Our friends at Crimestoppers UK are launching a new campaign to encourage people to call in if they witness any victims of sex slave traffic. It's a tricky area because the (perceived) risk of self-incrimination or embarrassment tends to dis-incentivise witnesses from coming forward. Crimestoppers capo Mick Laurie's comment:
“These women who are victims of trafficking, travel to this country, usually under false pretences and suffer horrific abuse. They are held against their will and often forced to see up to 40 clients per day. The only other people who may know what is happening to them are the men who use their services, who would obviously not want to contact the police. We are appealing to them to give us information if they are suspicious about women they have seen in these circumstances on 0800 555 111. They will not have to give us their name, or any details about themselves, calls are not traced – we guarantee they will remain anonymous.”
The video is on YouTube: Prostitution is not illegal, slavery is. And Alex's site has a statement from the film-maker.
Check out Canada's approach:
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/fs/ht/pub/poster/poster_1.jpg
http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/fs/ht/pub/booklet/english/english.pdf
Posted by: Anne | April 12, 2006 at 07:23 PM