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U.S. Department of State - Trafficking in Persons Report 2014

Categories: Resources:Human Rights | Published: 27/06/2014 | Views: 1903
"We each have a responsibility to make this horrific and all-too-common crime a lot less common. And our work with victims is the key that will open the door to real change—not just on behalf of the more than 44,000 survivors who have been identified in the past year, but also for the more than 20 million victims of trafficking who have not.  As Secretary of State, I’ve seen with my own two eyes countless individual acts of courage and commitment. I’ve seen how victims of this crime can become survivors and how survivors can become voices of conscience and conviction in the cause. This year’s Trafficking in Persons Report offers a roadmap for the road ahead as we confront the scourge of trafficking."  John F. Kerry, Secretary of State

Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age;  Forced labour trafficking the recruitment, harbouring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labour or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.  A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another in order for the crime to fall within these definitions

In the 14 years the United States has produced the Trafficking in Persons Report, the world has made tremendous progress in the fight against human trafficking. There is no government, however, that has done a perfect job responding to this crime. In the years ahead, it seems unlikely that any government will reach perfection. But should that day arrive when human trafficking disappears, one fact will remain certain: what has happened to the victims of modern slavery can never be undone. For those who have endured the exploitation of modern slavery, even the most effective justice system and the most innovative efforts to prevent future trafficking will not reverse the abuse and trauma that millions of trafficking victims have endured.

With the right support and services, however, victims can move beyond their suffering and forward with their lives. With the right legal structures and policies, they can see justice done. With the right opportunities, they can make choices about the lives they want and even use their experiences to help guide and strengthen efforts to fight this crime. This process is unique for each victim, and each must take steps based on his or her own strength, agency, and determination.

Governments play a vital role in facilitating this process. While a government institution will never be able to reverse what has happened to someone abused in a situation of modern slavery, governments can aid an individual's recovery by providing support to each victim on his or her journey toward becoming a survivor. In addition to assessments of what almost every government in the world is doing to combat modern slavery, this year's Trafficking in Persons Report takes a hard look at the journey from victim to survivor, making recommendations and highlighting effective practices that, if implemented, could ease the path forward for countless survivors around the world.

The United Kingdom (UK) is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour, including domestic servitude. Most foreign trafficking victims come from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. According to 2013 government data, the top five countries of origin for adult trafficking victims are Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam, Poland, and Romania, inclusive of children, the top countries of origin are Albania, Nigeria, Vietnam, Romania, and the UK. UK men continue to be subjected to forced labour within the UK and in other countries in Europe. UK children are increasingly subjected to sex trafficking within the country. Authorities reported that victims continued to be forced into criminal behaviour. Unaccompanied migrant children in the UK continued to represent a group vulnerable to trafficking. Migrant workers in the UK are subjected to forced labour in agriculture, construction, food processing, domestic service, nail salons, food services, and on fishing boats. Domestic workers, primarily women, and including those in diplomatic households, are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and abuse. Children and men, mostly from Vietnam and China, continue to be forced to work on cannabis farms.

Comprehensive country by country reports and relevant materials here

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