It presents the effects of child trafficking on the values of Filipinos

1. Child Trafficking in the Philippines: Effects on the Values of Filipinos
I. INTRODUCTION
The Filipino puts a great emphasis on the value of family and being close to one's family members. The
children who are to learn values need to live with their families in order to practice good values. But what happened if
the said children become a victim of child trafficking? Will they still learn values when they experience maltreatment,
violence and exploitation?
The Filipino value system or Filipino values refers to the set of values that a majority of the Filipino have
historically held important in their lives. This Philippine values system includes their own unique assemblage of
consistent ideologies,moral codes,ethical practices,etiquette and cultural and personal values that are promoted by
their society. As with any society though, the values that an individual holds sacred can differ on the basis ofreligion,
upbringing and other factors.
“People were created to be loved.Things were created to be used.The reason why the world is in chaos
is because things are being loved and people are being used.”- Unknown
Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined as the "recruitment, transportation,
transfer, harbouring,and/or receipt"kidnapping ofa child below 18 years old for the purpose ofslavery, forced labour
and exploitation. It is a significant public health problem and human right violation affecting millions of children
worldwide. This definitionis substantiallywider than the same document's definitionof"trafficking in persons". Children
may also be trafficked for the purpose of adoption.
Victims never get paid. Traffickers are smartand understand thatit is often easier to control someone who is
receiving some sort of benefit, even if it doesn't meet legal standards. Sometimes, gifts are provided in lieu of
compensation.
Victims are always locked up or not allowed to attend school. While this may be the reality for some children,
there have been cases where traffickers allow children to go to school for brief or extended periods of time. In fact,
some children have been recruited from schools by their peers or acquaintances.
Victims are always kidnapped by strangers. While these stories receive the most media attention, in most
cases, the trafficker is someone that the victim knows.
To identify the effects of child trafficking on the values of the Filipinos the researcher finds it necessary to
enumerate the differentcases ofdrug trafficking in the Philippines and to find outhow do the victims face their situation.
II. BACKGROUND
An act expanding Republic Act no. 9208,entitled "an act to institute policies to eliminate trafficking in persons
especiallywomen and children,establishing the necessaryinstitutional mechanisms for the protection and supportof
trafficked persons, providing penalties for its violations and for other purposes .
The islandofMindanao has becomeoneofthe trafficking hotspots becauseofarmedconflict. Childrenare trafficked to major
cities and neighbouring countries, particularly Malaysia. Trafficking victims are promisedjobs suchas domestic helpers or entertainers.
Unaware ofthedangers ahead,children often have their ownaspirations ofwanting to seethebigcities, helpingtheir siblings andfamily,
acquiring material gains,going to Japan as “entertainers”, and improving their physical appearance. Children are commonlytrafficked
for exploitation in the sextrade - an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines are involved in prostitution rings.There is a
high incidence of child prostitution in tourist areas. An undetermined number ofchildren are forced into exploitative labour operations.
Among the main causes ofchild trafficking in the Philippines are poverty, low economic development in communities of origin, gender
inequalities,limitedemploymentopportunities, existence ofandaccess to publicinfrastructure (roads,schools,health centers, etc), large
family sizes,inadequate awareness amongfamilies,andsextourism.The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act was enacted by the Philippine
legislative inMay 2003. The lawmandates the establishmentofthe National Inter-Agency Council againstTrafficking inPersons,which
is nowcharting the national courseto combattrafficking. The establishmentofsimilarcouncils atthe provincial andcity levels is ongoing.
Nearly two million children are victims of sex trafficking worldwide; every day, five additional children are sexually
abused on the internet.In this study, “sex trafficking,” refers to the exploitation of children involving any form of sexual
abuse for the purposes of economic gain. Exploited children are at increased risk of experiencing violence, sexually
transmitted infections, depression, and suicide. International organizations report that the Philippines has one of the
highest rates of child exploitation for sex tourism worldwide. The Philippine province of Cebu is a popular tourist
destination, and reportedly experiences a higher prevalence of sex trafficking cases.

2. There is little research characterizing or quantifying the problem of child trafficking in Cebu province, and there are
limited resources available for prevention, rescue or intervention, and rehabilitation.
This study aims to identify the effect of child trafficking on the values of our Filipinos especiallychildren who
will be the citizen of our future generation.
III. DISCUSSION
Child trafficking case is now so alarming in the Philippines and itreally affects the values of our countrymen.
