Children Trafficked Into the UK for Child Labour

Although this case was discovered in the UK, this is something that definitely happens in the U.S. However most of the focus on child trafficking is on the issue of sex trafficking. Most people will say, when I was young I use to go and pick berries on my parents farm, etc. There is a big difference in children who are helping their family or friends with chores and then there is labor exploitation. The children who are being used in forced labor do not have the freedom of movement, of choice and a whole slew of human rights are violated on a daily basis. If you take a look at our child labor laws, it covers every industry except our agricultural industry. Many traffickers are aware of this and use this loophole to exploit children.

Please take the time to learn more about the issue. We as Americans need to face the music and understand that there is more than just sex trafficking happening. We need to protect children from all types of exploitation!

The campaigners describe the plight of Romanian girls and boys working as child labour in the spring onions field in Worcestershire.

On Wednesday, as many as seven children, between 9 and 16, were taken away after they were found to work with a group of adults in very cold conditions.

According to the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), this is for the first time such case of child exploitation and trafficking in farming and food industry sectors have come into light.

A recent report by Ecpat revealed that between April 2009 and June 2010, as many as 215 children from 33 different nations were trafficked into the UK.

The majority of children, almost 97, were brought for the work purposes, that is, for ‘labour exploitation’.

GLA Chairman Paul Whitehouse told the BBC, “We discovered the children working, some of them with their parents but others without and in conditions which, for the adults alone, were appalling”.

The officer, Linda Boyle, said that the children were forced to work from 7.30 am till evening.

The Government presently is thinking about signing up the EU directive on human trafficking, which would provide protection to the victims and make easier to file a case against the traffickers.