Monday, May 05, 2008

Internal Trafficking in the UK



By Ben Ando

From the BBC:


The young man is dark and good looking; the girl strikingly beautiful. They are talking, joking and sharing a meal in a city centre cafe.

But this is no teenage date.

Outside on the pavement a large film camera is recording, while out-of-shot riggers, set assistants and the director look on. The BBC has been invited to the set of a film sponsored by the Home Office and other organisations, including the UK Human Trafficking Centre and Streetreach - a support group for prostitutes.

When completed, the film will be shown in schools across Britain to warn youngsters about the recently identified problem of "internal trafficking" in which British schoolgirls - some as young as 12 - are seduced by older teenage boys who then pass them on into prostitution.

Writer and director Virginia Heath says she threaded together real events into a fictional storyline. "I did a lot or research. Much of the script comes out of stories told to me directly by some of the girls, or by those who have been looking after them."

The cafe scene depicts the male character, Raz, buying a meal for Jade - the girl at the centre of the story.


"The whole process of enticement can be exciting for the girl - I wanted to depict that. She's excited because she's exploring new things," adds Virginia.


Read the full article

See a video on the story here

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