The victims cannotdo something butto follow the order ofthe traffickers.The question is,how does this kind ofsituation
affect to the values ofevery child who becomes a victim oftrafficking? They cannotgo to school where theycould learn
proper education. They become far from their home where they learn values of love, kindness, thoughtfulness,
compassion,honesty,loyalty, etc. and being a victim of trafficking, a child will be introduced to many differentpractices
such as the following: someone who is trafficked for exploitation in the sex trade will become prostitute. They will be
exposed to drugs. Some are trafficked for slavery. They are forced into exploitative labour operations. So, meaning,
they work for long hours butreceiving no salaryor underpaid.Since, these childrenare under the custodyoftraffickers,
teaching and learning good values will be impossible.Ifthey are alreadyexposed to illegal activities,being minor,they
will become used to it.
IV. CONCLUSION
With the facts presented in this study about child trafficking and its effect on the Filipino values,it is deemed
necessarythatour governmentshould be vigilantin their fight to stop the practice of child trafficking in the Philippines.
They should not stop in proposing or making a law that will combat this illegal practices.
Parents and or guardians should always make sure thattheir children are safe and protected. They mustgive
their precious time to check the activities of their children.They should also find ways to have family bonding so that
children will feel that they are loved. With that, they will experience the love and care of their family. Children whose
parents do not give time for them, those who are always busy and are just leaving the care of their children to their
yaya are the most who have a tendency to become involved in illegal activities with their friends. These children can
be easilyrecruited bygangsters.When theyfind enjoymentwith their barkadas,there will be a highpossibi lityto neglect
their studies.
Values are learned at home and in school.If these two will not be the main sources ofvalues of the children,
what would we expect? What kind of behaviour will these children learn especiallywhen they become a victim of child
trafficking?
V. RELATED LITERATURE
Trafficking of migrantchildren has unquestionablyaffected individual children and their communities in various
immediate and long term ways. It sometimes endangers the children’s lives. The obvious impacts of chil d trafficking
often mentioned is on deteriorating their education,physical and mentaldevelopment.Moreover, the trafficked migrant
children are disempowered in manyways. They are in the foreign country with foreign customs and foreign language.
They are transported and sold or deceived as bonded labour, treated like property, and work under the slavery-like
conditions as discussed in the previous chapters.Whenever they feel depressed,or suffering,or face difficulties,or are
tortured, commonlythey have no one they can turn to as they tend to live in isolated milieu.Even if they have a chance
to seek help,they often do not know where to go or what to do or whom to ask because they are illegal migrants and
are afraid of police.In some circumstances, theymay encounter racism from the police,authorities,and generalpeople
among whom may be their own employers.
The information above is relevantto the studybecause itpresents the impacton how children become affected
when they become victims oftrafficking. One which really affected is their education.They cannot go to school,next to
their homes where the values formation begins.

3. Children in the sex industrygenerallyhave to service their customers on an average of 3 - 7 customers per day.Some
girls on high demand have to sometimes service even more 10 customers per day. Sex practices engaged in were
likely unprotected sex. Studies show that the higher the number of unprotected sexual intercourse acts,the more risk
of HIV infection and reproductive health morbidity. Trafficked victims are no exception.
This information is deemed relevantto the study because itpresents discussionabouta child being engaged
in the sex industry. It really affects her values and it adds to the cases of pre-marital sex. It loses her dignity as a
woman.
Beggar children were found to be aggressive.This could be the resultofbeing forced by their superiors to beg
for moneyand being beaten when dailyquotas were notmet.Such an environmentled the children to learn aggressive
survival skills to protect themselves. As a result, the children were treated with no respect, were not welcomed, and
were considered sociopaths. Because of the behaviors, the children were often placed into worse environments and
not given a chance to be accepted in a society.The beggar children are also easilyto be arrested as they have to beg
money or solicitate things on the streetor in the public areas.Many of them are experienced of being detained many
times. Detention for a long period or many times also disempowers the children.
This information cited above is relevantto this studybecause itpresents the real scenario aboutchildrenbeing
trafficked. They are forced to beg for moneyand experienced being beaten when the traffickers are notsatisfied.Such
experiences surely affects their behaviour.
Since countries in the Mekong basin restrictjob recruitmentof children under the ages between 13 -18 years
old depending on each country, and because trafficking in children is unlawful, businesses which use child labour,
especiallytrafficked child labour,have to perform their businesses underground anduninspected byauthorities. These
businesses usuallyoffer no welfare facilities to the migrantchildren.They are found to be subjects ofverbal, physical
and mental abuses instead. Furthermore, the work conditions are usually notorious for the children’s dire health and
safety hazards which have certainly affected their physical and mental development
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation.
The island of Mindanao has become one of the trafficking hotspots because of armed conflict. Children are
trafficked to major cities and neighboring countries,particularlyMalaysia.Trafficking victims are promised jobs such as
domestic helpers or entertainers. Unware of the dangers ahead, children often have their own aspirations of wanting
to see the big cities, helping their siblings and family, acquiring material gains, going to Japan as “entertainers”, and
improving their physical sexual abuse for the purposes of economic gain. Exploited children are at increased risk of
experiencing violence, sexually transmitted appearance.
