What is sex trafficking?

Sex trafficking or slavery is the exploitation of people, usually women and children, within national or across international borders for the purposes of forced sex work in exchange for goods or money. The UN Protocol on Trafficking in Persons defines sex trafficking as: ‘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.’

Why are ATA focusing on raising awareness within young men in the UK?

A study by Dr Helen Ward in the British Medical Journal in 2005 found that the largest group of men paying for heterosexual sex were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties, living in London and either single of divorced. It also found that the proportion of men paying for sex had increased from 5.6% in 1990 to 9% in 2000. It seems likely that figure will have risen again in 2010.

What are ATA doing?

We have produced short films (Behind the Smile) and an interactive line game (www.thesohogame.com) that are both aimed at young men in London who are likely to be experimenting with sex workers in the UK or overseas. They aim to raise awareness of the issue of sex trafficking in London and the UK and the consequences for the women and girls affected. We think that using online media is the best way for us to reach our target audience in today’s world. We hope these tools will reduce demand for trafficked women and girls in London as part of an effort to tackle the growing issue of trafficking for sex exploitation in the capital. ATA also lobies the UK government to improve its responses to sex trafficking and brings together experts from a range of disciplines to strategise and share best practice in tackling sex trafficking and raising awareness of the issue.

What can individuals do to tackle sex trafficking?

Tell your friends and colleagues about the game and video. If you’re an agency or charity working with men and boys, use these resources in your work. The film is also available on DVD and can be requested from: info@atalliance.org.uk

Support our work by becoming a partner, patron, donor or contributor, or make a donation to our work. If you’d like to help us to tackle sex trafficking contact: info@atalliance.org.uk

Press enquiries

For further information, testimony from trafficked women and copies of the DVD, please contact Ceri Hayes at the ATA press desk: ceri@atalliance.org.uk

Who are ATA?

The Anti-Trafficking Alliance is a registered UK charity that was created in 2005. It works primarily in the UK to prevent, tackle and eliminate forced abduction and trafficking into sexual slavery. ATA focuses its efforts on raising awareness of the link between prostitution and sex trafficking within young men in the UK.  We believe that reducing the demand for paid sex will reduce the number of women and girls that are trafficked into the UK to provide sexual services. See www.atalliance.org.uk to find out ore about ATA’s work and the facts about sex trafficking.

Why are ATA focusing on the link between prostitution and sex trafficking?

ATA wants to challenge a growing cultural acceptance of prostitution that it believes fuels the demand for trafficked women and girls. ATA believes that the legalisation of prostitution would increase the proliferation of sex trafficking, because it promotes the view of prostitution as a victimless crime and 'normalises' the purchase of sexual favours for money.

Why does ATA want prostitution criminalised?

We believe criminalising the purchase of sexual acts, such as has been proven to work in the Nordic European states, will help tackle sex trafficking in a number of ways. Firstly, it gives a clear message that the exploitation of women is unacceptable, secondly it destroys the market for sex trafficking, thirdly it allows the prosecution service to use the testimony of punters to prosecute sex traffickers and so takes the burden of truth away from the sex trafficking survivor.

What should the UK government do to tackle sex trafficking?

1. Address the demand side of sex trafficking – we welcome Clause 14 of the Policing & Crime Bill, which puts the rights of exploited women over the men who exploit them through prostitution. Now resources need to be made available to ensure this law is implemented in full.

2. Fund more public awareness-raising campaigns to change the attitudes and practices of men who buy sex from trafficked women.

3. Increase police capacity and support to survivors of trafficking & increase funding to specialised support services – support and continue the work of Operation Maxim, the only unit run by the Metropolitan Police Authority that deals specifically with all forms of human trafficking.

4. Commission more quality research – there is an absence of solid and reliable statistics. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is especially difficult to measure due to the social taboo attached to this work and the fact that most trafficked women are hidden away and do not work on the streets.