South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth is backing a new awareness campaign to highlight the increasing number of victims of human trafficking being identified in Scotland and to warn that the crime isn’t just confined to large cities.

For the first time, the locations of where victims of human trafficking have been identified over the last five years have been pinpointed and include 27 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities, with Annan and Dumfries some of the several towns highlighted by the Scottish Government as locations where victims have been found.

Organisations backing the campaign, including Police Scotland, Migrant Help and Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA).

Commenting on the campaign South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth said, “This is an important campaign for our area because I suspect many people simply dismiss this as a problem in the big cities. The reality is human trafficking is happening closer to home than most people think and it is vital for local people to report any concerns or suspicious behavior they see in their communities. Trafficking is an appalling crime involving not only adults being traded and exploited, often sexually, but also children. Tackling trafficking needs to be a priority for Police Scotland, but we all have a role to play, that’s why it is important to raise awarness of this campaign.”

Details of the new campaign can be found at https://news.gov.scot/news/human-trafficking-is-closer-to-home-than-most-scots-think