Nearly two million children are victims of sex trafficking worldwide; every day, five additional children are
sexually abused on the internet. In this study, “sex trafficking,” refers to the exploitation of children involving any form
of infections, depression, and suicide. International organizations report that the Philippines has one of the highest
rates of child exploitation for sex tourism worldwide. The Philippine province of Cebu is a popular tourist destination,
and reportedly experiences a higher prevalence of sex trafficking cases. There is little research characterizing or
quantifying the problem of child trafficking in Cebu province, and there are limited resources available for prevention,
rescue or intervention, and rehabilitation. This study aims to conduct a ne program development for providers and
organizations pro eds assessmentofthe currentsocial services available to survivors ofsextrafficking in Cebu in order
to guide future viding care to this population. Methods: Forty-three individuals were interviewed involving key
stakeholders from a wide range of professions including government officials, social workers, non -governmental
organization workers, lawyers and physicians. Participants were recruited based on their involvement working with
exploited children and were identified by the Cebu Provincial Women’s Commission (CPWC), a government agency.
Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.Utilizing methodologyrooted in grounded theory, transcripts were
individuallycoded, a uniform codebook was created, and the Atlas.ti Version 6 software was used to assistwith data
aggregation into categories and themes. Preliminary Results: Forty-three out of forty-four recruited individuals
completed the interview process. The majority of participants were women (>90%). All participants were born in the
Philippines and work in the Province of Cebu. The majority (74%) believed that sex trafficking of children was a “major

4. problem.” One-third ofthe participants provided services to “1-10” children in the lastyear while 14% provided services
to “over 40” children .Preliminarily,the commonlyexpressed themes include:1) poverty is a key risk factor, 2) variation
in perceptions ofthe severity of sexual abuse thatoccurs via the internet, 3) lack of trauma informed care training,and
4) lack of qualified mental health professionals. Next Steps: Final analysis of all of the interviews is underway.
Subsequently,a written reportwith a summaryofthe data will be provided to the CPWC. Based on our preliminarydata
and the strong interest of the CPWC, a trauma-informed care training program is currently under development.
THE ROOT CAUSE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS TRAFFICKERS.1
Traffickers prey on others’ weaknesses, unfortunate circumstances, unfamiliarity, and inexperience. Traffickers are
trained to identify vulnerability and use expert manipulation tactics to persuade and control their victims. They identify
a void and offer to fill it.
VULNERABILITY CREATES OPPORTUNITY FOR TRAFFICKERS.
Individuals living in difficultconditions can become desperate,and thatdesperation makes them vulnerable.While the
following categories do not cause human trafficking, they do create a state of vulnerability and ideal opportunities for
traffickers to strike.
EFFECTS OF CHILD S EX TRAFFICKING
All abuse is traumatic and harmful to victims. But many factors in sex trafficking intensifythe pain even more than if a
child was solely sexually abused.
Trafficked children are deprived of their natural support system. This alone deprives them of their other rights – their
right to basic needs,their right to be free from abuse and exploitation, and their right to health and education,among
others. Just by losing their family, they lose a better future.
Physical consequences of child sex trafficking include:
 Lack of rest, proper nourishment and health care;
 Teenage pregnancy and abortion;
 Infectious diseases like tuberculosis,recurrenturinarytract infections and sexuallytransmitted diseases (STD)
such as syphilis,herpes or HIV/AIDS,
 Difficulty in walking or sitting due to bruises,lacerations and wounds atthe genital,anal or mouth area; and,
 Frequentheadaches,abdominal & pelvic pain,back pain,shoulder pain,nausea and other symptoms associated
with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Physical damage may heal with time; however, its psychological consequences last a lifetime. Psychological effects
putvictims atrisk of further abuse and atrisk ofbecoming abusers themselves.Certainfactors such as maturity, gender
and parental supportamong manyother factors influence the severity of these effects. Research shows that,although
effects tend to last the victim’s lifetime, treatment helps lessen the symptoms of psychological trauma.
Psychological and behavioral effects may include any of the following:
 Fear of sailing,flying or of enclosed places (claustrophobia) and other irrational fears;
 Panic attacks and sleeping disorders;
 Sexually inappropriate or offensive behaviors such as obsession to sexor complete aversion to it; questioning of
sexuality or gender;
 Non-observance ofphysical boundaries;
 Drug and alcohol abuse,addictions and eating disorders;
 Distrustofothers and of themselves,shame,guilt,low self-esteem and self-hatred;
 Traumatic flashbacks triggered bycertain cues presentduring the abuse;
Isolation,sudden bursts ofanger and irritability, feelings ofpowerlessness,depression and extreme passivity;
and,
 Mental illness,personalitydisorders, hallucinations and suicide.

