., Walsh, W.F. and Kleaker, S., [2008] Trafficking in human beings: Training and
services in American law enforcement agencies. In: O.N.I. Ebbe and D.K. Das, eds. 2008. Global
trafficking in women and children. Boca Raton, FL: CRC, pp.145-162.

13
Saunders, P. and Soderlund, G., 2003. Threat or opportunity? Sexuality, gender and the ebb and flow
of trafficking as discourse. Canadian Woman Studies, 22 (3/4), p.16.
14
Doezema, J., 2000. Loose women or lost women? The re-emergence of the myth of white slavery in
contemporary discourses of trafficking in women. Gender Issues, Winter Issue, pp.23-50.
Contemporary press anecdotes neither review the origins of the issue trafficking, its
results or the nation’s responsibilities nor propose genuine evaluation of the issue, 15
rather it centres on noble rescuers from developed nations and mislead targets from
evolving nations.16

There has been restricted and frivolous analysis of trafficking as per media reports.
Women’s capacity to shudder away oppressive sexual policies, disregarding the
threats of prostitution and commercial achievement has been acclaimed as indicated
by Arthurs in an analysis of British biopics. Additionally, she reports that there has
been a regression in communal matters coverage that could essentially throw focus
on trafficking because of commercial influence on press to generate profit. 17 Historic
stories of crimes, with no commentary or articles upholding the smuggled women
themselves have been the focus of editorial accounts as established in one of the
Serbian press analysis. 18Moreover, another analysis stated that conventional
feminine and masculine typecasts has been the focus of press accounts on
trafficking. 19A research directed by Vijeyarasa in Vietnam identified the point of view
regarding sex labourers and targets of trafficking for sex abuse has been adversely
affected due to the government frameworks of prostitution. 20An era of analysis of
trafficking publications has been investigated by Barnett, which discovered that
woman have been formulated as targets as well as criminals together in trafficking
since stories are concentrated on the trade of sex, rather than the procurement of
sex; also trafficking has become more lucrative due to disregard of higher systems of
gender discrimination. 21

Missing the mark Article

15
Lasocik, Z., 2010. Human trafficking: A challenge for the European Union and its member states
(with particular reference to Poland). In: L. Holmes, ed. 2010. Trafficking in human rights: European
and Asia-Pacific perspectives. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp.18-36.
16
Ricchiardi, S., 2003. An underreported horror story: Writing about the sex-slave trade is a dangerous
assignment. American Journalism Review, (June/July), p.29.
17
Arthurs, J., 2006. Sex workers, inc. In: J. Hollows and R. Moseley, eds. 2006. Feminism in popular
culture. Oxford: Berg, pp.119-139.
18
Dekic, S., 2003. “Sex, slavery and politics”: representations of trafficked women in the Serbian
media. Canadian Woman Studies, 22(3/4), pp.192-196.
19
Denton, E., 2010. International news coverage of human trafficking and prosecutions: A content
analysis. Women & Criminal Justice, 20(1/2), p.10.
20
Vijeyarasa, R., 2010. The state, family and language of “social evils”: Re-stigmatising victims of
trafficking in Vietnam. Culture, Health and Sexuality, 12(1), pp.89-102.

21
Barnett, B., 2013. Valuable and vulnerable: Framing of trafficking for sexual exploitation in
magazines. IAMCR 2013 Conference: Crises, ‘Creative Destruction’ and the Global Power and
Communication Orders. Dublin, Ireland June 25-30. International Association of Media and
Communication Research.
For example, in 1999, a Russian American traf-ªcker recruited Latvian women to go to the United
States to work in sophisticated
Chicago nightclubs for $60,000 a year dancing in bikinis.51 When
they arrived, the trafªckers conªscated the women’s passports, and forced
them to dance topless or nude in order to get their passports back and to
repay a debt of $64,000 each, which was charged—unbeknownst to the
women—for bringing them to the United States and providing them with
work.52 This case illustrates well the coercive aspect of sex trafªcking; traf-
ªckers gain control of the women by effectively holding their passports
and documentation hostage.

