Beyond Borders

A profile of trafficking to the UK from Nigeria

Jenny Pennington: Researcher IPPR

Overview

• Background• The research study• Profile of trafficking, trafficked people, traffickers, wider pop.• Lessons for policy

Background to the study

• Identification that this was a significant issue• Concerns about the response• Commitment to preventative approach• Research and policy gaps

The study

• Carried out in partnership with Eaves and the dRPC• Life-history interviews with forty people who had been

trafficked from Nigeria to the UK• Interviews with stakeholders in Nigeria and the UK• Representative poll of the Nigerian population n=1098

Profile of trafficking

• Journey: directly to the UK (not overland or via EU)• Type: indistinct, domestic work and sexual exploitation• Location: ‘Hidden’: exploitation in private homes, hotels

Trafficked as child Trafficked as adult

Sexual exploita-tiondomestic servitudeBoth

Sexual exploita-tionDomestic servitudeBothFertility treatment

Profile of trafficked people

• Female: 39 women and one man• Young: average of 19 y/o• Locally concentrated: Southern Nigeria, also Abuja and Sokoto• Particularly vulnerable group:

– Childhood vulnerability: 38% orphaned, 70% grew up outside family– Gender based violence: 33% sexual assault, 15% forced marriage

• Experienced trafficking as a continuation of abuse and disempowerment:– 28% internally trafficked before leaving for Europe– 80% played no part in ‘decision’

Profile of traffickers

Stranger

Not known to victim or their community

10

Direct

Known to the victim directly, a family

member or family friend. Recruited and

exploited by same trafficker

14

Linked

Recruiter known to their community,

(family member or friend). Often passed

on to different exploiter

16

• Familiarity between traffickers and trafficked people• Few long strings, evidence of networks• Involvement of parents, churches, community leaders, border

guards

Awareness among wider population

• Awareness of trafficking is high: 78% had heard of the term ‘trafficking in persons’, 59% felt they knew what it meant

• High sense of personal resilience: 34% agreed that it was ‘easy to live a good life in Europe’, 36% disagreed but felt it was ‘worth travelling to Europe despite risks’, 60% of parents ‘would send their child to Europe if offered the opportunity’

Lessons for policy

Addressing trafficking in Nigeria• Acknowledge the broad dynamics of trafficking• Recognise the limits of awareness raising• Provide protection from violence and take action on child

protectionAddressing trafficking in the UK• Target abuse rather than networksAddressing trafficking transnationally• Take initial steps through building a shared understanding• Act local not international

Lessons for policy

Addressing trafficking in Nigeria• Review DfID plans, fund refuge accommodation, support

training on child protection• Awareness campaigns that target communitiesAddressing trafficking in the UK• Appoint local champions• Re-establish domestic worker routeAddressing trafficking transnationally• Clarify the role of NAPTIP – coordinate, not reintegration• Appoint independent rapporteur