5. When the child turns into an adult, there may also be a need for family members to undergo counseling to process
the experience of having a victim of sexual abuse for a parentor spouse.
Definition
The traffic or trade of children is characterized by the recruitment, transport, transfer, and housing of any person by
different methods. It may also involve resorting to force or any other forms of restraint, through kidnapping, deceit,
fraud, as well as the abuseofauthority. Offering, accepting payments,or benefits for obtaining the consentofthe victim
(or person having authority over the victim) are also illicit acts that contribute to child trafficking.
Child trafficking has no universal definition,though many legal instruments mention it.One of these is the Convention
on the Rights ofthe Child of 1989, which refers to child trafficking in Article 11 line 1, stipulating that“illicittransfer and
non-return of children” is forbidden.
Traffickers organize themselves via large international networks, which engage in many activities, such as drug
trafficking or prostitution.
Child trafficking is an ugly fact of our society that is prevalent even today. Child trafficking is a world-wide problematic
issue.Over the years, it has metamorphoseinto frig teeming growth rate,having reached its peak and withoutshowing
sign of reduction in parts of Africa, Eastern,Europe,the Caribbean’s and Latin American countries.It is crucial to note
that the increase on the cases ofchild trafficking in Nigeria is due to the undaunted efforts ofthe operators and profiteers
of the business who are quick to cite unprecedented poverty and the near absence of the basic necessities oflife as
their driving force.
Child trafficking has brought poor reputation in the state. our main economic problem is child trafficking., since we
began on the path of nationhood or society. The main obstacle for striding bodily on this path has been the child
trafficking problem because of unemployment. As a result of this, there has been for the past few years steady drift
away of young men into other countries. This has the chain result of our society being left under populated or
underdeveloped.
Secondly,Nigeria has beenbedeviledbymyriad ofproblem mostofthe problems can be attributedto the pervasiveness
of some ofthe ills thathamper the attainmentofthe developmentofthe society.As a resultofills thatcurrently hampers
the development of the country, child trafficking has become widespread and now occupied a preeminent position
among the ills that pervade the Nigeria society. While, it may appear that the problem seem endemic in Edo State
especiallyOredo Local Government,there are indications thatno parts ofthe countryis immunefrom this socialmalaise
that has ravaged manycommunities.There are an estimated 80 million by2015. The international labour organization
(ILO) recently estimated thatover 12 million Nigerian children especiallyin Edo State are engaged in child labour.The
survey also estimated thatover 10, 000 Nigerian are engaged in prostitution in Italy which constitutes in the Italian sex
market. Most of these women and girls are initially trafficked victims many people especiallywomen and children are
lured with the promise of good jobs and salaries and then sold into prostitution or bonded labour.
Child trafficking is considered to be modern dayslaverywhere many children and women are force fullyor fraudulently
recruited, transported and harbored for sexual or labour exploitation. The victims of child trafficking are usuallymade
to provide sex under threat and without consent.However, they are also us ed as labors to work in field and fisheries,
sweep shops or as domestic helps.Thirdly,child trafficking is the fastestgrowing criminal industryin the world with the
total annual revenue for trafficking in persons,notless than two hundred and fiftythousand persons,mostlyfemale (i.e.
60% persons ranging from 12 years-18 years, while 40% persons above 18 years are trafficked across the Nigerian
borders yearly especiallyin Oredo, Edo State and other part of Edo State. the business oftrafficking in child beings is
today organized by groups thatare also involved in weapons and narcotics colluding with governmentofficials in dozen
countries.There is very little doubt that it is in curative business and maybe one of the most difficult to combat. They
are less visible than those caused bygun running and trafficking.Exploiting the poverty and low status of women in the
developing world,middle men are able to bring together the supplyand demand for cheap labour and sexin ways that
linkable not long ago. Though, the fact of child trafficking is not difficult to understand on its own, its dimension and
categorization continue to multiply by the day. The educational curriculum might have over sighted this problem,
therefore no room was created for this social ills the subjects thatdeals on moral that is Christian religious knowledge
and the Islamic religious knowledge are graduallyphasing outas teacher that staunched these courses are not being

6. employed by some employers social studies which exposes our children to the vices and virtues in the society is only
studied in the junior secondary classes. So students cannot but cope with the make believe life of affluence,
flamboyances, greed which has made people especially the female trafficking a huge success in our society.
