Child trafficking statistics

Global trafficking statistics

Worldwide, 40.3 million men, women and children were victims of modern slavery on any day in 2016.

Walk Free Foundation, Global Slavery Index, 2018

1 in 4 victims of modern slavery in 2016 were children - a total of 10.1 million child victims.

International Labour Organisation, Walk Free Foundation and International Organisation for Migration, Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, 2017

UK trafficking statistics

5,145 potential victims of human trafficking were identified in 2017.

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

Nearly half (41%) of all potential victims of trafficking (2,118 victims) were children aged 18 and under.

National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: End of Year Summary, 2017

The United Kingdom is the most prominent country of origin for trafficked children – a total of 677 reported cases – followed by Vietnam (362), Albania (210), Sudan (157), Eritrea (130), Afghanistan (56), Iraq (46), Nigeria (42), Ethiopia (41) and Iran (41).

National Crime Agency, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: End of Year Summary, 2017

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

‘One size doesn’t fit all’: Young victims of trafficking joined 120,535 people demanding specialist support for trafficked children

Young victims of trafficking marked Anti-Slavery Day 2018 by delivering a 120,535 strong petition to the UK Government demanding guaranteed specialist support for trafficked children.
ECPAT UK takes part in international Day of Action for unaccompanied children

On Wednesday, 17th October 2018, ECPAT UK will join partners from across Europe to participate in a ‘Day of Action’ for unaccompanied and separated children, as part of the cross-border Safeguarding Migrant Children Across Europe (AMINA) project.
London Marathon 2019

Got a place in the 2019 London Marathon? Dedicate your race to raising money for ECPAT UK and you'll support trafficked children to access the support they need to rebuild their lives.
Safeguarding Migrant Children Across Europe (AMINA) project

The AMINA project is a cross-border cooperative project that aims to safeguard children migrating in Europe. ECPAT UK is one of a number of partners from civil society, law enforcement and government departments working collaboratively on the project with our lead partner Missing Children Europe.

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).
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
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.
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.
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.
What is child trafficking?