CHAPTER 28: Trafficking & Exploitation (REVISED DECEMBER 2011) |
AMENDMENTS AND RELEVANT GUIDANCE
The chapter was amended in December 2011 to include links to the following documents:
- Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked, non-statutory good practice guidance issued by the Department for Education and the Home Office in October 2011. This includes information about the National Referral Mechanism;
- ECPAT - UK Briefing Paper on Child Trafficking - Begging and Organised Crime (published in September 2010);
- Safeguarding Trafficked Roma Children and Families, (published by the London Safeguarding Children Board in September 2010);
- Trafficked Children Toolkit, developed by the London Safeguarding Children Board and launched in February 2011.
OTHER RELEVANT CHAPTERS
See Child Victims of Trafficking - contained in Section 12, Migrant Children, of the Recognising Vulnerability of Children in Particular Circumstances Procedure for definitions and risk indicators.
Contents
- Scope
- Port of Entry
- Children Already in Country
- Referral and Initial Information Gathering
- Action After Initial Information Gathering
- Section 47 Enquiry
- Looked After Children
- Issues for Professionals to Consider When Working With Trafficked & Exploited Children
- Missing Children at Risk of Being Trafficked
1. SCOPE
| 1.1 | This procedure has been developed to address concerns about the disappearance, following arrival in this country, of vulnerable children from abroad, by:
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| 1.2 | The procedure applies to both accompanied and unaccompanied children, including asylum seekers, for whom there are concerns about safety. |
2. PORT OF ENTRY
| 2.1 | Berkshire does not have a port of entry. |
| 2.2 | Immigration officers undertake the identification of children at risk of harm. Children who do not meet the immigration criteria for entry and children, who, irrespective of their immigration status are believed to be at risk of harm if they are allowed entry, are referred to Children's Social Care. Records for these children exist both within Immigration and Nationality Directorate and with the receiving agency. |
| 2.3 | The National Register for Unaccompanied Children (NRAC) aims to gather information on all unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the UK. There are plans to extend it to cover all unaccompanied children from abroad, not just asylum seeking children. |
3. CHILDREN ALREADY IN COUNTRY
| 3.1 | Professionals should be familiar with the advice about migrant children (see Section 12, Migrant Children, of the Recognising Vulnerability of Children in Particular Circumstances Procedure) and refer to Children's Social Care where there are concerns about such children including suspicions of trafficking concerning a particular child/ren victim, adult/s perpetrators or suspicious activity at specific addresses. |
4. REFERRAL AND INITIAL INFORMATION GATHERING
| 4.1 | The social worker should obtain as much information as possible from the referrer, including the child's name, date of birth, address, name of carer/guardian, address if different, phone number, country of origin, home language and whether s/he speaks English, names of any siblings or other children. |
| 4.2 | The referrer must be asked to put their concerns in writing and the social worker should verify that the child is living at the address as soon as possible. |
| 4.3 | In the case of a referral from a school or education department the list of documentation provided at admission should be obtained. |
| 4.4 | A Home Office check should be completed to clarify status of the child/ren and the adult/s caring for them. |
5. ACTION AFTER INITIAL INFORMATION GATHERING
| 5.1 | On completion of initial information gathering the social worker must discuss the referral with a 1st line manager to agree and plan next steps:
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| 5.2 | The social worker should advise a professional referrer of the plan. |
| 5.3 | The social worker must check all documentation held by the referrer and other relevant agencies. Documentation should include, passport, Home Office papers, birth certificate, proof of guardianship. The list is not exhaustive and all avenues should be looked into. |
| 5.4 | When assessing paperwork / documentation attention should be given to detail e.g. when was passport issued, how long is the visa for, does the picture resemble the child, is the name in the passport the same as the alleged mother / father, if not, why not, does the documentation appear original (take copies to ensure further checks can be made). |
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| 5.5 | Once all possible information has been gathered, the social worker, their line manager and the police should decide whether to conduct joint interviews with the police CAIU, and if to initiate a Section 47 Enquiry. |
| 5.6 | If the family are visited, standard social work practice should be followed. The child should be seen alone, preferably in a safe environment and without carers in proximity. |
| 5.7 | In undertaking any assessment and all subsequent work with the child, a suitable interpreter must be used if required (see Interpreters, Signers & Others with Special Communication Skills Procedure). The interpreter needs to be aware if there are concerns about trafficking and cultural advice sought. |
| 5.8 | Questions should explore the household composition, parents / carers' employment, tasks / work undertaken around the house or elsewhere, length of time in this country, where s/he lived and went to school in country of origin, who cared for her/him in country of origin. |
| 5.9 | The assessment needs to focus on how and why the child arrived in the UK and should try to establish:
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| 5.10 | The assessment also needs to focus on the child's understanding of their situation and knowledge of trafficking. They should be provided with knowledge about trafficking, that it is a fundamental abuse of human rights and the possible dangers for the child. |
