§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment the Government have made of the extent of trafficking in women and girls; from which areas of the world this trafficking is most extensive; and what measures Her Majesty's Government are supporting to tackle this. [130694]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Home Office has recently published a ground-breaking study, which establishes for the first time the possible extent of trafficking in women into this country: 'Stopping Traffic: Exploring the extent of, and responses to, trafficking in women for sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom.' That study indicates164W that 18 trafficking cases were identified by the police during 1998, involving 71 women. The majority of those women claimed to come from Europe and the remainder from Brazil and Thailand. The study indicates that these figures do not reveal the full extent of this phenomenon and makes a number of recommendations about tackling it. These are currently being considered by the Government.