Child trafficking is the illegal commerce and trade of people.It is essentiallythe facet of slavery which relies on direct
purchase in contrast to the “natural increase” from enslaving the children of slaves.The United Nations (UN) defines
“trafficking in persons” as the recruitment, transportation,transfer,harboruring ort receiptof persons by means of the
threat or use of force or other forms of coercion of abduction of fraud of deceptions, of the abuse of power or of a
position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments achieve the consentof a person,having control over
another person’s for the purpose of exploitation.
Labor trafficking or forced labor can take many forms, which include bonded labor or debt bondage, where a child
incurs a debt he or she is never able to pay off, or involuntary domestic servitude, where a child is forced to work in
someone’s home for long hours with little or no pay. Although children may legally engage in certain forms of work,
there are legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation against forms of slavery or slavery-like practices, and yet
these practices continue to exist as manifestations of human trafficking. A child can be a victim of labor trafficking,
regardless ofthe location of the nonconsensual exploitation.Some indicators ofpossibleforced labor ofa child include
situations in which the child appears to be in the custodyof a nonfamilymember who requires the child to perform work
that financially benefits someone outside the child’s family and does not offer the child the option of leaving.
In the United States, labor trafficking often occurs in the context of domestic service,agricultural work, peddling,and
hospitality industries (e.g., restaurants and hotels). Traffickers manipulate victims into working long hours in
substandard conditions for little or no wages.Peddlingis a prevalentyetlesser knownform ofchild labor,where children
sell cheap goods,such as candy, magazines,or other trinkets, often going door to door or standing on streetcorners
or in parks, regardless of weather conditions and without access to food, water, or facilities.
Like victims of sex trafficking, labor trafficking victims are kept in bondage through a combination offear, intimidation,
abuse, and psychological controls.
It is importantto remember thatchild victims oflabor trafficking also maybe sexually abused or simultaneouslyvictims
of sex trafficking.
Child Trafficking Policy
The United Nations Convention on the Rights ofthe Child (UNCRC) facilitates a space for the child’s voice to be heard,
through children’s right to participation, to express their views and have their opinions taken into account. The
Convention recognizes however thatgenuine participation withouttokenism can be a ‘basic challenge’ (UNICEF2014).
The BestInterests ofthe Child provision under Article 3 also provides guidance for adults to consider how their decisions
will affect children and ‘this particularly applies to budget, policy and law makers’ (ibid.). However, child trafficking
strategy, policy-making and practice have been shaped withoutknowledge from children directly.A key voice missing
from anti-trafficking work is that of those who have been trafficked or who may be vulnerable to trafficking (Anti -
Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG) 2012).Their participation in the development,implementation and evaluation of
anti-trafficking programmes and strategies would notonly allow State Parties to meet their obligations under UNCRC,
but also provide valuable first-hand experience to inform policies.
The United Kingdom is an example ofthe lack of participation ofchildren in developing child trafficking policy. Children
who have been trafficked were not consulted in the government’s 2011 Human Trafficking Strateg y (ATMG 2012).
Despite the UNCRC having no legal force in the United Kingdom,and there being therefore no statutoryduty to comply

7. with it, ‘the governmenthas reiterated its commitmentto pay “due regard” to the convention when new policy is made
and legislation proposed’ (Department for Education (DfE) 2014: 1). In introducing the Modern Slavery Act 2015,
Theresa May seized a political opportunityto address the egregious violations ofhuman rights associated with human
trafficking and avowed a victim-centred approach,with a view to ‘always keeping the plight of victims at the very heart
of our policies and in everything we do’ (May 2013: ii). This article reports findings that uniquely addresses young
people’s voices,in how they experience child trafficking policy and whether their plightis indeed metwith an approach
that positions ‘victims at the very heart’ of child trafficking practice.
In England, child trafficking has been interpreted and defined by policymakers through criminal, immigration and
economic discourses.The UN Trafficking Protocol was ratifiedin 2006 and the governmentdesignatedthe HomeOffice
as the governmentdepartmentwith lead responsibilityfor policy-making in England.The UK Human Trafficking Centre
was launched in 2006 as a police-led unit and the Home Office released the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human
Trafficking (Home Office 2007: 7) with a strong focus ‘to strengthen our borders and ensure and enforce compliance
with immigration laws’. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) was established in 2009 to coordinate and make
decisions in individual trafficking cases.The UK Visas and Immigration agencywas tasked as a ‘competentauthority’
in dealing with referrals of trafficked persons, with the primary remit of immigration control and securing national
borders. Thus responsibilities sit with immigration agencies and the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Unit
situated under the National Crime Agency, conflating child trafficking with illegal immigration. This is despite an
understanding that trafficking can take place via legal and illegal migration, internal and international movement of
children for exploitation and does notaffect migrantchildren exclusively.As a result,the child trafficking framework has
been orientated and situated as primarily a criminal justice issue, concerned with transnational organized crime, the
prosecution of traffickers and illegal migration (Gearon 2015).
