Guidance (England)

View key statutory guidance and strategy on safeguarding unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children and child victims of modern slavery.

Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines guidance

National Transfer Scheme Protocol for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (March 2018)

Safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children (November 2017)

Statutory guidance for the care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery (November 2017)

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Statutory guidance for the care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery (March 2017)

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Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked: Practice guidance (2011)

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Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities (2011)

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National Referral Mechanism: Guidance for child first responders (2016)

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National Referral Mechanism

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Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)

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London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Toolkit (2011)

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London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Guidance (2011)

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Unaccompanied asylum seeking children: interim national transfer scheme (2016)

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Guidance on processing children's asylum claims (2017)

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London Child Protection Procedures and Practice Guidance (2017)

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CPS policy for prosecuting cases of human trafficking (2011)

Download the CPS policy for prosecuting cases of human trafficking

Statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care (2014)

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Children missing education: Statutory guidance for local authorities (2016)

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Statutory guidance on roles and responsibilities when a child goes missing from home or care (2014)

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ADCS Age Assessment Guidance (2015)

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Child Sexual Exploitation: Definition and guide for practitioners (2017)

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Notifications of private fostering arrangements in England (2015)

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Victims of Modern Slavery: Guidance for frontline staff (2016)

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Victims of Modern Slavery: Competent Authority Guidance (2016)

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Human trafficking practical guidance (2013)

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Human trafficking, smuggling and slavery

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Modern slavery: A council guide (2017)

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A typology of modern slavery offences in the UK (2017)

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Modern slavery awareness and victim identification guidance (2017)

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Transparency in supply chains: A practical guide (2017)

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Image credit: By Berit from Redhill/Surrey, UK (House of Common, London) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Latest

Joint statement on the treatment of unaccompanied children in response to Chief Inspectorate reports

ECPAT UK has joined 19 other organisations in continuing the call for an independent inquiry into the treatment of unaccompanied children following the publication of outstanding reports including the reinspection of Home Office hotels, by His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration
VIDEO EVENT - Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK.

Launch event of our latest report, ‘Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK', with ECPAT UK and Rights Lab on 26 February 2024.
ECPAT UK Expresses Deep Concern Over Dismissal of Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration  Amidst Unpublished Report on Unaccompanied Children in Home Office Hotels

Raising serious concerns about the UK government's accountability and commitment to child protection, the Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, David Neal, has been dismissed by the Home Office.
Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK.

New research report reveals the alarming reality of child modern slavery in the UK and calls for urgent action to protect children and young people.

Guidance (Wales)

View key statutory guidance and strategy documents on safeguarding and care of unaccompanied migrant or refugee children and child victims of modern slavery.
Guidance (Scotland)

View key statutory guidance and strategy documents on safeguarding and care of unaccompanied migrant or refugee children and child victims of modern slavery.
Guidance (Northern Ireland)

View key statutory guidance and strategy documents on safeguarding and care of unaccompanied migrant or refugee children and child victims of modern slavery.

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.
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
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).