Sex Trafficking is the movement of humans (usually women & children) by force, with mistreatment of and/or trickery to secure power, control and mostly financial gain. 

The following excerpt from the Sexual Offences Act 2003 Sections 57 – 59 clearly defines the ways in which a person can be trafficked.

Trafficking

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.

The above excerpt is taken from the Sexual Offences Act 2003 to download the complete Act - please follow this link www.homeoffice.gov.uk and put Sexual Offences Act 2003 into their search engine.

On a day-to-day basis, sex trafficking is portrayed to most of us as an occasional news or documentary story. The reality is much more frightening than that, as many hundreds of targets of this crime are taken into another country with false promises and false hopes of a cleaning job, secretarial post or modelling work. It is only once they have arrived in the country of their promise that they are forced to pay back the debt it has cost for their passage including many added extras such as accommodation and expenses for living – this is known as debt bondage.  The way in which they are forced to repay this fictitious debt is by personal services which can begin with lap dancing, massage parlours and then led into further crime such as commercial sexual exploitation, pornography, stripping, mail order brides, sex tourism and many other forms of prostitution.

The sex trade is a huge illegal industry and there are many cases of women and children being sold into it by their families. These people are the victims of crime not the perpetrators of a criminal act.