However,child trafficking is also constructed as a child protection issue,with statutoryresponsibilities oflocalauthorities
under the Children Acts 1989 and 2004.The Departmentfor Education (tasked with responsibilityfor children and child
protection) issued their firstpolicy in 2007 to address child trafficking,recognizing it as a form of child abuse,updated
in 2011 (DfE 2011).Thus Children Services have a statutory duty and role to safeguard and promote the well -being of
children who may have been trafficked under existing legislation and established child protection systems (DfE 2011).
The key practice guidance Safeguarding Children Who May Have Been Trafficked (DfE 2011) advocates a child
protection response to protectchildren who mayhave been trafficked,recognizing thatchild trafficking involves children
experiencing physical,emotional,sexual abuse,neglect and exploitation (DfE 2011). The guidance stipulates thatall
agencies, not just Children Services departments, need to consider the safeguarding needs of all children who may
have experienced trafficking, and to promote their welfare. This approach is reliant on front-line agencies working
together when encountering children who mayhave been trafficked, practicing from a welfare perspective,recognizing
situations where a child may require a child protective response. Since the introduction of the NRM, concerns have
been raised about the lack of clarity and processes between immigration agencies and Children Services. ATMG
(2010) refers to confusion within immigration agencies aboutwhether referrals to local authorities shouldbe made when
there are child protection concerns.In cases where the young person’s age is in doubtand children are deemed to be
adults by immigration staff,these cases mightnotbe referred to Children Services,potentiallyleaving child protection

8. concerns unaddressed. Thus tensions in the application of a welfare approach and working together are apparent in
England when child trafficking has been firmly situated as an illegal immigration issue.
As many unaccompanied migrating trafficked children experience immigration services,concerns have been raisedby
the Committee on the Rights of the Child that the UK governmentheld a reservation of Article 22 of the UNCRC. This
effectively sanctioned restrictions on applying the principles of the UNCRC (such as rights to protection and special
care of children deprived of family) to migrantchildren.Bowing to pressure,the governmentsubsequentlyintroduced
a ‘welfare principle’ in section 55 of the Borders,Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, which also placed a statutory
duty on immigration agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare ofchildren.In doing so,the governmentaccepted
that all children,irrespective oftheir immigration status,mustenjoyall ofthe UNCRC’s rights and protections (Children’s
Society 2012). Herein lies the policy and practice tension in how a criminal justice approach can be reconciled with a
welfare approach.
Despite growing awareness and increased interest in human trafficking, the body of academic research o n or with
children and young people defined as ‘trafficked’ is particularly limited. Progress has been made in child trafficking
research with practitioners working with this group of children, helping us to understand the complexities in
practice. Pearce et al. (2009: 82) highlight problems in recognition of trafficking circumstances by professionals
‘enhanced bya culture of disbelief...entwined with questions aboutage and immigration status’. Bovarnick (2010:93)
noted more specificallyhow immigration-led discourse ‘displayed a limited understanding ofchild trafficking, and was
constituted by xenophobic and discriminatory tendencies’, an approach less conducive to protecting trafficked
children. Westwood’s (2012) interviews with practitioners revealed clear tensions between the police and social
workers’ understanding of risk in ports’ safeguarding work, together with a lack of understanding of roles and
responsibilities.In an earlier edition of British Journal of Criminology,Harvey et al. (2015) reported a lack of cohesive
multi-agencyframeworks thatclarify roles and responsibilities resultingin disjointed agendas in tackling the problem of
child trafficking. Tensions in safeguarding within Border Officers roles were explored more recently by Hadjimatheou
and Lynch (2017).This study indicated how a small pocketof officers (volunteering for additional safeguarding duties)
describe being able to prioritize protection over immigration concerns,albeithampered with limited powers.However,
the implications for children of these well-reported tensions in both policy and practice are little understood.
This research was designed to address the gap in child trafficking literature to provide space for children’s voices of
being trafficked and coming into contact with services. Through listening to children’s experiences of services in
England,the impact of the welfare/immigration tensions in practice are revealed. In the first section of this article, the
front-line practice of deciding if a separated migrantchild has been ‘smuggled’ or has been ‘trafficked’ is considered.
Establishing whether a child has consented to illegal migration or has been coerced into trafficking is problematized.
