On the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), we look back at our wins for trafficked children's rights as well as the challenges that remain and the work still to be done to protect children everywhere from trafficking and exploitation. Read more
Statement from Katherine Mulhern, CEO of ECPAT UK, on the 39 individuals found dead in a lorry in Essex. Read more
At an event in Parliament, young members of ECPAT UK's youth programme for victims of trafficking shared their experiences of living with uncertainty under the current support system and demanded the government provide all trafficked children with stable futures. Read more
ECPAT UK has today announced Garden Court Chambers as the recipient of the 2019 Children’s Champion Award. The award is made in recognition of Garden Court's tireless work advocating for the rights of trafficked children and developing the law to protect child victims for over a decade. Read more
ECPAT UK has been granted permission to intervene in an important appeal before the Supreme Court which will impact trafficked children’s ability to lead stable lives in the long term. ECPAT UK will now draw on its expertise and experience in assisting trafficked young people to act as a third party intervener in the case of MS (Pakistan) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department. Read more
Following open, public nominations, we’re thrilled to announce the names of our shortlisted nominees for this year's Children's Champion Award. Read more
A UK sex offender has been arrested for sexually abusing children overseas after a BBC investigation discovered he was working as a preacher in a Roma community in Bulgaria. Daniel Erickson-Hull was located by BBC Radio 4’s File on 4 programme into the exploitation of children overseas, which featured an interview with ECPAT UK's Director of Programmes. Read more
This week, we joined our partners from across the sector to mark the tenth anniversary of the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group. ECPAT UK has been a proud member of this vital coalition since it was set up in 2009 to advocate for the rights of trafficking victims. Read more
This month, our youth group members enjoyed a residential trip to the coast for four action-packed days of fun, relaxation and skills-building. Taking part in physical activities and challenges such as the big swing, zipwire, kayaking and abseiling, the young people had lots of fun, tried new things, overcame fears and made happy memories. See our highlights! Read more
ECPAT UK has launched a new campaign calling on the UK Government to give trafficked children a stable future. The campaign calls for trafficked children's long term needs and best interests to be prioritised in decisions about their future. Read more
Following the government’s response to recommendations made by the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, ECPAT UK welcomes the implementation of a number of its recommendations to improve support for children. However there has been a missed opportunity for meaningful change that would ensure all potential victims are protected, by bringing the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship service in line with guardianship in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Read more
An independent review of the Modern Slavery Act has made important calls for changes to the legislation. However despite calls from leading charities including ECPAT UK and thousands of supporters to ensure all trafficked and unaccompanied children are protected, the review failed to include supporting unaccompanied children in the scope of its recommendations. Read more
As part of our Partnership Against Child Trafficking (PACT) project, ECPAT UK has produced a guide to assist local authorities to create or update their child trafficking and modern slavery policy. Read more
ECPAT UK has updated its flagship FAQs on child trafficking publication five years after its launch. The publication has become an essential resource for practitioners, campaigners, policy makers and the general public to inform themselves about child trafficking and children’s rights, and ensure the needs of trafficked children are considered at every level of UK society. Read more
Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK), The Children’s Society and 43 other organisations have today written a letter to Sajid Javid, urging him to provide independent guardians to all separated, unaccompanied and trafficked children in the UK. Read more
Following the landmark Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) investigation in which ECPAT UK played a central role as core participant, the Department for International Development (DFID) has committed to funding activities to ensure children abroad are protected from British sex offenders. Read more
ECPAT UK has named Katherine Mulhern as its new Chief Executive Officer. Katherine, who has been Chair of ECPAT UK’s board of trustees for the last two years, has stepped down as Chair and is replaced as Chair by current trustee Ian Hanham. Read more
After six years, Bharti Patel has announced she is stepping down as CEO of ECPAT UK. Read more
Thousands of children trafficked from Vietnam to the UK are suffering horrendous exploitation and abuse in transit through Europe as different governments pass the buck on protecting them, according to new research by Anti-Slavery International, ECPAT UK and Pacific Links Foundation. Read more
ECPAT UK provided crucial evidence in a landmark Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) investigation which made public evidence about the failures of the UK’s institutions, policies and practices to protect children abroad from sexual abuse by its citizens. Read more
There was a dramatic increase in the number of potential child victims of trafficking identified in the UK last year, raising concerns about UK authorities’ ability to respond to rising numbers of victims in light of potential reductions in support. Read more
On Monday, 11th February, ECPAT UK to give expert evidence before the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) on the protection of children abroad from sexual exploitation by those with links to England and Wales Read more
ECPAT UK has today announced solicitor Silvia Nicolaou Garcia as the recipient of the 2018 Children’s Champion award. Read more
Two leading UK charities, ECPAT UK and Missing People, have released a new report warning that trafficked and unaccompanied children are 30 times more likely to go missing than other children their age. Additionally, in 2017, trafficked and unaccompanied children went missing from care on average 7 times, highlighting grave safeguarding failures on the part of local authorities. Read more
More than 30 child rights NGOs, including ECPAT UK, ECPAT International and eight ECPAT member groups have written to EU President Junckers expressing concern over the wording of the draft Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications (e-Privacy Regulation), currently under consideration in Brussels. The NGOs are concerned the new regulation could hamper efforts to track online child sex offenders and identify victims. Read more
ECPAT UK is once again partnering with the Refugee Council to deliver training to over 1,000 foster carers and support workers in accommodation placements in England. The 'caring for separated and trafficked children' training programme will equip those with caring duties for unaccompanied and trafficked children with the knowledge and tools to effectively protect these vulnerable children. Read more