An opinion piece raises concerns that people traffickers may be using mothers and toddlers as shields during migrant crossings. The article describes seeing a toddler in a babygrow being hauled aboard a large migrant dinghy by men, and suggests this could indicate a new tactic involving women and children.
The source attributes the implication to the visual evidence and links it to broader debates about how trafficking networks operate and how authorities respond. It also criticizes a politician’s reaction in the piece, portraying it as insufficient to address the alleged tactic.
Because the item is presented as opinion, its claims are framed as questions and interpretations rather than established findings. Based on the limited information provided, other outlets are not included here to confirm whether traffickers are definitively using “human shield” tactics.