关键词：儿童拐卖 贩毒
英国公益组织Transform数据显示，2019年有1173名儿童被毒贩奴役。2019年1月至12月的数据显示，内政部估计的1853名被贩卖到非法毒品生意的人中，大多数是儿童。Transform将从英国内政部获得的统计数据在周四被发布，用以纪念英国打击人口买卖世界日。
Transform表示，从2018年开始，英国被贩卖从事毒品交易的儿童数量大幅增加，是一个日益严重的问题。它将这一增长归咎于英国全国对毒品业务的日益关注。
2018年，内政部的数据显示，721人是“郡线”贸易的受害者。去年，这一数字上升到1139人，其中包括1001名儿童。
这些数据来自英国内政部严重和有组织犯罪集团（SOCG）部门。他们的数据还显示，被迫非法从事大麻种植的儿童或未成年人人数从2018年的146人上升到去年的156人。
哈维·斯莱德（Harvey Slade）是毒品政策基金会（Transform Drug policy Foundation）的研究和政策官员，他说：“非法毒品交易为有组织犯罪集团提供了无与伦比的收入来源。
“目前的做法是派警察来逮捕并扣押毒品，但我们知道，经过50年的努力，这是行不通的。这些新的统计数据显示，有组织犯罪集团正在利用年轻人和弱势群体，以逃避执法部门的侦查，并使利润最大化。”
斯莱德说，在英国，越来越多的人，特别是儿童，被当作“毒奴”贩卖，这凸显了对毒品的替代方法的必要性。
“为了打击这种可怕的剥削行为，我们需要重新控制毒品市场，并对其进行法律监管。我们需要像处理合法供应链一样应对这一问题：提供报告和监测程序，并将易受伤害的儿童排除在贸易之外。
Transform认为，已经进行了半个多世纪的“禁毒战争”适得其反，只会使世界各地的有组织犯罪更加丰富。
评论
近年来，英国的禁毒方法为派警察逮捕毒贩并扣押毒品。然而，这样的方法出现了弊端。为了躲避政府监管，贩毒组织开始买入被拐卖的儿童及其他弱势群体进行贩毒，被买卖的人口数量巨大，其中儿童高达一千多人。在这个过程中，贩毒组织对这些儿童及弱势群体进行奴役和剥削，会对其身心造成极大伤害。为了避免这种情况，政府及相关部门应加强监管的同时选择正确的缉毒方式，对供应链提供检测和报告，减少此类事件的发生，切实保护儿童的安全。
原文链接：
撰稿：李笑然
翻译：任书仪
编辑：任书仪
More than 1,100 children trafficked to UK drug trade sites
Keywords: Child abduction, Drug trafficking
1,173 children were enslaved by drug traffickers in 2019, according to UK charity Transform. Figures from January to December 2019 show that most of the 1,853 people estimated by the Home Office to have been trafficked into the illegal drugs business were children. The statistics, which Transform will obtain from the Home Office, were released on Thursday to mark the UK’s crackdown on human trafficking World Day.
Transform said that the significant increase in the number of children being trafficked for the drug trade in the UK from 2018 is a growing problem. It attributed this increase to a growing national concern about the drugs business in the UK.
In 2018, Home Office figures show that 721 people were victims of the ‘county line’ trade. Last year, that number rose to 1,139, including 1,001 children.
The figures come from the UK Home Office’s Serious and Organised Crime Group (SOCG) unit. Their figures also show that the number of children or minors forced to work illegally in cannabis cultivation rose from 146 in 2018 to 156 last year.
Harvey Slade, a research and policy officer at the Transform Drug policy Foundation, said: “The illegal drug trade provides an unparalleled source of income for organised crime groups.
“Current practice is to send in the police to arrest and seize drugs, but we know that after 50 years of trying, that’s not working. These new statistics show that organised crime groups are taking advantage of young and vulnerable people to evade detection by law enforcement and maximise their profits.”
Slade said that the increasing number of people, especially children, being trafficked as “drug slaves” in the UK underlines the need for alternatives to drugs.
“To combat this terrible exploitation, we need to regain control of the drugs market and legally regulate it. We need to tackle this as we do the legal supply chain: provide reporting and monitoring procedures, and exclude vulnerable children from the trade.
Transform argues that the “war on drugs”, which has been waged for more than half a century, has been counterproductive and has only enriched organized crime around the world.
Comment
In recent years, Britain’s anti-drug approach has consisted of sending police officers to arrest drug dealers and seize drugs. However, there has been a downside to this approach. In order to evade government oversight, drug trafficking organizations have begun to buy and sell children and other vulnerable people, including up to a thousand children, into the drug trade. In the process, these children and other vulnerable groups are enslaved and exploited, causing great physical and psychological harm to them. In order to avoid such situations, Governments and relevant authorities should strengthen monitoring and choose the right drug interdiction methods and provide monitoring and reporting on the supply chain to reduce the occurrence of such incidents and ensure the safety of children.
Reference(s):
Writer：Xiaoran Li
Translator：Shuyi Ren
Editor：Shuyi Ren
