Internal Trafficking of young teenage girls exposed as a crime
Why it is important for us to take action on ‘Internal Trafficking’
Unlike the external trafficking of people across international borders, internal trafficking (recently referred to as street grooming) is a hidden crime. Internal trafficking is a growing, but ignored or misunderstood crime in the UK, Canada, Holland, France, Australia, the USA and beyond. Few of us realise that some of the most vulnerable members of our own communities are being sexually exploited and trafficked from one city to another. But it is happening all around us, right here, right now.
It is important to understand the sexual exploitation and movement of young people around our cities as Internal Trafficking or street grooming because we all understand that sex trafficking is a crime. It makes it much clearer to see that young, sexually trafficked girls are the victims of a crime. It helps to change perceptions of these girls amongst the public, social workers and police who have often seen them as young prostitutes. It is also easier for the police to prosecute perpetrators under specific sex trafficking offences.
