Number of revealed victims of human trafficking has already doubled from last year

More and more asylum-seekers looking to become helpers of human trading victims

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This year nearly twice as many people have already been included in the system assisting victims of illegal trading in humans as in the entire year of 2009.
      The help system now has 51 clients, 36 of whom are entries from this year. In the whole of last year 19 people were included in the programme.
     
The underage victims of human trafficking are directed to the Oulu Reception Centre and the rest to a corresponding facility in Joutseno.
      Deputy Director Antti Jäppinen of the Joutseno reception centre believes that the growth is explained by the fact that the authorities and various aid organisations are now more aware of the help system.
      “In practice, a victim is always directed within the scope of the system by someone else”, Jäppinen adds.
      Education regarding recognising trademarks of trading in humans and how to guide the victims to the help organisation has been organised by a working group set up by the government a year and a half ago.
     
This year more and more people with an asylum-seeker background have sought to take part in the training.
      According to Jäppinen, most of the victims are so-called Dublin cases, in other words people who, before Finland, have earlier sought asylum from another EU country.
      “A great majority of them are young women of African origin, who have been victims of human trafficking for example in Italy and Spain”, Jäppinen says.
      Human trafficking is not simply about the bringing of people illegally into a country for work, but often involves an element of forced labour or sexual exploitation and complete violation of their human rights.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Main accused admits record-large human trafficking in Helsinki court (2.11.2010)
  Cases investigated as procurement in Finland could qualify as human trafficking elsewhere (1.8.2008)
  Police say many well-known hotels used by Russian prostitution ring (19.10.2007)

See also:
  Sharp rise in illegal immigration (12.2.2010)

Links:
  Humantrafficking.fi in English

Helsingin Sanomat