Landmark laws to tackle criminals who smuggle vulnerable people into Scotland have been passed by Holyrood after a four-year campaign by a Dundee-based MSP.
The Human Trafficking Bill, first proposed by Labour’s Jenny Marra, will introducing a new single offence to bring those traffickers to justice, as well as guaranteeing victims support.
Those pedalling misery through the crime will be given life sentences under the new laws.
Ms Marra said: “Unrest in the Middle East and other parts of the world has created a boom in the business of trafficking and everyone can see the victims of the traffickers on our screens every night, and there is a focus on the traffickers and the consequences of their exploitation.
“That is why this bill is both timely and welcome but it can only be a start in cracking down on the traffickers.
“It must be followed up with enforcement and education, ensuring our doctors, lawyers, social workers and other public servants can understand and respond to trafficking victims.”
Justice secretary Michael Matheson, who adopted the bill and guided it through Holyrood, said a Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy is being developed to raise awareness and unearth criminals. “Scotland’s law enforcement agencies now have greater tools in their armoury to bring those responsible for human trafficking and exploitation to justice,” he added.
Police Scotland Deputy Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said the new laws send a “clear signal to those who choose to exploit and enslave others” that police see catching them as a top priority.
A leading anti-trafficking charity, CARE for Scotland, was one of a number to hail the bill as a “major step forward in the fight against modern-day slavery” but it added a failure to ban paying for sex was a “glaring one”.
Its parliamentary officer, Dr Gordon Macdonald, said: “There is no doubt demand for paid sex is one of the main drivers behind human trafficking and so the Scottish Government should give serious consideration to introducing new legislation to facilitate this at the earliest opportunity.”
Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell welcomed changes to the bill which extend the provision of a guardian to children vulnerable to trafficking.