Making his first speech to the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) Women’s Conference since his appointment as General Secretary, Grahame Smith today (Wednesday 14 November 2007) spoke of the challenges faced by the trade union movement in highlighting and combating human trafficking in Scotland. He reminded delegates that much of Scotland’s prosperity in recent centuries was achieved on the foundation of slavery and drew parallels with the vile trafficking trade of the 21st Century.
In a wide ranging speech, Grahame Smith told delegates:
“It is an indictment of Scottish society that it has taken the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery to force us to confront this shameful part of our history and culture particularly when so much of its legacy is part of our day-to-day lives.
“It is almost beyond belief that all of these things continue today with victims of trafficking being predominantly women and children. Although some people are trafficked into forced labour, 90% of trafficking is for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and women and girls account for 98% of this.
The UK is a major destination for these women and children who have been trafficked into prostitution.
He continued:
“In welcoming the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow we must be wary of the opportunity that traffickers will see from profiting from such a major sporting event, be it through women to meet an increased demand for commercial sexual exploitation during the games, or supplying forced labour for the construction of new facilities. These are issues that the trade union movement must confront in the run up to the games.
“Human trafficking exists within a complex economic and cultural context but it is also a product of the power that men have over women and children. Overcoming this imbalance of power requires collective, not individual action and a coordinated response by governments, by unions and others.
“I congratulate the STUC Women’s Committee on the initiatives it has taken to raise awareness on this issue,”
ENDS
For further information, contact:
Kevin Buchanan – 0141 337 8100