ECPAT UK - Protecting Children Everywhere

17 August 2008 New Report Shows Government Failure in Combating Child Sex Tourism

28 February 2008 Dancing Star Backs the Three Small Steps Campaign to Protect Child Victims of Trafficking

20 September 2007 New Report Shows Significant Gaps in Government Policy on Trafficked Children in UK

Dancing Star Backs the Three Small Steps Campaign to Protect Child Victims of Trafficking
28 February 2008

Darren Bennett, past winner of the highly successful BBC show ’Strictly Come Dancing’, gave his support to the Three Small Steps campaign to protect child victims of trafficking at an event in the House of Commons on Wednesday 27th February.

The campaign, led by the children’s rights charity ECPAT UK, is calling on the Government to withdraw the general reservation on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on immigration and nationality, to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and to appoint an independent Child Trafficking Watchdog (Rapporteur).

With Sandra Gidley, MP for Romsey, Bennett performed a short salsa routine to show MPs how to take ‘Three Small Steps’ with a difference. Assisted by Ambreen Bokhari, of Moss Hall Junior School, he also handed out pedometers to all attending MPs to help them measure their ‘Three Small Steps’.

From left to right, Julie Morgan MP, Sandra Gidley MP, Darren Bennett and Anthony Steen MP performing three short salsa steps.

Speaking to MPs at the event, Darren Bennett said, “I hope the pedometers will remind you to urge the Government to change its policy towards trafficked children, write to Government ministers to take the actions proposed by ECPAT UK and take part in debates and raise parliamentary questions on child trafficking.”

“The campaign calls are really just three small steps and much more needs to be done to protect child victims of trafficking. But, their achievement will speed up progress in many other areas of trafficked children’s care and protection,” said Sandra Gidley, who hosted the event in support of the campaign.

Dragan Nastic, UNICEF UK Policy, Parliamentary and Legal Officer, also speaking at the event said that some progress has already been made on two of the campaign calls. On 14 January 2008 the Government announced a review of the UK reservation on the UN CRC and also said it will ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the end of 2008.

Christine Beddoe, Director of ECPAT UK, said, “Whilst we welcome the Government’s decision to review the UK reservation on the UN CRC, it must be a transparent process and the views of all those consulted given equal weight.”