Blog

20th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol – the world’s first legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on human trafficking. ECPAT UK’s Sinead Geoghegan writes about child trafficking in the UK 20 years on and what we need to do to prevent trafficking and support victims. Read more

Raising more than money in ECPAT UK's summer sportathon

This summer, ECPAT UK’s supporters are taking part in a summer sportathon to raise money for our work. Our fundraiser, Lois Fallon, blogs about her experience taking part and raising more than money in the process, and shares her top tips for fundraising success. Read more

Precarious journeys, precarious futures

The devastating news of 39 people found dead in a lorry in Essex has rightly sent shockwaves across the UK and highlighted the current dangers faced by people trying to cross the UK border. We know that people migrating face precarious journeys, however their vulnerability doesn't end on arrival in the UK. Read more

ECPAT UK youth group members are Global Citizens!

Members of ECPAT UK's youth groups for victims of trafficking were recently invited to Co-op's Global Citizen event at the O2 Academy in Brixton. In this blog post, they reflect on the evening and share their experience of the event. Read more

BBC Two’s 'The Prosecutors': Highlighting gaps in support for child victims of trafficking

ECPAT UK’s Information, Media and Communications Officer, Sinead Geoghegan, blogs about BBC Two’s 'The Prosecutors' episode documenting the UK’s first conviction under the Modern Slavery Act for labour exploitation of children, and how it highlighted gaps in support for child victims. Read more

Child victims of modern slavery also suffer under the UK’s hostile immigration regime

Following the recent Windrush scandal, ECPAT UK’s Policy and Campaigns Officer, Catherine Baker, blogs about the impact of the UK's hostile immigration environment on child victims of trafficking and children at risk of exploitation. Read more

Raising awareness of child trafficking risks in Vietnam

ECPAT UK’s Project Officer, Leah Davison, recently returned from Vietnam where ECPAT UK, Anti-Slavery International and Pacific Links Foundation launched their new short film, The Secret Gardeners. Leah reflects on the film launch and the factors driving the trafficking of Vietnamese children. Read more

Failure to adhere to child protection rules puts refugee children at risk on arrival in Europe

ECPAT UK’s current Children’s Champion, solicitor Kalvir Kaur, recently returned from volunteering in Lesvos. Here she details her concerns that some refugee children arriving in Europe are being left vulnerable to exploitation. Read more

Latest

Migration, child trafficking and your rights in the UK

This page explores what is child trafficking and exploitation, what are the risks to Vietnamese children in migration and what are your rights in the UK.
ECPAT UK welcomes the issues included by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its upcoming inspection of the UK

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has included the key concerns raised by ECPAT UK in its List of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) of the combined sixth and seventh reports of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – part of the Committee’s examination of how well the UK is meeting its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Landmark victory at the European Court of Human Rights for survivors of child trafficking

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that the UK Government failed to protect victims of child trafficking and breached two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, in a landmark case. The Court ordered the UK Government to pay €90,000 EUR (£78,590 GBP) in compensation to two Vietnamese young people involved who had been convicted of crimes as children despite signs they had been trafficked.
A-Z of fundraising ideas

Whatever you interest, turn your hobby into a hustle and design your own unique fundraiser to raise money and awareness for our work! Check out our fundraising A-Z will for inspiration to create your own activity to support our work.

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.
The 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.
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).
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
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.
Child trafficking statistics
Before the Harm is Done: Examining the UK's response to the prevention of trafficking

The UK Government is failing to protect thousands of children from exploitation by lacking a plan to prevent child trafficking, according to a new report by the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group (ATMG), a coalition of twelve UK-based charities, including ECPAT UK. The report Before the Harm is Done, stresses that the UK has no specific strategy in relation to preventing trafficking in children, putting thousands of children at risk.
Heading back to harm: A study on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK

Trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are going missing from UK care at an “alarmingly high” rate, according to a new study by leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People.
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.
ECPAT UK training

ECPAT UK offers a comprehensive training programme, in line with National Occupational Standards, delivering courses for more than 20 years to help improve responses to child trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation.