Jenny J. Pearce, Patricia Hynes and Silvie Bovarnick: Trafficked Young People: Breaking the Wall of Silence

Excerpt

In Trafficked Young People: Breaking the Wall of Silence authors Pearce, Hynes, and Bovarnick explain the complications in understanding, confronting, and treating trafficked young people who are moved into and within the UK. The authors convey three main themes. First, the trafficking of young people should be understood as child abuse, a child protection issue, and not an immigration issue. Second, trafficked young people are not smuggled, but are victims of exploitation. Third, the best method for aiding a young trafficked person from victim to agency is to help them establish a positive, trustworthy relationship with a key worker, or guardian, who acts as a smaller unit of a multi-agency specialist group. The authors’ book draws on empirical research to highlight the complexities and incorrect assumptions that continue to prevail and hinder the ability of practitioners to treat the issue of child trafficking effectively. …