People trafficked into the UK should be seen as victims of exploitation and not illegal immigrants who should be deported, leading academics said yesterday.
The call came as more than 200 international human rights activists, policy makers and academics began a twoday conference at the University of Birmingham discussing women's rights issues.
Dr Christien van den Anker, of the university's Centre for the Study of Global Ethics, said policy makers, police officers and migration officials needed to change their approach when dealing with trafficking victims.
Because victims are treated as illegal immigrants, they were being denied access to support services and usually deported within 48 hours, often back into danger and the hands of traffickers, she added.
"Not only do policy makers and enforcement officials need to address this issue and change working practices, but public opinion surrounding human rights needs to change too," she said.
"It is generally accepted that those trapped working in the sex industry are victims of human rights violations.
"But migrants who are trafficked into the UK and exploited for other types of labour are mainly seen as stealing jobs from British residents instead of people whose human rights have been violated.
"Now it's time to redress the balance. After the Morecambe bay tragedy the Gangmasters Act will give the Government an easier way to prosecute traffickers for forced labour."
Four senior UN officials are scheduled to speak at the conference, including the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in human beings, Sigma Huda.
According to the UN, some four million women are thought to have been trafficked around the world in 2000, including 500,000 into western Europe.
Between 142 and 1,420 women were trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitation such as prostitution, according to a separate Home Office and London Metropolitan University study.