We Pay Article

In Australia, a male defendant operated an illegal brothel for approximately ten years.19 He
purchased Thai women from $18,000 to $20,000 dollars each. 20 These Thai women were
forced to work off their "debt" to him by having sex with men. 21 The defendant made
approximately $1.2 million in profit.22 The jury found him guilty of all seven counts under the
Prostitution Control Act of 1994.23 The offences carried maximum sentences of four and five
years, but he was sentenced by the jury to eighteen months and fined $31,000.24 The court,
however, disagreed, suspending his sentence and only ordered him to pay the $31,000 fine25 -
approximately the purchasing price of two Thai women. In the United States "[t]he statutory
maximum for sale into involuntary servitude is only ten years per count, whereas the statutory
maximum for dealing in ten grams of LSD or distributing a kilo of heroin is life." 26 These
examples illustrate that the cost of trafficking people and forcing them to prostitute is minimal
compared to the extraordinary potential profit.

Human trafficking: UK responses

In August 2010, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) published a report that
suggested that 17,000 of the estimated 30,000 women involved in off-street prostitution
in England and Wales were migrants. Of these women, 2,600 were deemed to have been
trafficked and a further 9,200 were deemed vulnerable migrants who might be further
victims of trafficking. Most of those trafficked (2,200) were from Asia, primarily China. 5
However, some organizations, for example Amnesty International and the women’s
charity Eaves, have argued that this figure is an underestimate, possibly due to an
“overly prescriptive” definition of trafficking.6

A report published by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in August 2010,
stated that in England and Wales out of projected 30,000 women engaged in off-
street adultery about 17,000 women were identified as emigrants. Out of these,
some could have been targets of trafficking; 2,600 women were estimated to have
been trafficked 2,200 women from Asia, predominantly from China they were
trafficked and 9,200 women were estimated helpless emigrants. However, this figure
is an undervalue because of an excessively rigid definition of trafficking as contended
by a few associations such as the women’s charity Eaves and Amnesty International.
22

The Poppy Project and the Salvation Army

On 10 March 2003 the Home Office announced a pilot scheme to provide
accommodation for female trafficking victims, which it was hoped would result in the

22
Sally Lipscombe and Jacqueline Beard, ‘Human trafficking: UK responses’
[2014] SN/HA/4324
police obtaining more information on the traffickers who brought them to the UK.
Alongside this development of overseas alliances, the then Home Office Minister Des
Browne identified another key component of the Reflex strategy as “the expansion of an
international network of Immigration Liaison Officers in countries that are considered
to contain key nexus points for transit to the UK”. 59
In the expectation that police could procure additional news on the traffickers who
got the female trafficking targets to UK, the Home Office declared an experimental
arrangement to offer housing for them. The Home Officer Minister Des Browne
recognised the growth of a universal arrangement of Immigration Liaison Officers in
nations that are regarded to include strategic connection stages for transfer to the
UK, together with the above-mentioned expansion of foreign agreements. 23

Europol has a Liaison Officers’ network to help operational co-operation between the
law enforcement authorities of its Member States. It publishes an annual datum sheet on
trafficking in the EU Pentameter 2 was launched on 3 October 2007. The Association of
Chief Police Officers described it as a “victim focused operation” with the strategic aim of
delivering objectives within the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking.
Speaking at the closing conference for the Operation Pentameter campaign on 21 June
2006, the then Home Office minister Vernon Coaker announced that the Government
would be establishing a dedicated, police-led unit to build on the work of Operation
Pentameter in dealing with human trafficking.

written ministerial statements were made in both Houses. In the Commons, the Home
Secretary commented:
The bill will simplify legislation, toughen sentences for slave drivers, and enable the courts to
restrict activity where individuals may be at risk. This will mean that more traffickers are
pursued, disrupted and brought to justice. The bill will also create an anti-slavery commissioner
who will galvanise law enforcement’s efforts to tackle modern slavery. 76

Functional partnership amid the law execution experts of the Member States are
supported by the Europol’s Liaison Officers’ setup. On 3 October 2007 in the EU
Pentameter 2 a yearly datum report on trafficking was issued by the Liaison Officers.
A victim-dedicated operation with the motive of providing goals within the UK Action
Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking was founded by the Association of Chief Police
Officers. 24 In order to tackle with human trafficking the government would be
creating a division devoted and controlled by the police to form the task of
Operation Pentameter as revealed by the Home Office minister Vernin Coaker on 21
June 2006 in the closing conference for the Operation Pentameter movement. In
both the Houses drafted governmental reports were prepared on 16 December
2013.
“The bill will simplify legislation, toughen sentences for slave drivers, and enable the
courts to restrict activity where individuals may be at risk. This will mean that more
traffickers are pursued, disrupted and brought to justice. The bill will also create an
23
‘National Offender Management Service’ (www.parliament.uk, 17 November
2004)
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/vo041117/
text/41117w37.htm#41117w37.html_sbhd5> accessed 5 December 2015
24
Sally Lipscombe and Jacqueline Beard, ‘Human trafficking: UK responses’
[2014] SN/HA/4324
anti-slavery commissioner who will galvanise law enforcement’s efforts to tackle
modern slavery” stated by the Home Secretary in the Commons. 25

