Child Trafficking for Exploitation in Forced Criminal Activities

7/26/2019 Child Trafficking for Exploitation in Forced Criminal Activities

1/3

IntelligenceNotification

Child

trafficking

for

exploitation

in

forced

criminal

activities

and

forced

begging

Childrenareoneofthemostvulnerablegroupstargetedforthetrafficking inhumanbeings(THB). Organisedcrimegroups

(OCGs)choose to trafficchildrenas theycanbeeasilyrecruitedandquickly replaced.OCGscanalsomaintainchildvictims

relativelycheaplyanddiscreetly. Theexploitationofchildrenviolatesthehumanrightsofchildren;tohaveasafechildhoodin

theirfamilysetting,toreceiveeducation,tohavetimetoplayandtobeprotectedfromexploitation.

Childtraffickinginvolvestherecruitmentofvictims,theirtransportation, transferandharbouringofchildren forthepurpose

of exploitation. Coercion, violence or threats are not necessary elements in cases of child trafficking as children cannot

consent.1

Children are trafficked for the same purposes as adults: for sexual exploitation, for labour exploitation but also for

exploitationin

arange

of

criminal

activities,

including

begging.

This

Intelligence

Notification

focuses

on

the

exploitation

of

childrenforcedintocommittingcriminalactivitiesandforcedbegging. Thevictimsofthesetypesofexploitationarefrequently

falselyidentifiedassuspectsratherthanvictimsofTHB.

Keytrends

Itisoftendifficulttoidentifyvictimsoftraffickinginhumanbeings.Thisisparticularlytrueincasesofchildtrafficking.

Casesoftraffickingofchildrenforexploitationinforcedbeggingorinforcedcriminalactivityareoftenfalselyperceivedas

publicorderissuesorpettypropertycrimes.

Childrenareathigh riskofundergoing secondaryvictimisationbybeingconsideredperpetratorsofpetty crime rather

thanvictimsofexploitation. Childvictimsarealsoatriskofbeingretraffickedaftertheirreleasefromtheauthorities.

OCGsspecificallytargetfamiliesindifficultsocialandeconomiccircumstances.

Exploitationinforcedcriminalactivityandforcedbegging

ChildvictimsofTHBareforcedtoengageinawiderangeofcriminalactivities. Thesecriminalactivitiesincludedrugscrimes,

different forms of property crime, social benefit fraud and organised begging. Many victims exploited as part of child

traffickingareforcedtocommitdifferentkindsofcrimeatthesametime.

Recruitmentandtransportation

Minors are typically recruited from families indifficulteconomic circumstances. In some cases, children are soldby their

families to the traffickers. Pregnantwomen are also sometimes recruited and forced to sell their babies. For trafficked

childrenbetweentheagesof6monthsand10years,OCGscanpaybetweenEUR4000andEUR8000.Insomecaseschildren

have

been

sold

for

up

to

EUR

40

000.

While

illegal

adoption

does

not

necessarily

constitute

THB,

in

a

number

of

cases

illegally

adoptedchildrenaretraffickedforexploitation.

1

The

Hague,

October

2014

IntelligenceNotification16/2014

SOCBusinessArea

FocalPointPHOENIX

SOCStrategicAnalysisTeam

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Communitiesdispersedfromtheiroriginalcountriesoforiginandestablishedinthecountriesofexploitationarereportedas

majorfacilitatorsofthistypeoftrafficking.Poverty,unemploymentandsocialexclusionofthesecommunities increasetheir

susceptibilitytodebtandvulnerabilitytoexploitation. Traffickingnetworksspecifically targeteconomicallydeprivedfamilies

andusecomplicitmoney lenderstopushthemintodebt. Extremelyhigh interestratespreventthefamiliesfrompayingoff

theirdebts

and

force

them

in

an

exploitative

situation.

Children

are

taken

away

from

parents

as

away

to

pay

back

incurred

debts.

Movingchildrenacrosscontrolledbordersisrelativelyuncomplicated. Inmanycases,thevictimstravelongenuinepassports

ofnonrelatedadults.TheOCGsinvolvedinthesetypesofexploitationareverymobileandtypicallyactiveinseveralcountries

makinguseofcontactsindiasporacommunities.

Childrenexploitedtocommitpropertycrime

Childrenare trafficked tobe forced to commitdifferent typesofproperty crime, suchasburglaries, robberies, shoplifting,

cargothefts,metalthefts,homejackingsorATMtheft.

Inorder

to

enforce

obedience,

the

criminals

intimidate

their

victims

using

threats

of

violence

or

deprivation

(e.g.

food

deprivation) and different methods of psychological manipulation. The traffickers take away the childrens personal

documents, leaving themwith aphotocopy, in case ofpolice controls. The victims are under the constant supervision of

offenders.

Childrenexploitedinforcedbegging

OCGs involved intraffickingchildrenforforcedbeggingspecifically targetvulnerablepeoplesuchaschildren inorphanages,

youngadultswithdisabilities,orsinglemotherswithchildren. Victimsareunderstrictsurveillancewhenbeggingandalso

forcedtocommitthefts.

Childrenexploitedforbenefitfraud

OCGstrafficfamilieswithseveralchildrenoronlychildrentotheUKandregisterthemunderdifferentaddresses inorderto

exploitthesocialbenefitssystem.Insomecasetraffickersonlyusechildvictimsdocumentsinordertoobtainsocialbenefits

without trafficking them to theUK. These traffickers alsoopenbank accounts in thenameof their victims subsequently

controllingtheaccountsandwithdrawingthebenefitspaymentsreceived.

