Return to Sender: British child sex offenders abroad – why more must be done

Despite its international reputation for its robust approach to child protection, the UK compares poorly against other countries with similar legal frameworks, such as Australia and the United States. This report will focus on what must be done to bring offenders back to Britain to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register and managed and risk assessed in the same way as if they had offended in the UK.

CLICK HERE to download the report

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ECPAT UK Expresses Deep Concern Over Dismissal of Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration  Amidst Unpublished Report on Unaccompanied Children in Home Office Hotels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.

Terminology guidelines

The Terminology and Semantics Interagency Working Group, comprised of ECPAT and partners, has produced guidelines on terminology for the protection of chldren from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse
Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT)

ECPAT's recommendations for action help protect children from sexual exploitation in travel and tourism (SECTT).
Offenders on the move: Global study on sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism 2016

More children are at risk of sexual exploitation than ever before, particularly in travel and tourism, a two-year global study by ECPAT has revealed.
Developments in the UK's response to child trafficking and child sexual exploitation

This expert paper presents a brief overview of the scale of child sexual exploitation and child trafficking in the UK, a description of existing and new national responses to child protection, and an analysis of the international ramifications of domestic measures to prevent the sexual exploitation of children abroad by British nationals.
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse

As part of its campaign against sexual exploitation and abuse of children in travel and tourism by British travelling sex offenders, ECPAT UK is calling on the UK Government to ratify and implement the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention).
The Davies Review: Civil Prevention Orders in the Sexual Offences Act 2003

The existing statutory regime presents unnecessary and unreasonable obstruction to the objective of preventing sexual abuse of children, most particularly in vulnerable jurisdictions, according to a new report by ECPAT UK.
Off the Radar: Protecting Children from British Sex Offenders who Travel

Despite improvements to legislation and some notable efforts on the part of individual police forces, British nationals continue to travel abroad to abuse children, according to a report by ECPAT UK.

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).