1. Tighter Border Control
1.1. The government could dedicate more money towards border infrastructure and potentially encourage more private investment into strengthening the borders to make it harder for the perpetrators to traffic victims because every person will have to be accounted for and there will be more security/ police forces present to hinder the ease of victims passing through undetected. Training can also be improved for the policing forces, so that they are more prepared to act on the issue and be ready to capture the perpetrators/ be more aware on how to identify traffickers and victims.
1.1.1. Tighter borders could have an impact on the infrastructure because new roads, for example, would have to be built to reduce the amount of opportunities for traffickers to cross the borders. E.g one road can be created so that this can be monitored effectively 24/7 limiting the different routes for crossing. This, however, would also have an economic impact on a country because the government would have to fund the construction of new infrastructures. New infrastructure for tighter borders could have a political impact because both countries would have to approve of the borders and legally will also have to produce new laws on how the border control operates and what is permitted/not permitted and treatment of perpetrators. Building new infrastructure and roads will have an environmental impact because more space/land will have to be used to create the infrastructures, thus potentially reducing 'green' spaces in countries. New, modern technologies can be used to make the border control better and work in a better way. For example, new camera technologies and facial recognition systems can be used to identify people and provide information to security about that person. Therefore, if known traffickers are identified through the facial identification technologies, border security can arrest straight away and also if a victim is being taken through a border, the security will be able to see where they have come from and question them about who they are travelling with and why they are travelling. This could help reduce trafficking because every person will have to explain their reason for travel and security will be able to identify traffickers and victims of trafficking more easily with new one road infrastructure and new technological advancements and systems. Socially, security forces will have to be aware on how to identify victims of trafficking and also be educated on how to identify potential traffickers and therefore will have to be provided with sufficient training to be able to do so effectively. This will also encounter a further economic impact as the government will have to fund this training. They will also have to be morally prepared to capture the traffickers and treat them appropriately in a professional manner i.e. not being too violent/ aggressive if they are going against what they think is morally correct.
1.1.1.1. Some of the major activities at US borders are "traffic check, traffic observation, city patrol, transportation check, administrative, intelligence, and anti-smuggling activities." "All newly hired Border Patrol Agent Trainees are required to complete a 66-day basic training program which includes instruction in Law, Operations, Driver Training, Physical Techniques, and Firearms. Scenario-Based Training plays a significant role in the trainees' development as it allows them to apply the theoretical information in life like situations." "The establishment of national law enforcement units specialised in human trafficking and the creation of joint European investigation teams to prosecute cross-border trafficking cases." in the European Union. This shows that border control is widely focused upon and around the world, governments are aware of the existing problems of human trafficking and that it needs to be prevented. There is tight security on borders however, traffickers are still finding ways of avoiding being detected at border crossings/alternative routes and so tighter border controls need to be made worldwide to make it harder to go from country to country, with tighter security and new infrastructure such as one road for entry and exit to monitor.
2. Becoming an Informed Consumer
2.1. The government could release informative campaigns which encourage people to become more conscientious and informed consumers. They need to be informed on ‘slavery footprint’ and need to become more aware of how products, such as clothes, were made and how the products were distributed (e.g. who picked the tomatoes). The government, media and schools can be used to produce campaigns and information, encouraging people to look at the department of Labour's List of Goods produced by child labour or forced labour and stop purchasing the goods supplied through human trafficking and modern slavery. The government could encourage companies to investigate and prevent human trafficking within supply chains by publishing the information of the products including supplier and factory lists to increase consumer awareness. This will allow consumers to understand where their products were sourced and hopefully make them more conscious about how to help prevent human trafficking. If the consumption of goods produced from modern slavery is reduced, it will contribute to the reduction of the need for modern slaves/ trafficked victims because there is no demand.
2.1.1. Modern technology i.e the internet, websites, social media can be used to broadcast the information of products and suppliers as technology is used every day as a source of information for people worldwide and will help to encourage people to become informed consumers as the information is provided in an effective manner, that people will see worldwide, as soon as it is published. The government can use their political stance to encourage raising awareness and can economically fund the informative campaigns, encouraging people to read the Labour's List of Goods. The government could also vote in parliament to make it a legal responsibility of every company to investigate their supply chains/ factories to ensure that they are not employing trafficked victims and make it a legal requirement to produce supplier and factory lists including who is employed, how much they are being paid etc. Socially, people will have to be prepared to become informed consumers and take more care understanding where their products came from and how they were made. People need to be educated on the importance of being an informed consumer with raised awareness of the importance of ensuring your products are supplied in a morally correct manner, where everyone is treated fairly and correctly.
