NSPCC opens first UK advice line to help combat child trafficking.

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The NSPCC today (8 October 2007) launches the first advice and information line to protect children trafficked to the UK for sexual exploitation, forced labour, drugs transport, benefit fraud, and other crimes. The NSPCC Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line (CTAIL) on 0800 107 7057 will help people working with children, such as immigration officers, the police, social workers, teachers, and health workers, to better identify and protect child victims. It will also shed light on the scale of child trafficking in the UK. The free service has been set up with funding from the Home Office and Comic Relief. It will run in partnership with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and the Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT UK). Since 2003 the NSPCC has received referrals of trafficked children to its London-based Streetmatters/Bfree group, which helps sexually exploited girls and young women. A number of trafficked young people who have benefited from the service will help to guide the NSPCC and its partners on the future development of the Child Trafficking Advice and Information Line. A 2007 CEOP study uncovered 330 suspected and confirmed cases of trafficked children in the UK. The report concluded that lack of awareness of trafficking among people working with children and young people suggests the true scale of the problem is much higher. The study also revealed a need for better training and resources on how to identify and protect trafficked children.