http://gradworks.umi.com/15/12/1512153.html

the issue of sex trafficking has been hidden from the public and pushed into the back of
peoples' minds. It has been a problem that people are sympathetic to, but made to
believe is not happening in our country. Recently, though, light has been shed on this
problem through increased public awareness, primarily through the news media.

The dispute of sex trafficking has taken a back seat in the minds of individuals
because it has been concealed from the community. Individuals are advised to
assume that it is not taking place in their nation even though they have been
sensitive to the issue. Predominantly through the news press, newly, importance has
been placed on this issue by means of communal alertness. 26

representations of sex trafficking victims in major newspapers differs between states

which have high or low quality legislation on this issue, as determined by recently
published "state report cards" on the effectiveness of all U.S. states' sex trafficking
legislation, by the Protected Innocence Initiative (2011).

In 2011, the Protected Innocence Initiative, issued “state report cards” on the
efficacy of all US states’ sex trafficking regulation, which identified that depictions of
sex trafficking targets in key tabloids fluctuates amid states which have excessive or
nominal eminence regulation on this problem.

Because human trafficking is a very hidden crime, concrete statistics are hard to find as to what
percentage of human trafficking is, exclusively, sex trafficking. According to an article from CNN.com
that discussed a new report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, sexual exploitation is the most
common form of human trafficking globally, at 79 percent (CNN 2009).

Tangible figures are difficult to locate as to what proportion of human trafficking is,
solely, sex trafficking since it is a very concealed offense. Universally the most typical
type of human trafficking is sexual abuse at 79% as reported in a review published by
the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.27

http://www.nij.gov/journals/262/pages/sex-trafficking.aspx
Law enforcement has identified numerous sex trafficking cases based on
information provided by confidential informants, such as taxi drivers, johns, bar
patrons and others who have contact with commercial sex operations. Many
traffickers operate in and target specific communities: construction workers from
a particular region in Mexico, Korean businessmen or regular patrons of a
particular nightclub. Because offers of commercial sex are not made to outsiders,
such as someone with a different Mexican dialect, traditional "sting" or
25
Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, First annual report of
the Inter-Departmental Ministerial Group on Human Trafficking, Cm 8421, October 2012, p1
26
Rachel Rae Curtis, ‘Sex trafficking: how the media portrays victims and reflects
legislation’ [2012] ISUP
27
‘The CNN freedom project: Ending modern-day slavery’ (CNN, 1 November
2011) <http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/the-facts/>
accessed 2 December 2015
undercover operations often do not work in these environments. Instead, officers
must identify and recruit people who operate at the fringes of these sex
trafficking ventures. In one case, a taxi driver reported that he was receiving calls
to pick up very young women from a particular address and deliver them to hotel
rooms. Law enforcement worked with this informant to identify a network of
houses where victims were held by pimps and other taxi drivers who were
prostituting juvenile girls. The success of this approach pivots, of course, on an
agency's ability to identify potential confidential informants.

Personal reporters like nightclub patrons, cab drivers, and the rest who have
interaction with business sex setups offer report, which assists law administration
recognize various sex trafficking cases. Standard patrons of a certain bar, building
labourers from a specific area in Mexico or Korean entrepreneurs are some of the
many traffickers that function in and aim certain societies. Someone with a dissimilar
Mexican lingo, conventional “sting” or covert setups does not function in such
settings since propositions of business-related sex are not offered to strangers.
Therefore, individuals who work at the peripheries of these sex trafficking
undertakings should be recognized and employed by the officers. For example,
young women were to be picked up from a specific location and transported to
lodge rooms as informed by cab driver who was getting calls to do the task. A grid of
houses where pimps detained the targets and rest of the cab drivers who were
prostituting young girls were recognized by the law administration with the help of
the reporter (cab driver). Thus naturally a department’s capability to recognize
prospective private reporters pivots the victory of this method. 28

