Blog

We must listen to children if we are to protect them from exploitation

On National Child Exploitation Awareness Day 2021, ECPAT UK's CEO Patricia Durr blogs about the need to ensure children's voices are heard and their rights are respected if we are to protect them from exploitation and harm. Read more

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

Nationality and Borders Bill: Second Reading Briefing

The government's Nationality and Borders Bill includes measures that will impact all child victims of trafficking in the UK as well as all children and young people subject to immigration control. The bill reforms modern slavery legislation; extensively changing the system for identifying, protecting and supporting victims of trafficking. In this briefing, we analyse measures in the bill and set out our concerns about how they will affect all at risk children and child victims of trafficking.
Statement on the Nationality and Borders Bill

The government’s new nationality and borders bill will significantly impact children’s rights to protection and leave them at risk of dangerous journeys, trafficking and criminalisation. The legislation does not just contain measures on immigration which fail to protect those in need of safety but also makes extensive changes to the identification, protection and support of victims of trafficking and modern slavery, which is not an immigration matter.
Northern Ireland bill to provide greater protections to child victims of sexual exploitation online

Today, Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly Member Naomi Long has introduced a new bill aiming to improve services for victims of trafficking and exploitation and enhance public safety by updating laws on child sexual offences. ECPAT UK welcomes The Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill, which contains a number of provisions to strengthen the response to child sexual exploitation.
Webinars and events

Watch our free webinars and events on child trafficking and the issues facing survivors in the UK.

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.
Child trafficking statistics

The latest data on the number of victims of trafficking in the UK and worldwide.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Contact us

If you have an immediate concern about a child's welfare, please contact your local council's social care department, who are available 24 hours a day. For all other enquiries related to our work, contact [email protected] or call 020 7607 2136.
Still in Harm's Way: An update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK

Following our ground-breaking 2016 research, leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People have revisited the issue of trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care using 2017. Still in Harm's Way: An update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK finds that these children are still going missing at an alarmingly high rate.