The definitions of trafficking and slavery and how to work with victims
What is trafficking?
The definition of human trafficking can be found in four important legal instruments:
1. Palermo Protocol 2000
ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx
The full title is the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organisational Crime but it is more commonly referred to as ‘the Palermo Protocol’.
Article 3
‘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 a position of vulnerability, or 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. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal or organs’.
2. Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings 2005
Article 4
For the purposes of this Convention:
a. ‘Trafficking in human beings’ shall mean 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. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
b. The consent of a victim of ‘trafficking in human beings’ to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;
c. The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in human beings’ even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
d. ‘Child’ shall mean any person under eighteen years of age;
e. ‘Victim’ shall mean any natural person who is subject to trafficking in human beings as defined in this article.
3. EU Directive 2011/36/EU
eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:EN:PDF
Article 2(1)
‘The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or reception of persons, including the exchange or transfer of control over those 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 purposes of exploitation.’
4. Modern Slavery Act 2015
legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/pdfs/ukpga_20150030_en.pdf
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 received royal assent on the 26th March 2015. The Act defines human trafficking as a crime where:
(1) A person commits an offence if the person arranges or facilitates the travel of another person (‘V’) with a view to V being exploited.
(2) It is irrelevant whether V consents to the travel (whether V is an adult or a child).
(3) A person may in particular arrange or facilitate V’s travel by recruiting V, transporting or transferring V, harbouring or receiving V, or transferring or exchanging control over V.
(4) A person arranges or facilitates V’s travel with a view to V being exploited only if— (a) the person intends to exploit V (in any part of the world) during or after the travel, or (b) the person knows or ought to know that another person is likely to exploit V (in any part of the world) during or after the travel.
(section 2)
Further reading
The Anti Trafficking Monitoring Group, Christine Beddoe & Vicky Brotherton ‘Class Acts: Examining modern slavery legislation across the UK’ (October 2016)
ecpat.org.uk/sites/default/files/atmg_class_acts_report_web_final.pdf