The first case to be held in the UK involving the trafficking of a minor was held in London on 21 June. Because there is no law in the UK against trafficking - either for sexual exploitation or for forced labour, the Albanian trafficker could not be charged with the whole offence.

However, he was found guilty of living off immoral earnings, an offence that usually carries a two-year sentence, and because "Natasha" pressed charges, he was also found guilty of rape and indecent assault.

"Natasha" (not her real name), now 16, was sold multiple times, forced into prostitution and trafficked to six countries in Europe, including England.

When she was 15 years old, a family friend offered to help her leave Romania in order to escape her abusive father. Unknown to her, the "friend" was a trafficker. She was taken from Romania to Yugoslavia, and then on to Macedonia and forced into prostitution. After six months, she was bought for DM4,000 (aprox. US$1,900) and taken to Albania. Her new Albanian traffickers then took her to Italy where she was again, forced into prostitution.

After several months, she was bought by another Albanian who took her to Rome. Using a false passport declaring she was 22 years old, he took her to Brussels where they boarded a ferry to England and onto London.

Through violence, he forced her to work as a prostitute in London's saunas and private flats. While working in a sauna, she heard some of the other girls saying that she could escape and get help from the police. Despite initially not believing them, she called the sauna's owner who offered to help her and they contacted the police.

Natasha is now being looked after by Social Services and has been given exceptional leave to remain in the country. Her trafficker will be sentenced later
this year.

It is vital that in cases like Natasha's - whether they concern a minor or adult - traffickers are prosecuted under a law that takes into account the full range of
abuses they inflict: deception, abduction, detention, coercion, and in many instances, rape and other abuses. The UK needs to adopt a law that not only outlaws all trafficking, whether for sexual exploitation or forced labour, but ensures support
for all victims of trafficking.