2.1.1.1. Many organisations have published or are going to publish statements to comply with the MSA (Modern Slavery Act 2015). As part of this, organisations have to examine their own business and supply chains. Barack Obama’s Executive Order of 2012 on human trafficking states "that federal contractors must not: i) use misleading or fraudulent recruitment practices during the recruitment of employees; ii) charge employees recruitment fees or iii) destroy, conceal, confiscate, or otherwise deny access by an employee to their identity documents." This shows that America is very focused on ensuring businesses are aware of their employees and how their products are being manufactured.
2.1.1.2. There is not much evidence on the average citizen being an informed consumer regarding human trafficking and knowing how the products were made/ who made them. This shows that people need to be more aware and ready to be better informed consumers worldwide to ensure that they are not buying products that were produced from trafficked victims/ modern slavery/ forced trafficked child labour. If people stop buying products made in this way, there will be less demand for trafficked people to work and so could reduce human trafficking.
3. Creating undercover organisations to infiltrate trafficking groups
3.1. By setting up more specialised crime prevention units against human trafficking worldwide, the specialised units can gather information about traffickers from sources including trafficked victims referred to the NRM, who can provide first hand information about the perpetrators and how they were trafficked so that they can identify the traffickers and attempt to infiltrate into the organisations responsible for the trafficking. By infiltrating the trafficking groups, it will be easier to arrest the perpetrators as well as a wider circle of traffickers worldwide. These specialised units can be created worldwide and information can be shared between countries through international agencies to help identify worldwide trafficking groups. This specialised unit can also be used to help to protect victims of trafficking by giving support and reassurance that testifying is important and that they can be kept safe, possibly by getting new identities.
3.1.1. Technology is rapidly advancing and therefore it will be considerably easier to communicate through specialised units worldwide and share information. Technology will also help the units to infiltrate trafficking groups because they will be able to monitor, track and record movements of traffickers to gather evidence and identify their whereabouts. Politically, these specialised units will be run secretly by the government and worldwide, governments will have to agree upon running these prevention units in unison so that each country can work together to identify all the traffickers worldwide. The governments will also have to economically fund these units and salaries, ensuring that there is enough money allocated to the prevention teams and specialised training to be able to appropriately infiltrate into the trafficking groups without being detected. These specialised units will also have to ensure they gather enough, appropriate evidence to be able to convict and legally prosecute the traffickers. The testimonies from trafficked victims will work in hand to prosecute the traffickers and legally form a solid case against the perpetrators. Socially, people will have to be prepared to go undercover, potentially risking their lives and be able to culturally learn the culture into which they are infiltrating, ensuring they 'fit in' appropriately.
3.1.1.1. There are no apparent government organisations with specialised units that infiltrate trafficking groups but if there they are evidently kept secret. However, some people working with charities in the US have been known to "engage in what's known as "raid and rescue" missions: undercover operations with hidden cameras to help local police make arrests and liberate victims in impoverished countries."
4. Stricter Laws -Against Perpetrators and Businesses
4.1. Policy reforms could be put in place to create stricter punishments and sanctions against the perpetrators such as longer prison sentences i.e increasing the sentence from 12-20 years to life imprisonment.
4.1.1. Socially, stricter laws could be used to instil fear into the younger populations because potentially they will be less likely to take the chance of entering the human trafficking 'business' because it's not worth the risk of getting caught. The laws, however will have to reflect what society thinks is morally right and therefore introducing something like the death penalty could go against people's views, being a social problem for society due to lack of agreement. Stricter laws will involve amendments to the current legal system laws and so this solution has a legal influence. Politically, the Houses of Parliament will have to have debates about whether to pass the stricter laws against the perpetrators and whether to permit the law. In a technologically advancing world, if the government proposes and passes new, stricter laws, it will most likely be shared on the internet on websites and also social media, which means that most of the population will know about the laws and hopefully it will prevent them from trafficking.
