Report Shows Significant Gaps in Government Policy on Trafficked Children in UK

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A new report launched today by UNICEF UK and ECPAT UK shows that, despite recent moves made by the UK Government to demonstrate its commitment to tackling child trafficking, there are still significant gaps and inconsistencies in child protection standards for trafficked children in the UK compared to international standards.
The report, ‘Rights Here, Rights Now: Recommendations for Protecting Trafficked Children’, calls for a number of solutions, including providing each trafficked child with a guardian to uphold their best interests, ensuring data on child trafficking is monitored and reported to Parliament, and providing trafficked children with renewable residence permits to secure their legal status.
David Bull, Executive Director of UNICEF UK, said, "The trafficking of children is a global problem. Every year, 1.2 million children become victims of trafficking. They are secretly transported across borders and sold like commodities or trafficked within countries for the sole purpose of exploitation. Some are destined to work in the sex industry and others as domestic servants and in sweatshops."
"The UK Government has taken significant steps to improve its response to tackling human trafficking, which we welcome, but while progress has been made, much more remains to be done. We are calling on the UK Government to address the gaps in its child protection standards for trafficked children in the UK and back up its UK Action Plan with policy commitments and resources," Mr Bull added.