ugnet_: TRUST ME THIS IS NOT AFRICA

[Mulindwa Edward]

UK Boom In Child Prostitution/Trafficking By Elizabeth Day The Telegraph - UK 7-27-3 Child-trafficking into Britain is increasing rapidly, with thousands of young children being brought into the country and exploited as prostitutes or drug mules, according to a report by the United Nations Children's Fund. A forthcoming Unicef report, Stop the Traffic, warns that children are being transported from an increasing number of countries by traffickers who are using a variety of methods to avoid detection. The organisation fears that the children, mainly from West Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, face a life of exploitation and abuse at the hands of their captors, many of whom escape unpunished because of a loophole in anti-trafficking laws. Children as young as seven have been sold by their families, taken away from their homes and subjected to months of severe sexual and physical abuse from traffickers who often masquerade as their protectors. The report also cites examples of 12 and 13-year-olds used to smuggle heroin into the country and of underage children forced into prostitution with threats of violence and voodoo. In other cases uncovered by Unicef, several West African girls have been lured to Britain with the promise of a good education only to be forced into a life of domestic exploitation. Unable to speak the language, they found themselves treated as little more than servants: cleaning houses and doing domestic chores without pay for wealthy families. Trafficked children are also forced to work in sweatshops and restaurants or as beggars and pickpockets in an organised crime racket. The children, who are intimidated by threats of violence, rape and extortion, are often too frightened to admit to being trafficked. Although it is illegal to traffic people into the UK for commercial sexual exploitation, children trafficked for other reasons remain unprotected. The report, to be published on July 30 and based on interviews with the social services, the police, Immigration Control and charities, calls on the Government to close this loophole and fund safe-house accommodation for trafficking victims. It also calls for the establishment of proper monitoring procedures and the introduction of a six-month "reflection period" to assess the needs of each child on entry to the UK. The report found that there were more than 250 known cases of child trafficking into Britain over the past five years but warns that a lack of monitoring suggests that the real figures are likely to be much higher. Police are unable to collate comprehensive statistics because trafficking is not a criminal offence. Unicef investigations, however, uncovered a number of shocking incidences of abuse. One London-based child trading network involved a woman who had acquired 12 children so that she could claim benefits for them. The case of "Adam", the Nigerian boy whose torso was found floating in the Thames in 2001, is also cited by the report as an instance of child trafficking for the purpose of ritual killing. Other case studies outlined by the report include "Natasha", who fled from an abusive father in Romania and was sold into the sex trade. After being brought to the UK, she was repeatedly sexually exploited and beaten by her trafficker for six months before escaping. Trafficking operations are gathering children from an increasing range of countries. Although there are no precise statistics, the report found that most children are brought from African nations, including Sierra Leone and Nigeria, but a growing number are also being shipped in from Eastern European countries, the report says. The problem is affecting cities all over the UK, whose authorities have previously been unaware of the issue. In Newcastle and Nottingham, evidence of child trafficking has only started to emerge in recent months. The problem is further compounded by the increasingly acceptable cultural practice of parents in developing countries sending their children abroad to be given education or work. Many parents send young children to Britain believing that they will receive a better education here: often, however, the truth is far more desperate. Victoria Climbie, the eight-year-old girl born on the Ivory Coast and sent by her parents to live with Marie-Therese Kouao, her great aunt, in London in 1998, is one such case. Victoria died of severe abuse in 2000: a police inquiry revealed that Kouao had claimed benefits for Victoria in France and Britain before subjecting her to horrific abuse. A year later Kouao and her boyfriend, Clinton Manning, received life sentences for Victoria's murder. The Laming Report into her death, which called for "proper, coherent protection" for vulnerable children, prompted the appointment of a Children's Minister and the publication of a Green Paper on children at risk. The Unicef report claims that between 8,000 and 10,000 children in the UK are privately fostered and that many of these could be abused or exploited without anyone knowing that they are in the country. David Bull, the executive director of Unicef UK, said: "It is a serious abuse of child rights and is the fastest-growing business of organised crime. "Until recently, trafficking wasn't even illegal and is still only a crime if carried out for sexual exploitation. The Government must criminalise trafficking for all purposes and should introduce central funding for specialist care and protection for the victims." The report is to be published this week as part of Unicef's End Child Exploitation campaign. � Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.             The Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy"             Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"