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

10,613 potential victims of human trafficking were identified in 2020 — consistent with the number identified in 2019 (10,616).*

Home Office, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: UK, End of Year Summary, 2020

*This is likely due to the impact of the pandemic on victim identification. While the number of potential adult victims decreased in 2020, the number of potential child victims increased.

Nearly half (47%) of all potential victims of trafficking - 4,946 victims - were exploited as children; a nearly 10% increase on the previous year.

Home Office, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: UK, End of Year Summary, 2020

The United Kingdom is the most prominent country of origin for trafficked children – a total of 2,874 reported cases – followed by Vietnam (246 children), Sudan (163 children), Albania (160 children), Romania (138 children) and Eritrea (132 children). Children from Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Iran also made up significant numbers of those identified.

Home Office, National Referral Mechanism Statistics: UK, End of Year Summary, 2020

A quarter of all trafficked children go missing from local authority care.

ECPAT UK and Missing People, Still in Harm's Way: An update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK, 2018

Each missing child has on average 7.2 missing incidents in a single year.

ECPAT UK and Missing People, Still in Harm's Way: An update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK, 2018

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.