Child trafficking statistics

Global trafficking statistics

20.9 million men, women and children are trapped in some form of forced labour or human trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation.

International Labour Organisation, ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour: Results and methodology, 2012

1.2 million children are trafficked every year.

International Labour Organisation, Every Child Counts: New Global Estimates on Child Labour, 2012

Between 2010 and 2012, victims holding citizenship from 152 different countries were found in 124 countries.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2014

UK trafficking statistics

3,805 potential victims of human trafficking were identified in 2016.

National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: End of Year Summary, 2016

More than a third of all potential victims of trafficking (1,278) were children aged 18 and under.

National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: End of Year Summary, 2016

The United Kingdom is the most prominent country of origin for trafficked children – a total of 255 reported cases – followed by Albania (227), Vietnam (227), Afghanistan (74), Eritrea (48), Nigeria (43) and Iran (42).

National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: End of Year Summary, 2016

More than a quarter of all trafficked children go missing from local authority care.

ECPAT UK and Missing People, Heading Back to Harm: A study on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK, 2016

Latest

Child trafficking in the UK 2018: A snapshot

ECPAT UK's new snapshot report provides an overview of the state of modern slavery affecting children in the UK, compiling the latest statistics and recent policy developments on this important issue. In this report, we draw on our experience of working with affected young people to flag concerns about the current response to child trafficking, despite progress made in reporting of such cases and the advent of dedicated legislation across the UK.
How to protect children in criminal exploitation - watch our latest videos

Following recent reports on the rise of children exploited for criminality, ECPAT UK’s Head of Training Laura Durán, was recently interviewed by Lynda Gibbs from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) to discuss the complex nature of criminal exploitation and ECPAT UK's work campaigning against child trafficking.
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.
ECPAT UK’s short film on child trafficking wins gold medal at New York Festival

ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) is thrilled that its animated short film about child trafficking in cannabis cultivation – The Secret Gardeners, has won the gold medal in the Human Concerns category at the New York Festivals World’s Best TV and Films awards.

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.
Current campaign: Demand specialist support for trafficked children

We are working with Care2 to call on the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd MP, to overhaul the current system of identification/support for victims of trafficking – the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).
Child trafficking statistics
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.
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.
Stephen's case exposes failings in child trafficking support

‘Stephen’ was identified as a former child victim of trafficking but now faces the threat of removal to Vietnam. His case has rightly received significant public attention, highlighting the urgent need to reform the support system (the National Referral Mechanism) for other children who have been victims of modern slavery in the UK.
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.
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.