ECPAT UK | News

Governments must make good global promises on child labour

ECPAT UK is calling on governments across the world to honour the commitment to eradicate child labour on global World Day Against Child Labour (12th June).Read more

Mayor of London prioritises anti-trafficking efforts

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Policing & Crime have answered calls from NGOs to outline their plans to strengthen London’s response to human trafficking, after a staggering 260% increase in the number of victim referrals in the capital.Read more

Record number of UK child trafficking cases reported in 2016

Child trafficking referrals increased by 30% to 1,278 in 2016, the highest on record according to the latest figures from the National Crime Agency.Read more

New ECPAT UK project: Local authorities supported to innovate child trafficking responses

ECPAT UK has been selected by the government to deliver an innovative project aimed at improving the local response to child trafficking and all forms of modern slavery and exploitation.Read more

#LostinMigration exposes desperate circumstances for lone migrant children in Europe

An influential coalition of children’s’ rights charities, including ECPAT UK, have today called on EU and national ministers to end the disappearance, suffering and exploitation of children in migration.Read more

British child abuser guilty of 45 crimes against Thai and UK children

Serial child abuser, and retired English teacher, Mark Frost, formerly Andrew Tracey, has pleaded guilty to 45 counts of rape and sexual assault of children in the UK and Thailand, in what has been called by prosecutors as one of most serious cases in British court history.Read more

WATCH: ECPAT UK - Leading the fight against child trafficking in the UK

In this new film about our work, members of the ECPAT UK Youth Group talk about their experiences of trafficking and the transformational impact ECPAT UK has had on their lives.Read more

Scottish Guardianship Service named ECPAT UK’s 2016 Children’s Champion

ECPAT UK has today announced the Scottish Guardianship Service as the recipient of the 2016 Children’s Champion award.Read more

BBC features ECPAT UK in latest charity appeal

ECPAT UK’s work to stop child trafficking, modern slavery and sexual abuse in tourism has been featured in the latest BBC Lifeline Appeal.Read more

Alarming number of trafficked children going missing from care - new ECPAT UK report

Trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are going missing from UK care at an “alarmingly high” rate, leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People have said in a new report released today.Read more

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Governments must make good global promises on child labour

ECPAT UK is calling on governments across the world to honour the commitment to eradicate child labour on global World Day Against Child Labour (12th June).

Donate

You may be surprised to hear that each year criminals bring hundreds of children to the UK for abuse in domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and other forms of forced labour. Just last year, for example, 700 children were found in horrendous circumstances of human trafficking, a 35% increase on the previous year. Your help is so urgently needed to stop this alarming trend.

Annual reports

ECPAT UK is a registered charity (Number 1104948) and a company limited by guarantee (Number 5061385).

ECPAT UK Row for Freedom

In 2012, Debbie Beadle, ECPAT UK Head of Youth Programmes, captained a team of women rowers across the Atlantic Ocean to raise awareness of human trafficking and raise funds for ECPAT UK. The Row For Freedom team earned two world records in the process: ‘The fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an all-female team’ and ‘The first five-woman team to row any ocean’.

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.

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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 Heading Back to Harm, a study by leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People.

Record number of UK child trafficking cases reported in 2016

Child trafficking referrals increased by 30% to 1,278 in 2016, the highest on record according to the latest figures from the National Crime Agency.

Our history

Twenty five years ago, the idea of a campaign to ‘End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism’ was launched in Thailand by a small group of concerned individuals. Twenty-five years later, this campaign, ECPAT, has evolved into a global network of civil society organisations dedicated to end the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Definitions

Better support, better protection: Steps lawyers and guardians can take to better identify and protect trafficked children

This report provides a snapshot of the manner in which children who may have been trafficked into and within five EU states were or were not identified and protected in and up to 2016.

Fundraise for us

Our incredible fundraisers make a real difference to the lives of trafficked young people.

Hold online offenders financially accountable for child sexual abuse

In 2016, we called on Michael Gove MP, UK Secretary of State for Justice, to grant access to recovery funds for child victims of online sexual abuse. Thank you to the 38,543 ECPAT UK supporters who signed this petition.

Child trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery

Our full-day face-to-face training will support participants to develop a clear understanding of how to recognise child trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery, as well as provide up-to-date skills to respond to these abuses and better support trafficked children.