Trafficking in Children

Children across the globe face a particularly high risk of falling prey to trafficking. According to UNICEF and the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), girls and boys make up almost a third of trafficking victims worldwide. The factors that heighten children’s vulnerability are complex and numerous: for example, unaccompanied and separated children face an additional range of risks compared to adults.

The wider anti-trafficking community needs to develop specialized policy responses to address this challenge. Such policies should include: effective mechanisms to recognize the best interests and respond to the needs of child victims of trafficking and those at risk; engaging child protection authorities into national anti-trafficking efforts; and ensuring comprehensive and sustainable solutions for each and every child victim of trafficking.

The implementation of these policies, as well as the incorporation of a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach, can support more comprehensive and robust child protection frameworks and contribute to the end of this heinous crime.

Ministerial Council Decisions 7/17 and 6/18, as well as the 17th Alliance against Trafficking in Persons Conference, held in 2017 and titled “Trafficking in Children and the Best Interests of the Child”, have provided a roadmap for the Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in its initiatives to combat trafficking in children.