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

Download the Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines guidance

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

Download the National Transfer Scheme Protocol for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

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

Download the government's safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children

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

Download the government's statutory guidance for local authorities

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

Download the government's statutory guidance for local authorities

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

Download the government's guidance for safeguarding children who may have been trafficked

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

Download the Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities

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

Download the guidance for child first responders

National Referral Mechanism

Make a referral online

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018)

Download the guide to inter-agency working to safeguard children

London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Toolkit (2011)

Download the London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Toolkit

London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Guidance (2011)

Download the London Safeguarding Trafficked Children Guidance

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

Download the interim national transfer procedure on transferring unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC)

Guidance on processing children's asylum claims (2017)

Download the guidance on processing children's asylum claims

London Child Protection Procedures and Practice Guidance (2017)

Download the London Child Protection Procedures and Practice Guidance

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)

Download the statutory guidance on children who run away or go missing from home or care

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

Download the statutory guidance for local authorities

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

Download the statutory guidance on roles and responsibilities

ADCS Age Assessment Guidance (2015)

Download the age assessment guidance

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

Download the child sexual exploitation guidance

Notifications of private fostering arrangements in England (2015)

Download the government notifications of private fostering arrangements consultation response

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

Download the guidance to help frontline staff identify and help potential victims of modern slavery

Victims of Modern Slavery: Competent Authority Guidance (2016)

Download the guidance for staff in Competent Authorities in the Home Office and UK Human Trafficking Centre

Human trafficking practical guidance (2013)

Download the human trafficking practical guidance

Human trafficking, smuggling and slavery

Download the CPS guidance on human trafficking, smuggling and slavery

Modern slavery: A council guide (2017)

Download the Local Government Association's guide to modern slavery for councils

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

Download A typology of modern slavery offences in the UK

Modern slavery awareness and victim identification guidance (2017)

Download the Modern slavery awareness and victim identification guidance

Transparency in supply chains: A practical guide (2017)

Download Transparency in supply chains: A practical guide

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

Latest

20th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Palermo Protocol – the world’s first legally binding instrument with an agreed definition on human trafficking. ECPAT UK’s Sinead Geoghegan writes about child trafficking in the UK 20 years on and what we need to do to prevent trafficking and support victims.
Education Secretary acted unlawfully in removing legal protections for children during the pandemic, Court of Appeal rules

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Secretary of State for Education unlawfully removed safeguards for children in care during the Coronavirus pandemic. Led by the charity Article 39, ECPAT UK and over 60 other child rights organisations publicly campaigned against the changes, introduced overnight under Statutory Instrument 445 without public consultation or parliamentary debate.
UK child sex offender among “most prolific” ever investigated and brought to justice for online abuse

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has successfully brought one of the most prolific child sexual abuse offenders to justice for crimes committed online against children in the UK and abroad, highlighting the central role of evidence from social media companies and joining a growing number of children’s charities, child rights advocates and public officials calling for Facebook to urgently halt plans to implement end-to-end encryption which leaves children at significant risk.
Responses to questions raised at the launch of our joint review of what works in multi-agency safeguarding

Further to the virtual launch of ECPAT UK and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner's joint review, A review of what works in multi-agency decision making and the implications for child victims of trafficking on the 12th August 2020, we're pleased to provide answers to the questions raised during the event.

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.

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).
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.
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.
ECPAT UK training

ECPAT UK offers a comprehensive training programme, in line with National Occupational Standards, delivering courses for more than 20 years to help improve responses to child trafficking, modern slavery and exploitation.