A local organization, Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT), in the United Kingdom has intensified its fight against human trafficking in the city. A news report in Croydon Today by Georgie Keate titled Human trafficking rife in Croydon, say experts revealed that people are being trafficked from other Europe and other countries into the UK, as well as within the UK. Croydon is popular for human trafficking because it is a border town. According to the reports, thousands of people seeking asylum and refugees are vulnerable victims of human trafficking. Situated in the South of London, Croydon is a borough where women bear the brunt of this illegal trade, perpetuated by trafficking rings who sell them for sex and strip them of their freedom through imprisonment and fear.

Peter Cox, a member of the CCAT told newsmen that the agency refers victims for help by calling on the police to rescue them. According to him, “in 2009, the National Referral Mechanism was brought in. It gives trafficked people 45 days’ shelter while agencies work out whether it is safe for them to return home. Before that, victims were often treated like illegal immigrants and shipped back to where they came from where they were either murdered, shamed or recycled back into the trade.”

In addition, CCAT leads a group of intelligence gatherers who scout out potential places harboring trafficked people, gain details by calling as clients and then, every two months, pass the data to police. Normally, the charity hands over around 20 to 30 suspicious addresses each time.

Source – Croydon Today: http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Human-trafficking-rife-Croydon-say-experts/story-19145418-detail/story.html#axzz2UylZmeI6

Croydon Clock Tower source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Croydon_clocktower.jpg