Heather Bellamy interviewed Steve Chalke about the campaign to stop the sale of people

(d) "Child" shall mean any person under eighteen years of age;

(e) "Victim" shall mean any natural person who is subject to Traffiking in human beings as defined in this article.

Heather: So how did Stop The Traffik begin?

Steve: A number of staff within Oasis had been thinking about the issues of trafficking for some years. Oasis is deeply involved in the care of women that have been trafficked for sex through our work in India. However, in the end it was the story of two children ages 7 and 9 which triggered the response which eventually lead to the setting up of the STT coalition as other agencies joined us. This is it:

Railway station in Mumbia, India

Prjua, aged 9 and her brother Ajay, a boy aged 7, lived on Thane train station in Mumbai, India with their parents who were both alcoholics. Prjua and Ajay were regular attendees of the Asha Deep Day Centre, run by Oasis India, where they learnt to read and write and were given the opportunity to play. After attending daily for 3-months they disappeared. The project staff went to look for them. Prjua and Ajay's father told how a man had come and offered money for them and that he had sold them for the equivalent of $30. That was the last the father and the staff of Asha Deep Day Centre heard of them. In that area of Mumbai every 2-3 months children disappear, are kidnapped or sold into prostitution, forced labour, adoption or child sacrifice.

Heather: You have a number of high profile supporters, who's come on board?

Steve: We now number more than 250 organisations, including clubs, faith groups, businesses and NGOs around the world. The coalition covers over 40 countries including: Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Czech Republic, Eire, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Lebanon, Moldavia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, USA.

Daniel Bedingfield (Photo: European Parliament)

We have so far received over 10,000 signed Declaration Cards. We have also received signed cards from a number of celebrities including Anita Roddick, Sir Richard Branson, Baronness Cox, William Hague, Sir Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Jim Wallace, Tony Campolo, Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield and over 200 Members of the European Parliament.

Heather: What happens to people when they are trafficked, are they effectively slaves for the rest of their lives and who does it mainly affect?

Steve: Human trafficking involves the movement of people through violence, deception or coercion for the purpose of forced labour, servitude or slavery-like practices. It is slavery because traffickers use violence, threats, and other forms of coercion to force their victims to work against their will. This includes controlling their freedom of movement, where and when they will work and what pay, if any, they will receive.

Men, women and children are all victims of trafficking; although approximately 80 per cent are women and girls. Up to 50% are minors.

Some people will remain enslaved for the rest of their lives, some are rescued, some escape, some are given their Freedom.

Heather: Which countries are the most affected and why? Are they being specifically targeted to deal with the problem?

Steve: Trafficking is a global problem affecting every continent and most countries. It occurs within and across national borders.

Due to the hidden and illegal nature of human trafficking, gathering statistics on the scale of the problem is a complex and difficult task. There are no reliable national or international estimates as to the extent of trafficking. Figures are usually counted in the countries that people are trafficked into and often fail to include those who are trafficked within their own national boarders. However, it's estimated that 600,000-800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international boarders each year.