Figures reveal rise in child labour and sex exploitation
THE number of children being used for sexual exploitation and child labour across Greater Manchester has risen, newly-released figures reveal.
At least 21 potential victims of modern slavery were identified across the region in the first three months of 2018 – and 16 were children.
Six children from the UK and one girl from Vietnam were suspected of being sexually exploited.
Two Vietnamese boys, a Pakistani boy and two boys from the UK were also suspected of being used for child labour.
One Czech woman claimed she was being forced into domestic servitude.
Meanwhile, a woman from Romania was suspected of being sexually exploited, and two other adults were potential victims of labour exploitation. Trafford, Bury and Tameside councils each identified another potential child victim between January and March this year, while Manchester council identified one child and one adult.
The figures, published by the National Crime Agency, show the true scale of modern slavery and people trafficking across the region.
It shows that the number of vulnerable children flagged by police and local councils across Greater Manchester has risen dramatically. By comparison, just 31 children were flagged as potential modern slavery victims during the whole of 2017.
Across the UK, 1,631 suspected victims of people trafficking or modern slavery, including 711 children, were referred to authorities in the first three months of 2018.
In one case currently under investigation, a Polish man claimed that his organs were going to be harvested.
Meanwhile, there were 874 cases of labour exploitation and 159 child sexual exploitation cases referred.
Over the past six months, British citizens have been the largest nationality represented in the figures – the first time this has happened since records began.
In the first three months of 2018, 347 potential victims were British, compared to just 138 over the same period in 2017.
The number of young people being exploited has risen even more dramatically than the overall figure, from 432 in the first three months of 2017 to the 711 seen this year – an increase of 65 per cent.
Agency officials put the increase in British nationals and minors down to a rise in ‘county lines’ referrals.
County lines is the police term to describe big-city gangsters who set up criminal franchises in rural towns and villages with little or no competition and use youngsters to maintain the outposts.