After a description ofthe methodologyof the research,the findings are presented.Although a victim-centred approach
is espoused in child trafficking policy, young people’s experiences reveal how the binary opposite is experienced in
front-line services. Young people experienced immigration-driven and prosecution-focused practice as a punitive
approach.Treated as complicitin their situations,theyreported how they were notlistened to, notbelieved and further
blamed by practitioners for their situations.A criminal justice approach failed to respond to child prote ction concerns,
placing young people at further risk. The implications of these findings for child trafficking policy and practice are
discussed, highlighting the need for structural change and a cultural shift in attitudes towards young people.

9. Consent and Coercion
The concept of victimhood is heavily embedded in child trafficking narratives (Gearon 2016). Victimhood in child
trafficking discourses is synonymous with perceptions of helplessness, vulnerability through weakness and
susceptibilityto abuse through forced coercion(O’Connell Davidson and Anderson 2006).The UN Protocol establishes
a legal category of ‘victim’, and in doing so, a child’s consent is nullified ‘constituting trafficked children as victims
per se’ (Bovarnick 2010: 84). Children cannot consent to being abused, a common sense assertion. However,
constructing child trafficking through this prism of victimhood denies any notion of agency, at any age or at any stage
of a journey. Perceptions of a victim trafficked by force also do not attend to the psychological processes of being
trafficked as traffickers can use sophisticated methods in coercing young people.The process ofbeing recognized as
a victim is critical in accessing support;a young person mustmeetthe expectations ofhow a passive coerced victim is
perceived. On the other hand, if young people present as consenting to migration, practitioners attribute a sense of
agencyand volition, wherebythey are held accountable as wilfullybreakingthe law migrating(usually) by illeg al means.
The tension between these underlying constructs of victimhood and ‘responsibilizing’ (Muncie 2009) young people
poses problems for practitioners in identifying victims and young people accessing support.
When separated migrating children come into contact with services, they are deemed to be either ‘smuggled’ or
‘trafficked’ children,with consentimplied in the former and coercion in the latter. The issue of establishing consentor
coercion are thus two importantconcepts in front-line practice with separatedmigratingchildren(Figure 1).‘Smuggling’
and ‘trafficking’ are separate concepts defined by different protocols, although both address the circumstances of
migrating children.Smugglingis referred to as ‘facilitation’,an offence under the 2004 Asylum and Immigration Actand
always involves the illegal crossing of an international border, whereas trafficking can be internal as well as
transnational and involve illegal as well as legal border crossing (Pearce 2011).The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS
2013) provides legal guidance on the distinction between the two;‘smuggling’ is framed and interpreted as a voluntary
act where ‘the immigrants concerned are normallycomplicitin the offence so that they can remain in the UK illegally’
whereas ‘trafficked persons’ have little choice in whathappens to them.A fundamental issue in child trafficking practice
is that the smuggling and trafficking protocols assume ‘a neatline of demarcation between voluntary and consensual
and involuntary and non-consensual migration’ (O’Connell Davidson and Anderson 2006: 20).
There are a number ofproblems with a polarized positioning in which consentor coercion is attributed.Child trafficking
literature is prevalent with debates aboutthe problems arising in front-line practice in distinguishing between children
who have been ‘smuggled’ and those who are ‘trafficked’ (Liempt 2006; O’Connell Davidson and Anderson
2006;Craig et al.2007;Bovarnick 2010).This is because in practice,such a neatline ofdemarcation betweenconsent
and coercion is not so clear. Firstly, there are doubts about any distinction between ‘smuggling’ and ‘trafficking’. In a
study examining smuggling, Triandafyllidou and Maroukis (2012: 204) conclude, ‘there is thin line between migrant
smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The profiles of trafficked and smuggled people, the routes they take, the
modus operandi ofsmuggling and trafficking networks and the level of dependence ofthe smuggled/trafficked migrant
on her/his smugglers/traffickers can be quite similar’. Secondly, smuggling and trafficking experiences can overlap.
Being smuggled can turn into a trafficking situationfrom one dayto the next. Processes oftrafficking are dynamic which
fixed notions ofconsentand coercion atany particular points cannotaccountfor. A young person sold a storyof better
life opportunities maybe willing to travel and presentto practitioners as consenting to migration, later to be exploited

10. at a destination. Thirdly, expressed consent can be the opposite; traffickers can manipulate a young person to the
degree that they believe they are consenting,a form of ‘coerced consent’ (Pearce 2013). Furthermore,young people
can be coerced and coached whatto say or how to look when approached bypractitioners byvarious means ofcontrol.
Traffickers use not only forcible methods such as physical and sexual violence, but also other means of coercion:
removal of identity documents, threats, social isolation, debt bondage, dependency, voodoo and traditiona l beliefs.
