Developments in the UK's response to child trafficking and child sexual exploitation

ECPAT UK Expert Paper 2015 This expert paper presents a brief overview of the scale of child sexual exploitation and child trafficking in the UK, a description of existing and new national responses to child protection, and an analysis of the international ramifications of domestic measures to prevent the sexual exploitation of children abroad by British nationals.

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Latest

ECPAT UK responds to the King's Speech

In his speech on Wednesday, the King set out the government's plans for the new parliamentary session. We at ECPAT UK applaud the announcement of a Children’s Wellbeing Bill and the introduction of a child criminal exploitation offence in the Crime and Policing Bill and measures for Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill.
Behind Closed Doors: A Storytelling Legal and Empirical Analysis of Human Trafficking Risks in Home Office Hotels Compared to Other Accommodation for Unaccompanied Children and Young People Seeking Asylum in the UK

New report by University of College London (UCL) and ECPAT UK aimed to investigate the risks of trafficking and exploitation in Home Office child hotels among unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK. Researchers interviewed young people themselves as well as professionals such as social workers, policy stakeholders, academics, lawyers, law enforcement, support workers, and NGO staff.
Lone children seeking asylum in the UK placed in Home Office hotels are at increased risk of exploitation suggests new publication by UCL researchers and ECPAT UK

Unaccompanied children went missing by the hundreds when accommodated by the Home Office, yet officials denied reports of the on-going risk of exploitation. A new publication from UCL researchers and ECPAT UK found that housing lone children in Home Office child hotels, as occurred between 2021 and January 2024, increased their risks of trafficking and exploitation.
ECPAT UK calls for a UK wide child exploitation strategy with key priorities for action for the new UK Government to tackle child trafficking

ECPAT UK calls on the new UK Government to take the opportunity to address the on-going failures child victims continue to face and to develop a UK wide child exploitation strategy that respects children's rights to protection and care with ten key priorities for prevention and support.

Care for Every Child: Unaccompanied children accommodated by the Home Office

Ensuring the safety and welfare of children is a fundamental duty of local authorities in England and Wales. In recent years, unaccompanied children arriving in the UK, traumatised, having faced abuse or mistreatment in their country of origin or during their journey to the UK, were placed in Home Office hotels outside of the care of children’s services. This briefing reviews the Legal judgements and remaining challenges regarding the care of unaccompanied children in the UK.
New data reveals alarming numbers of child victims of modern slavery turning 18 are excluded from support

Our new Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group briefing reveals alarming data on the support children turning 18 in the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) receive. New Freedom of Information data highlights critical gaps including the consent process and support to make informed decisions regarding the National Referral Mechanism.
Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill

We are sharing the enclosed briefing, concisely setting out how the Bill undermines the rule of law, and urge Members of Parliament to oppose this Bill at Second Reading.
Refugee and Migrant Children's Consortium Briefing: the use Home Office hotels for unaccompanied children seeking asylum

The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium, a coalition of over 60 organisations (including ECPAT UK), is appalled by the continued use of hotels by the Home Office to accommodate unaccompanied children arriving in the UK and has continued to demand that it is stopped and that children are looked after by local authorities as all children should and according to the law. This briefing explains why.
Joint Briefing: draft Slavery and Human Trafficking (Definition of Victim) Regulations

The government’s new draft Slavery and Human Trafficking (Definition of Victim) Regulations narrow the definition of a victim of trafficking and modern slavery, reducing the chances that victims will be identified. They were introduced without consulting anti-trafficking organisations and they could have far-reaching and damaging consequences for victims of trafficking and modern slavery. This new joint briefing presents our concerns about the regulations and recommendations to improve them.
RMCC briefing on government plans to send people seeking asylum to Rwanda

The Refugee and Migrant Children’s Consortium, a coalition of over 60 organisations (including ECPAT UK), has produced this briefing outlining how the government's plan to remove people seeking asylum in the UK to Rwanda could impact children, and how to protect age-disputed young people from relocation under the scheme.
Nationality and Borders Bill Part 5, child victims: Consideration of Commons Reasons and Amendment

Part 5 of the Bill seeks to reform modern slavery legislation, and will impact severely on children who are at risk and vulnerable to exploitation. This joint briefing provides detail on the contents of and need for Lords Amendment 27, which seeks to exempt child victims from the most damaging provisions in this part of the Bill and to ensure that all decisions are made in their best interests.
Nationality and Borders Bill: Part 5, child victims - Consideration of Lords Amendments

Part 5 of the Nationality and Borders Bill seeks to reform modern slavery legislation, and will impact severely on children who are at risk and vulnerable to exploitation. This briefing looks at Amendment 27, which seeks to exempt child victims from the most damaging provisions in this part of the Bill and to ensure that all decisions are made in their best interests.
Nationality & Borders Bill House of Lords Report Stage Briefing Part 5: protecting child victims of trafficking

Part 5 of the Nationality and Borders Bill will affect all child victims of trafficking, and will be detrimental to unaccompanied children at significant risk of exploitation. This briefing supports a number of changes to the Bill, including an amendment which would exempt victims of modern slavery, exploitation or trafficking from many of the provisions in Part 5 if they were under 18 when they became a victim, and would ensure the best interests of children in all decisions about them.
Nationality and Borders Bill: immigration outcomes for child victims of trafficking

The Nationality and Borders Bill includes damaging proposals which will impact all child victims of trafficking, including those subject to immigration control. This briefing focuses on concerns about immigration decision-making for child victims of trafficking and modern slavery in the context of the proposals to legislate, for the first time, the specific entitlement to immigration leave for confirmed victims of modern slavery – perhaps the only measure that has a place in this Bill.

Child trafficking statistics

The latest data on the number of victims of trafficking in the UK and worldwide.
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.
What is child trafficking?
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.
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.
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty that grants all children and young people (aged 17 and under) a comprehensive set of rights. The UK signed the Convention on 19 April 1990, ratified it on 16 December 1991 and it came into force on 15 January 1992.
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.
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.
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