29th Parliamentary-Intelligence Security Forum – Human Trafficking And its Role in Sponsoring Terrorism

Honorable Dame Karen Bradley, Chair of the Home Affairs Committee in the United Kingdom, addressed the intersection of human trafficking and terrorism. She began by highlighting state-sponsored trafficking, citing examples such as the forced movement of migrants to the Polish border by Russia, Boko Haram’s kidnapping of girls, and the abduction of nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children by Russia. Bradley emphasized that human trafficking is primarily a financial crime, exploiting individuals for profit through sex work, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation, with the generated revenue potentially funding terrorism.

She outlined the UK’s approach to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking, structured around the “four Ps”: Pursue catch offenders, Prevent stop potential perpetrators, Protect shield potential victims, and Prepare support victims after exploitation. Bradley stressed a victim-centered approach, ensuring that victims receive support, can recognize their victimization, and provide evidence to prosecute criminals.

She highlighted the need to break down silos in law enforcement. She noted that agencies often separately tackle terrorism and human trafficking, missing critical intersections between the crimes. She advocated for a holistic, cross-agency approach that examines potential links between different criminal activities.

She also underscored the importance of following the money through public-private partnerships. Financial institutions, she argued, play a key role in preventing traffickers from profiting. She gave the example of Pornhub, where credit card companies pressured the platform to remove illegal content, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeting financial incentives. Bradley concluded by emphasizing collaboration between security and financial experts to identify and disrupt the financial networks that enable human trafficking and terrorism.