| 5.11 | The adults in the family / household should be interviewed (separately if possible) on the same basis, establishing the same information, so that a comparison can then be made between the answers to ensure they match. |
| 5.12 | All documentation should be seen and checked. This includes Home Office documentation, passports, visas, utility bills, tenancy agreements, birth certificates. Particular attention should be given to the documentation presented to the school at point of admission. It is not acceptable to be told 'the passport is missing' or 'I can't find the paperwork right now'. It is extremely unlikely that a person does not know where their paperwork / official documentation is kept. |
| 5.13 | This interview should be conducted as fully and complete as possible to ensure accuracy and to avoid intrusion on the family over a longer period than is absolutely necessary. |
| 5.14 | On completion of the assessment the social worker, 1st line manager, CAIU, referring agency and other professionals as appropriate should discuss and agree future action, usually at a meeting (if there are grounds to accommodate the child, take immediate action or initiate a Section 47 enquiry these should not be delayed until a meeting is held). |
| 5.15 | Where it is found the child is not a family member and is not related to any other person in this country, consideration should be given to establishing status and assisting the child as an unaccompanied minor. |
| 5.16 | Any action regarding fraud, trafficking, deception and illegal entry to this country is the remit of the police and the Home Office. The local authority should assist in any way possible. |
6. SECTION 47 ENQUIRY
| 6.1 | Whenever a practitioner or volunteer becomes concerned that a child is at risk of Significant Harm, a referral must be made to Children's Social Care and the local police CAIU in accordance with procedures in chapters 6 & 7 of this manual. |
| 6.2 | If the concern is raised at a port of entry, then immigration service should without delay, contact the Children's Social Care and the CAIU for the local area serving the port of entry. If the child is already in the country, the referral must be made to the Children's Social Care and the CAIU for the area in which the child resides. |
| 6.3 | A Strategy Discussion should be held. This is a complex form of abuse and a meeting will be required to plan the enquiry as soon as possible. The meeting must;
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7. LOOKED AFTER CHILDREN
| 7.1 | The social worker should seek a placement proportionate to the need to protect the child. This may include protection from possible abduction and in some cases require surveillance cameras in operation, monitoring of phone calls and intensive supervision. If required an escort must be organised to take the child there. |
| 7.2 | Location of the child must not be divulged to any enquirers until they have been interviewed by a social worker and their identity and relationship / connection with the child established, with the help of police and immigration services, if required. |
| 7.3 | A care plan should be agreed, as for all looked after children, involving the child, the social worker, carers and police. This should address:
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| 7.4 | The Core Assessment of the child's needs must be undertaken immediately to include:
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| 7.5 | Planning and actions to support the child must minimise the risk of the traffickers re-involving a child in exploitative activities. Thus:
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| 7.6 | Anyone approaching the local authority and claiming to be a potential carer, friend, member of the family etc, should be investigated by the social worker, police and immigration service. If the 1st line manager is satisfied that all agencies have completed satisfactory identification checks and risk assessments the child may transfer to their care. |
| 7.7 | The child will be subject to regular Looked After Reviews. At the conclusion of the Section 47 Enquiry and at each review a decision is to be made as to whether s/he continues to be at risk of being trafficked and the reasons for this decision recorded. |
| 7.8 | Should it become clear the risk of trafficking is extreme and immediate, consideration must be given to commencement of legal proceedings, in conjunction with the service manager and legal advisor. |
| 7.9 | Should it become clear that the child is not at risk of trafficking, or that the risk has been reduced, the continued appropriateness of the safe placement should be considered and efforts made to identify family or friends who can appropriately take over the care of the child/young person. In order to promote stability children should not usually be moved to another placement, but their supervision reduced. |
8. ISSUES FOR PROFESSIONALS TO CONSIDER WHEN WORKING WITH TRAFFICKED & EXPLOITED CHILDREN
| 8.1 | Children who have been trafficked and exploited are likely to need some of the following services:
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| 8.2 | Attempting to persuade a child victim to testify against a trafficker is complicated. The child usually fears reprisal from the traffickers and/or the adults whom the child was living with in the UK if they co-operate with the police. This includes reprisals against their family in their home country. |
| 8.3 | Children, who might agree to testify, fear that they will be discredited because they were coerced into lying on their visa applications / immigration papers. |
9. MISSING CHILDREN AT RISK OF BEING TRAFFICKED
| 9.1 | If a child, who is at risk of being trafficked, goes missing, residential staff / foster carers must immediately inform Children's Social Care the social worker, 1st line manager or emergency duty team, who must contact the police control room and Immigration Service. |
| 9.2 | The police will complete a MISPER form, and notify the National Missing Persons' help-line. In all cases the police must update Children's Social Care with the progress of the investigation. |
| 9.3 | Procedures for missing children must be instituted (see Missing Child, Adult or Family Procedure). |
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