Catherine Welcomes the Police crackdown on illegal trafficking
October 4, 2007 7:00 AM
Posters from the 'The Truth Isn't Sexy' campaign now in venues in Oxford
Catherine welcomes the new initiative codenamed 'Pentameter 2' yesterday as police crackdown on human trafficking across Britain and the Irish Republic.
Police are now aiming to rescue women and children who are forced to work in the sex industry.
"However, I am disappointed that the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith could not give any guarantee of safe haven for the rescued girls. If they are returned as illegal immigrants they are vulnerable to further abuse and persecution." Catherine said, "The government has not committed resources to protect rescued girls and children. It is a shocking indictment of our society that we are not prepared to care for people who have experienced such abuse".
"The Liberal Democrat MEPs campaigned for the UK government to sign up to the Council of Europe's Convention on Human Trafficking, which they have belatedly now done, but it seems that they are still not committed to the spirit of the convention. A common and integrated approach across Europe is the only way we will stop women and children are being forced into prostitution across the EU."
Catherine has been actively supporting the campaign 'The Truth Isn't Sexy' which aims to alert the users of these women that they may not be consenting to sex. "As with all trade, there are suppliers and customers, and getting the customers to think and ask questions before they buy sex is also important to reducing the abuse" added Catherine.
The operation, Codenamed Pentameter 2, involves all 55 police forces in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and the dedicated UK Human Trafficking Centre in Sheffield. However the project called Poppy has only 15 beds for rescued girls in the country.
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