From an immigration perspective, establishing children as ‘smuggled’ and thereby interpreting their migration as
consensual establish them as illegal immigrants involved in a criminal actof‘violation ofstate sovereignty’ (HomeOffice
2013: 7). This approach raises problems for separated migrant children in navigating the UK asylum system, as
highlighted by Crawley (2010a: 167): ‘children are treated with contempt and a lack of basic care when they present
their claims for protection’. The construction of ‘smuggled’ children as ‘consenting illegal immigrants’ employs a
hardened threatdiscoursewhere children are seen to threaten the integrityofimmigration controls,which in turn serves
the state’s interest in controlling and tightening borders, a stated aim of the Modern Slavery Strategy (Home Office
2014).
The notion of ‘consent’ of a child to a smuggling situation, the crux of the decision-making process in identifying an
illegal immigrantor a victim of trafficking, can be contested.Research indicates thatchildren have a lack of choice in
decisions to migrate or even know where they are migrating to (Crawley 2010b).Hopkins and Hill (2006) and Crawley
(2010b) found in their interviews with children that for the majority someone else had made the decision for them to
leave their origin country. Similar findings are reported by Chase etal. (2008),noting that children arrived in the United
Kingdom as young as 9 years old. It is therefore highly questionable to assign or assume the ‘consent’ of the child in
these circumstances when children are not party to the decision to migrate.In doing so, attention may not have been
paid to the family and social circumstances ofthe child leading up to the migration,the dynamics and power relations
within adult–child relationships and their capacity to consent.
At the other polarized end of the ‘victim–threat’ discourse,the construction of ‘trafficked children’ as passive subjects
of exploitation who have been forced or coerced is also problematic. Contrary to victimhood discourses positing
‘trafficked children’ as forciblyremoved,the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that ‘the majorityof children
were enticed or forced by a parentinto trafficking situations;only6% of victims were found to have been kidnapped or
abducted’ (ILO 2007). These findings indicate a more complex picture of home life prior to migrating, and similar to
unaccompanied children deemed to be ‘smuggled’.Familymembers can play a significantrole in children’s migration
across borders and movement inside borders, ‘Family members can force children to migrate, they can (unwillingly)
drive them into an exploitative trafficking situation,or the familyitselfcan be the locus ofabuse and exploitation’ (Breuil
2008:231). Where family members have been party to the decision-making in children’s migration or have themselves
been abusive at home, children may be very reticent in implicating family members when questioned by authorities.
Furthermore, cultural differences in adult–child power relationships, loyalty, trauma, taboos, shame and fear of
repercussions are all likely to affect a child’s narrative about their exploitation.
However, in order for a ‘case’ to be considered as one ofchild trafficking,the means (the threator use offorce or other
forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception) need not have been used, as defined in the UN Trafficking Protocol.
Despite this,in practice, the issue ofassigning consentto a child or trying to establish ifa child has b een coerced is a

11. key determinant in child trafficking practice. This immediately invokes a dichotomous approach of either they are a
passive and deserving ‘victim’ or they are a complicit and undeserving ‘threat’. Face value interpretations of both
consent and coercion are problematic and do not sufficiently address the complexities highlighted in smuggling and
trafficking experiences. The principal concern is that abuse experienced in trafficking may be overlooked due to the
way that the conceptual division has been constructed through policyand practice into a victim –threatdichotomy. This
dichotomy,however, is oversimplifiedand false,as consentis contested,coercion does notneed to be establishedand
the two can overlap. Violence, coercion, deception and exploitation can and do occur within both the trafficking and
smuggling process,withinthe formal and informaleconomyand within the legal andillegal migrantexperience (Bhabha
and Zard 2006).

12. References
Internet
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafficking_of_children
https://www.unicef.org/protection/files/ipulocaltrafficking.pdf
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/142/1_MeetingAbstract/532
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/committees/childrens-rights/articles/2012/introduction-child-trafficking-
us/
https://www.manilatimes.net/2017/06/18/opinion/analysis/human-trafficking-crime-children/333417/333417/
https://www.manilatimes.net/2017/06/18/opinion/analysis/human-trafficking-crime-children/333417/333417/
https://www.seameo.org/vl/combat/7chap.htm
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in-the-philippines-idUSKCN1RR1D1
https://blog.theexodusroad.com/causes-effects-of-human-trafficking
https://www.stairwayfoundation.org/resources/online-resources-on-child-sexual-abuse-and-sex-trafficking/child-sex-
trafficking-victims/
https://www.humanium.org/en/child-trafficking/
https://www.projecttopics.org/causes-effect-child-trafficking-nigeria.htmlhttps://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/human-
trafficking-americas-schools/child-labor-trafficking
https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/59/2/481/5129105
https://academic.oup.com/bjc/article/59/2/481/5129105
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_values