4.2. Stricter regulations against companies/ businesses who use factories/ sweatshops and ensure they are checking who is employed and where and what circumstances they come from. Reducing employment of trafficked workers will reduce the demand for trafficked people and so could contribute to a decline.
4.2.1. Again, the government would have to propose stricter regulations against companies and they would have to be passed in a political manner. Legally, the laws would have to be created and passed to fit the legal environment and the population will have to morally agree with the new laws including their social beliefs. Using technology they can share the information about the people who the companies are employing and how their products are being made, which can inform the consumers on websites/ social media to become socially aware of how the companies are producing the products.
4.2.1.1. The government in the UK produced the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to produce stricter laws for prosecutions of human traffickers but these laws now need to be updated two years later to better deal with the increasing current situations and prosecute in a stricter manner to help prevent people from human trafficking because the perpetrators are intimidated by a life sentence for example and less likely to commit the crime. Worldwide, the laws need to be stricter and the same for every country to help in the fight against this issue.
4.3. Employ more defence lawyers to prosecute traffickers and allocating more law enforcement officers to pursue legal investigations.
4.3.1. The employment of more defence lawyers will have an economic impact because more money will be needed to provide salaries for the more, newly employed lawyers. Potentially the government will have to fund these salaries for civil servants in the law sector. The government will also have to pass in debate whether having more defence lawyers will contribute to the reduction of human trafficking and so will politically need permission. The lawyers will have to be trained to a high standard and know all the current legal policies regarding human trafficking and should new policies and laws be introduced into the legal system, these lawyers will have to be further trained (i.e. need more funding economically) so that they can prosecute the traffickers in the appropriate legal manner. Socially, it would mean that more people would potentially have to enter a law career and be educated in law, meaning people will have to fund their degrees to get the appropriate legal training.
5. Reducing Poverty
5.1. There are thousands of children who are in poverty and die due to hunger and unclean water. Poverty affects their future and as a result of this human trafficking can happen. The modern slavery/ human trafficking trade preys on children whose families desperately need an income or who have not yet joined adulthood. By reducing poverty, less families, children and even adults in poorer situations will have to resort to being trafficked in a desperate attempt to gain an income. Often they do not even know they are going to be trafficked because they are put under false pretences that they will be given a better life in a more economically stable country and will be given a secure job with a good income.
5.1.1. Provide quality education programs, innovative agricultural programs, clean water projects and small business incubators. Socially, people can be helped worldwide through improved education, raising awareness of how poverty can lead to human trafficking and the importance of ensuring that humans are not trafficked. Technology can be used for teaching methods and to also raise awareness through social media for example about poverty, encouraging people to donate to charities or help by joining charity organisations who work with the people in poverty. It could even become a legal requirement that people have to legally give a small percentage of their wages to help fund the improvement of countries with people in poverty in an attempt to reduce the amount of people who are trafficked worldwide or the government could raise taxes by a small amount to compensate in the country providing help to the countries in poverty. This will economically help reduce poverty because education can be provided as a social factor to help educate the people in poverty, allowing them to enter jobs and improving living conditions e.g. improved water sources and small funds given as business setups will ultimately reduce human trafficking because the people in reduced poverty will no longer have a need to find an alternative source of income. However, politically countries worldwide will have to debate and decide which countries should make it a legal requirement to contribute more money in taxes and politically decide which countries are in need of help in the short term and long term. Socially, more people should also be educated on the importance of reducing poverty and reducing human trafficking and how the two worldwide issues can both be reduced simultaneously and be made more morally aware that people in other places need to be helped and we can do so.
5.1.1.1. Over the last 30 years, extreme poverty worldwide has been reduced by 50%, which means that world poverty is decreasing rapidly and therefore, less people worldwide will be in the position to be trafficked in order to earn an income. This is a good example of richer countries working together to help and support poorer countries by giving money and aid to help improve living conditions (food and water, building schools) and life for the people there.