An investigation into commercial sexual activity in London, which was conducted by

the Eaves Housing for Women (Dickson 2004), found 730 flats, massage parlours
and saunas selling sex in London. It was estimated at only 19 per cent of the women
found working in these establishments were from the United Kingdom and it was
estimated that between 3,000 and 6,000 women were involved in this part of the off-
street trade. One in four women were found to be from Eastern Europe, 13 per cent
from South-East Asia and 12 per cent from Western Europe. A total of 164 escort
agencies were identified, involving approximately 2,000 women. This mapping
exercise suggests that the size of the off-street trade in London is becoming more
extensive and diverse. Importantly, the research found evidence of the growing
involvement of organized networks. In Yorkshire, the police have been involved in a
major investigation into trafficking, which has lasted 18 months and involved the 300
staff. Operation ‘Rampart’, as it is known, is investigating the role of organized crime,
the involvement of foreign women and illegal immigrants, as well as juveniles. The
operation has centred on two brothels: one in Sheffield, involving 30 women, and one
in Leeds, involving 50 women. Many of the women involved are believed to be non-
nationals. The case is still on-going but, to date, approximately £1.5million has been
seized in assets, while some of the women have been deported and others have
applied for asylum. This operation has involved long periods of surveillance and the

28
Robert Moossy, ‘Sex Trafficking: Identifying Cases and Victims’ (National
Institute of Justice, 9 March 2009)
<http://www.nij.gov/journals/262/pages/sex-trafficking.aspx> accessed 5
December 2015
gathering of information and intelligence. As in the case of the foreign women
working in London, it has been found that while one or two have been abducted, the
majority are involved in some form of debt bondage. The amount of time and
resources required to conduct an operation of this kind, particularly when it involves
gathering information on organized crime networks and traffickers, acts as a
deterrent to most forces. Many police officers who were interviewed stated that they
did not have the time or resources to engage proactively against off-street
establishments. Instead, they stated that they were only prepared to respond if there
was a problem or complaint. Not surprisingly, therefore, recent research indicates
that a majority of police forces in Britain have a limited knowledge of trafficking and
the off-street trade in general, while the official statistics show that the number of
convictions for brothel-keeping offences at magistrate’s courts has plummeted from
100 in 1992 to eight in 2002. Over the same period, the number of those found guilty
of procuring has also decreased significantly from 135 to 31.

Eaves Housing for Women discovered 730 steam baths, apartments and reflexology
salons trading sex in London, which was located in an enquiry directed in
moneymaking sexual activity. It was projected that between 3,000 and 6,000 women
were concerned in this fragment of the off-street business and it was also projected
that merely 19% of the women established employed in these businesses were from
the UK. Almost 2,000 women were engaged from a sum of 164 escort companies
that were recognized, in which 12 per cent were from Western Europe, one in four
women were from Eastern Europe and 13 per cent were established to be from
South-East Asia. Thus, in London the magnitude of the off-street business is growing
further distinct and widespread as proposed by the above-mentioned plotting
exercise. Furthermore, increasing contribution of organised setups has been located
through investigation. A crucial examination of trafficking conducted by the police in
Yorkshire engaged 300 employees and persisted for about one year and six months.
The engagement of overseas women, unlawful migrants including children and the
function of organized crime are the areas that are being examined by an operation
called ‘Rampart’. Red-light districts in Leeds and Sheffield involving 50 and 30
women respectively are addressed in this operation, which includes non-residents
predominantly. Some of the women have been exiled, others have appealed for
refuge and nearly £1.5million worth possessions have been confiscated. It is an on-
going case where the operation has assembled intelligence and data through
extensive course of investigation. Most of the women are engaged in some kind of
debt captivity while one or two have been kidnapped in the case of overseas women
employed in London. When assembling data on traffickers and organised crime
setups is involved, then the extent of reserves and time essential for carrying out
operation of this type behaves as a restraint to most forces. It was found in an
interview that in order to aggressively participate against off-street businesses,
several police officials were merely equipped to reply if there was any grievance or
issue but did not have the reserves or the time. Formal figures portray that total
convictions has dropped from 100 in 1992 to 8 in 2002 for red-light district custody
crimes at magistrate’s courts and those located around culpable of procuring has
also declined notably from 135 to 31 around the similar period of time. However, still
most of the police officials in UK have restricted information on off-street business
and trafficking.