Crime Reduction Toolkits

Trafficking of People

Media handling and awareness raising

The media can be helpful in a variety of ways including awareness raising. It can therefore be helpful to take a proactive approach to the media where there are concerns, for example, about particular nationality groups. On the other hand they can be unhelpful during particular specific investigations.

It is beneficial for multi-agency groups to work together to develop an agreed media management plan. This can include:

• information on what each agency has done;
   

• an agreed response to frequently asked questions;
   

• an agreed means of updating one another, particularly on statistics, to ensure a consistent and credible response. 

The press have a tendency to criminalise the victims in their reporting and it is important to counter this, as public sympathy needs to be engaged if victims are to be better helped and encouraged to come forward. 

Members of the public need to be made aware of the extent and nature of trafficking in people. They may then help report incidences to the police or voluntary sector. This can be particularly relevant to clients of victims trafficked into prostitution, where there have been examples of clients wanting to help the victim (possibly anonymously).  Crimestoppers telephone numbers may be helpful to include in awareness campaigns. 

Staff from statutory agencies must be aware of their own organisational structures for media handling. In the event of a public awareness campaign it is likely that most calls will concern smuggling rather than trafficking.