6. Education
6.1. Make human trafficking part of the national school curriculum.
6.1.1. Curriculum should include the ways that children and adults are trafficked (e.g about grooming), how they become trafficked victims and the signs of others who are victims. This can include case studies and also encouragement for students to get involved with charities etc that are working to reduce and avoid human trafficking. This should be in KS2 and KS3 lessons as it is a difficult topic to deal with but essential to know about from a young age.
6.1.1.1. Technology is rapidly advancing and has become a worldwide part of child education and the lives of children nowadays and therefore children need to further be educated on internet safety, the signs of human trafficking and against the negative consequences of the internet and what can happen to unaware, unsuspecting children e.g grooming.
6.1.1.2. It needs to become a policy/ law that human trafficking is a part of the national school curriculum. The government needs to politically address this and realise that educating the younger population will hopefully help to the fight against human trafficking, stop children being trafficked and also gaining awareness and help towards further reducing the problem. The introduction of human trafficking onto the school curriculum will have to be agreed upon in political debates within the education department of the government.
6.1.1.2.1. Human trafficking is already a part of the national school curriculum in some states in America e.g Florida and also is part of the primary school curriculum in Slovenia. This is raising awareness amongst children and shows that education about human trafficking is important from a young age and needs to be introduced worldwide. There are also drama groups who are trained on human trafficking and to deliver and act out scenarios of human trafficking so that children in schools (currently in year 8) can visually see what they have been educated about. This also leads to further questions being addressed by students, which allows them to become more aware. This happens in Monmouthshire, South Wales and has already proved to be effective and educational for the students.
6.1.1.3. Economically, introducing human trafficking on the national school curriculum could cost the government because it would involve the training of people teachers to deliver the information, work with children, pay for the new programs and collaborate with the national governmental education department. However, it will ultimately be an invaluable way of ensuring the safety of children by empowering them with vital knowledge and hopefully help reduce the human trafficking rate by raising social awareness for the safety for themselves and the people/peers around them.
6.2. Educate the local community about signs and causes of human trafficking by holding information sessions in a local town hall.
6.2.1. Running regular sessions for the community will help to bring the community socially together to understand the increasing issue of human trafficking, how to identify signs of victims within the community and how to refer them for support and help. It economically will not cost too much because the community will share their knowledge freely.
6.2.1.1. An organisation called United Against Human Trafficking is run in Houston in the USA and provides presentations to local communities, informing them about the issue and what it looks like in the community.
6.3. Educate parents, carers, teachers and school administrators on how traffickers target school aged children and introduce them to protection methods and how grooming can happen online, for example. Also educating them of the increase of human trafficking worldwide.
6.3.1. A large majority of adults nowadays use technology to communicate with others and as a form of finding out information and therefore, social media apps could be used to distribute information regarding human trafficking, modern slavery as well as child trafficking. Posters in local community stores/ village halls/ schools can also be put up for people to read, auditory radio talks and for visual learners, more TV documentaries can be created to inform people in a technologically advancing world, on the causes, factors and consequences of human trafficking. The government could fund these documentaries economically and can use their political power to highlight the importance of this serious situation that needs resolving.
6.3.1.1. Parents are informed in Northern Virginia, USA through an organisation called SCAN which provide resources such as the "Parent's guide to preventing child trafficking". This shows that parental awareness is important.
6.4. Educate businesses, individuals, law enforcement and civil servants on how to identify potential victims, provide support and potential victims could share their personal experience stories so that the government/ charities can identify how they were trafficked and potentially collect information on the perpetrators.
6.4.1. The government can use political resources to economically fund and provide the training of citizens on these factors using various teaching methods, including technology (internet/computers) to give them a better knowledge and understanding of the severity of this issue. The more people that are aware of the human trafficking situation worldwide could ultimately help to reduce the increase because more people understand the situation, how to help victims and also know the importance of fighting against it, so they could join police forces/ charities working against perpetrators. Using technology will help lots of people to learn because technology is so common today and a learning tool for many, so using teaching methods including technology will help keep learners engaged and informed.
6.4.1.1. There is not much evidence of general companies and citizens of countries (except for the likes of social services in the UK) being informed in the workplace about human trafficking and how to identify potential victims and this shows that it is necessary to introduce education within workplaces in countries about human trafficking and identification of victims to ensure people are aware and able to get someone help should they need it.