Reinforcing Assistance to Child Victims of Trafficking in Europe (ReACT)

ReACT is a partnership project between ECPAT groups in the UK, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany aiming to increase the capacity of representatives (guardians and lawyers) of child victims of trafficking to provide appropriate support and uphold the rights of trafficked children during legal proceedings in key trafficking destination countries.

The project supports trafficked children and their representatives (guardians and lawyers) by:

Delivering a practical research programme that focuses on guardianship systems for child victims of trafficking involved in legal procedures in five Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and UK)
Developing multidisciplinary training modules that promote minimum standards for guardians and lawyers regarding child victims of trafficking, including specific modules relating to their roles and responsibilities
Providing training for guardians (or other representatives according to the country) and lawyers on child victims of trafficking involved in legal procedures at national level in five Member States
Producing child-friendly information tools for child victims of trafficking in order to inform children of their rights as children, and as child victims of trafficking
Advocating to ensure effective legal guardianship for child victims of trafficking in EU Member States and to integrate information and training on trafficking in the curriculum of new guardians and lawyer.

The UK coordinated a dissemination event for the research produced as part of the ReACT Project, which was held in the Netherlands in January 2017 with participants from five countries and delegates from the Separated Children in Europe Programme.

Funded by the European Union

Latest news and research

Lighting the way: Steps that lawyers, legal guardians and child trafficking advocates in the UK can take to better identify and protect children who may have been trafficked

In this report published by ECPAT's ReACT project, expert children's rights lawyer Nadine Finch offers practical guidance for professionals and authorities to improve the care of children who may have been trafficked, including embedding the National Referral Mechanism within existing child protection systems, consistently applying the presumption of age requirement and providing specialist training on trafficking and exploitation for all child protection professionals.

CLICK HERE to download the report

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Better support, better protection: Steps lawyers and guardians can take to better identify and protect trafficked children

Many guardians and lawyers working with children do not have the experience and training to identify when these children may have been trafficked or are at risk of trafficking, according to Better support, better protection: Steps lawyers and guardians can take to better identify and protect trafficked children - a ReACT Project report based on research in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

CLICK HERE to download the report

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Films

Through the ReACT project, we have produced a child friendly short film, aimed at informing child trafficking victims about their rights and how to find help. The film is available in eleven different languages.

CLICK HERE to watch the ReACT film in eleven languages

Behind the behaviour: Identifying the criminal exploitation of migrant children is a short film produced through the ReACT project. The film highlights how migrant children who are criminally exploited may not be easily recognised as victims by frontline services in the UK. These children may be afraid to talk about their experiences or present challenging behaviour, and often this leads to them being criminalised instead of receiving the support they need to recover from their trauma.

Latest

Joint statement on the treatment of unaccompanied children in response to Chief Inspectorate reports

ECPAT UK has joined 19 other organisations in continuing the call for an independent inquiry into the treatment of unaccompanied children following the publication of outstanding reports including the reinspection of Home Office hotels, by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
VIDEO EVENT - Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK.

Launch event of our latest report, ‘Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK', with ECPAT UK and Rights Lab on 26 February 2024.
ECPAT UK Expresses Deep Concern Over Dismissal of Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration  Amidst Unpublished Report on Unaccompanied Children in Home Office Hotels

Raising serious concerns about the UK government's accountability and commitment to child protection, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, has been dismissed by the Home Office.
Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK.

New research report reveals the alarming reality of child modern slavery in the UK and calls for urgent action to protect children and young people.

ECPAT UK secures support from Propel funding collaboration to reach more young victims

ECPAT UK has secured a grant from the Greater London Authority through the Propel initiative to support the charity’s Youth Programme and provide high quality one to one and group mentoring to young victims of trafficking across London over the next two years.
Global Call for Evidence

This Global Call for Evidence is part of our study being conducted jointly with the University of Bedfordshire funded through the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC). The study seeks to identify ways to improve outcomes for young people who have experienced human trafficking and/or modern slavery.
Pathways project

The Pathways project aims to build the capacity of social workers and child protection professionals to support children and young people who are potential victims of trafficking. It comprises partners from European NGOs including the Red Cross, Save the Children and ECPAT UK.
Safeguarding Migrant Children Across Europe (AMINA) project

The AMINA project is a cross-border cooperative project that aims to safeguard children migrating in Europe. ECPAT UK is one of a number of partners from civil society, law enforcement and government departments working collaboratively on the project with our lead partner Missing Children Europe.
Partnership Against Child Trafficking (PACT) Project

The Partnership Against Child Trafficking (PACT) Project is an innovative project aimed at improving local responses to child trafficking and all forms of modern slavery and exploitation. ECPAT UK was selected by the Government to deliver the project in partnership with Cordis Bright and Missing People. The project is funded by the Home Office’s Child Trafficking Protection Fund.
End-to-End Vulnerability Mapping

The End-to-End Vulnerability Mapping project examines the vulnerabilities of Vietnamese migrants who transit to the UK via Europe. ECPAT UK is conducting end-to-end mapping that aims to expand evidence on migratory routes and reduce Vietnamese migrants' vulnerability to exploitation on these routes
Definitions and Guidelines
Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG)

The Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group is a coalition established in 2009 to monitor the UK Government’s compliance with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (the Convention), which entered into force in the UK on 1 April 2009.
RACE in Europe

The RACE in Europe project was a two-year (2012-2014) initiative led by Anti-Slavery International, ECPAT UK and partners to improve knowledge and responses to human trafficking for the purposes of forced criminal exploitation and forced begging in Europe.
Parliamentarians against Human Trafficking (PAHT)

Parliamentarians against Human Trafficking was a two-year (2011-2013) European project to establish a network of parliamentarians working to prevent human trafficking.

Child trafficking statistics

The latest data on the number of victims of trafficking in the UK and worldwide.
National Referral Mechanism

The National Referral Mechanism is a process set up by the Government to identify and support victims of trafficking in the UK. It was born out of the Government's obligation to identify victims under the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Human Trafficking, which came into force on 1 February 2008.
What is child trafficking?
The Secret Gardeners: New film on child trafficking from Vietnam

The Secret Gardeners aims to inform professionals about the plight of children who are forced by organised crime gangs to grow drugs in houses across the UK but who often face criminalisation and prison.
Volunteer

ECPAT UK relies on committed volunteers to support the work that we do. Without their help, we would not be able to campaign as effectively against child exploitation.
Our team

ECPAT UK's team has more than 30 years' experience working on issues of child trafficking, child protection, child sexual exploitation, unaccompanied children, modern slavery and more.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a comprehensive set of rights. The UK signed the Convention on 19 April 1990, ratified it on 16 December 1991 and it came into force on 15 January 1992.
About us

ECPAT UK is a leading children's rights organisation working to protect children from child trafficking and transnational child exploitation. We support children everywhere to uphold their rights and to live a life free from abuse and exploitation.
Urgent action needed: Independent guardianship for all trafficked, unaccompanied and separated children

Last October, an incredible 120,535 supporters called for specialist support for all trafficked children. However, the fight is not finished. Make sure your voice is heard by contacting the Home Secretary asking him to provide guardianship for all trafficked, separated and unaccompanied children
Demand specialist support for trafficked children

In 2018 we worked with Care2 to call on the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, to overhaul the current system of identification and support for victims of trafficking – the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).