Childrenexploitedindrugproductionandtrafficking

AntiSlaveryInternationalreportsitisreportedthatVietnameseminorsareoftenexploitedincannabisproduction. 81%ofthe

victimsexploitedareunderage.

OpportunitiesforOCGs

Childrenareeasilycoercedandcontrolledinmanydifferentways. Traffickersoftendonotneedtoresorttophysicalviolencewhichwouldmaketheexploitationmorevisible. Childrenaremoreeasilythreatenedandmanipulatedthanadultvictimsof

THB. OCG involved in child trafficking maintain constant surveillance of their victims and pressure them to evade law

enforcement. Childreneasilyescapefromlawenforcementenablingthetraffickerstoremainanonymous. Traffickedchildren

donotconsiderthemselvestobeinanexploitativesituation,butratherperceivetheirexploitationasloyaltytotheir family.

Whentraffickedchildrenforcedtocommitcrimesareapprehendedbylawenforcement,theyaretypicallyplacedinchildcare

facilitiesfromwheretheyeasilyabscond. Inothercases,thevictimsarehandedbacktotheirfamilymembersorguardians

andcanthenberetrafficked.

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Challengesforlawenforcement

Identifying victims of THB is a challenge in general. However, identifying child victims of THB is even more difficult.

Practitionersoftendonotrealisethatexploitation inforcedcriminalityischildabuse. Childrenforcedtocommitcrimesare

oftentreated

as

offenders.

Often,

these

victims

resist

cooperation

with

law

enforcement

and

are

at

risk

of

disappearing

or

to

beingretraffickediftheyarehandedbacktotheirexploiters. Thereisaclearneedtocontinueraisingawarenessamonglaw

enforcement officers on the victim status of exploited children. The EU Trafficking Directive (2011/36) requires MS to

implementnonpunishmentprovisions:MemberStatesshall, inaccordancewiththebasicprinciplesoftheir legalsystems,

takethenecessarymeasurestoensurethatcompetentnationalauthoritiesareentitlednottoprosecuteorimposepenalties

onvictimsoftraffickinginhumanbeingsfortheirinvolvementincriminalactivitieswhichtheyhavebeencompelledtocommit

asadirectconsequenceofbeing[trafficked].2

Theuseofthreats,forceorotherformsofcoercionarenotrequiredelementstoestablishcasesofchildtrafficking. Children

cannot give consent and their consent to an exploitative situation is considered irrelevant. However, this irrelevance of

consentremainschallengingtoapplyforlawenforcementandthejudiciaryincasesofchildtrafficking,especiallyforteenagers

andadolescents.3

Childrenoftendonotconsiderthemselvesasvictimsofexploitationfurthercomplicatingtheiridentificationasvictimsrather

thanperpetrators. Thesevictimsperceivetheirexploitationasnormal.

Inadditiontoidentifyingchildvictims,itisoftendifficulttoconfirmthetruepersonaldetailsofthevictimsastheytypicallydo

notcarry identification documentsandmakeuseofaliases. Adultorganisersofchildtrafficking alsooftendonotcarryany

identification documents,usenumerousaliases,andexploitthepossibilitytolegallychangetheirnamesintheircountriesof

origin. Someexploitedchildrenarebornontheroadandremainunregistered.

Casesinvolvingchildrenaretoooftendismissedduetoalackingstrategicintelligencepictureonthephenomenon. Linksto

organisedcrimeinvolvementandorganisedtraffickinginhumanbeingsareoftennotrecognisedorinvestigated. Inorderto

establish an intelligence picture assessing the scale of theOCGs activities and to effectively combat this phenomenon

investigations

will

have

to

extend

beyond

identifying

child

victims

and

target

the

family

structures

sustaining

the

trafficking

andexploitationofchildren.

Insomecountries,theprivatesector(shopownersandprivatesecurityfirms)andlawenforcementcollaboratetoaddressthe

involvementofchildren inshopliftingandstealing. Theseschemesinvolvethecollectionandsystematiccomparisonofdata

ontheadultspickingupthechild.4

Lawenforcementagenciesoften focuson themost visible criminalactivity suchasproperty crimeor cannabisproduction

withoutexploringTHBaspects. EvenifvictimsofTHBareidentified,thereisoftennofollowuponthetraffickingaspectonthe

judiciallevel.

Inthecasesofexploitation inforcedbegging, interpretation ofwhatactuallyconstitutestheconceptofbeggingmaydiffer.

Thereisnoconsensusastowhatconstitutesbeggingwhichmayalsoincludestreetart,streetmusicorsellingsmallitemson

thestreet.5

Conclusion

Child victims of trafficking in human beings are not easily identified. Types of exploitation other than sexual or labour

exploitationarehighlyunderreported. Inorder tobetter fightexploitationofminors for forcedbeggingor forcedcriminal

activities, it is necessary to increase the awareness of this phenomenon and increase cooperation between EU law

enforcementagencies.

3

1International Labour Organisation, Training Manual to Fight Trafficking in Children for Labour, Sexual and Other Forms of Exploitation,Textbook 1, Geneva, 2009.2EU Trafficking Directive (2011/36) Art. 8.3EU Trafficking Directive (2011/36) Art. 8 and Council of the Baltic Sea States, Child Centre, Expert Group for Cooperation on Children atRisk, Children Trafficked for Exploitation in Begging and Criminality: A Challenge for Law Enforcement and Child Protection, Lithuania,Poland, Norway and Sweden, 2013.4Council of the Baltic Sea States, Child Centre, Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk, Children Trafficked for Exploitation inBegging and Criminality: A Challenge for Law Enforcement and Child Protection, Lithuania, Poland, Norway and Sweden, 2013.5Ibid.

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Documents

Child Trafficking for Exploitation in Forced Criminal Activities