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NRM Statistical Data 1st April 2009 – 31st December 2010[1]

The National Referral Mechanism was introduced in 2009 as part of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. The NRM creates a minimum 45-day reflection and recovery period for victims of human trafficking. Trained experts decide whether cases referred to them should be considered to be victims of trafficking according to the definition in the Council of Europe Convention.

What is a Reasonable Grounds Decision?

Where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person referred could be a victim of human trafficking (a positive Reasonable Grounds decision has been made) the potential victim could be given a place within a ‘safe house.’ The potential victim will then enter a reflection period, which lasts for 45 days. This allows the victim to begin to recover from their ordeal and to reflect on what they want to do next. The next steps could be to co-operate with police enquiries or to be returned home, however this reflection period allows for these decisions to be made with consideration. It also allows the competent authority team to make a more conclusive decision on whether the referred person is truly a victim.

What is a Conclusive Decision?

Conclusive Grounds decisions are only considered when a positive Reasonable Grounds decision has been made. In making the ‘conclusive’ decision the competent authority will consider the information provided to them to make a full and conclusive decision on whether the person referred is a victim of human trafficking. The NRM is the mechanism that will enable the UKHTC to identify the number of victims of this crime and to build a clearer picture about the scale of the problem of human trafficking in the UK.

Nationality / Referrals as at 31/12/10 / Positive RG Decision / Positive CG Decision
Nigeria / 216 / 102 / 40
China / 149 / 71 / 24
Vietnam / 120 / 77 / 26
Slovakia / 57 / 50 / 39
Czech Republic / 54 / 43 / 38
UK / 51 / 49 / 44
Uganda / 42 / 23 / 12
Romania / 40 / 30 / 25
India / 37 / 27 / 6
Albania / 30 / 15 / 11
Bangladesh / 26 / 18 / 10
Sierra Leone / 26 / 17 / 10
Zimbabwe / 26 / 13 / 3
Lithuania / 21 / 18 / 12
Somalia / 21 / 10 / 6
Total / 916 / 563 / 306

During the first 21 months of the NRM (1st April 2009 to 31st December 2010) there were 1254 referrals made. The table below provides a breakdown of referrals by nationality (reflecting the 15 highest represented nationalities), Reasonable Grounds (RG) and Conclusive Grounds (CG) decisions.

The table below provides a breakdown of adult referrals by exploitation type, Reasonable Grounds (RG) and Conclusive Grounds (CG) decisions. Conclusive Grounds decisions are only considered when a positive Reasonable Grounds decision has been made. In this period there were 527 positive RG Decisions with the table reflecting adult exploitation.

Exploitation Type / Referrals at
31/12/10 / Positive RG Decision / Positive CG Decision
Domestic Servitude / 175 / 102 / 42
Labour Exploitation / 267 / 183 / 122
Sexual Exploitation / 438 / 235 / 121
Unknown exploitation / 52 / 7 / 2
Total / 932 / 527 / 287

The table below shows a breakdown of minor referrals by exploitation type, Reasonable Grounds (RG) and Conclusive Grounds (CG) decisions. Conclusive Grounds decisions are only considered when a positive Reasonable Grounds decision has been made. In this period, there were 217 positive RG Decisions with the table reflecting exploitation of minors. [2]

Exploitation Type / Age Range at
Date of Referral / Referrals at
31/12/10 / Positive RG Decision / Positive CG Decision
Sexual Exploitation / Under 10 / 0 / 0 / 0
10 to 11 / 0 / 0 / 0
12 to 15 / 37 / 33 / 25
16 to 17 / 56 / 41 / 29
Over 18 / 6 / 5 / 5
Labour Exploitation / Under 10 / 6 / 5 / 1
10 to 11 / 1 / 1 / 1
12 to 15 / 33 / 24 / 9
16 to 17 / 53 / 36 / 15
Over 18 / 5 / 0 / 0
Domestic Servitude / Under 10 / 2 / 1 / 1
10 to 11 / 1 / 1 / 1
12 to 15 / 17 / 15 / 11
16 to 17 / 20 / 17 / 11
Over 18 / 4 / 3 / 1
Unknown Exploitation / Under 10 / 13 / 4 / 0
10 to 11 / 7 / 2 / 0
12 to 15 / 23 / 10 / 6
16 to 17 / 36 / 18 / 5
Over 18 / 2 / 1 / 0
Total / 322 / 217 / 121

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[1] The information is taken from NRM data recorded as at 31st March 2011.

[2] Figures are based on the age at the date of referral. Individuals may have originally been referred as minors, but an age assessment has determined them as adults, resulting in a change in the recorded exploitation type. Individuals may have also been referred when the potential victim of trafficking was an adult at the date of referral; however the trafficking occurred when the individual was a minor. This may result in the case being recorded as exploitation as a minor, but age at date of referral e.g. is 20 years of age.