Child Exploitation

Child trafficking is a form of child abuse. It is the exploitation of children for economic or sexual purposes, and includes the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for exploitation. Children may be sold, illegally adopted, forced into early marriage, recruited into the armed forces, pushed into prostitution, or trafficked to work in mines, factories, or homes. In such environments they are exposed to extreme forms of abuse and are denied access to basic services and the meeting of their fundamental human rights. Trafficked children often lack basic legal status and support networks, making their condition virtually "invisible."

Children without parental care, living in poverty, and those in high risk environments such as war affected regions, are all highly vulnerable to trafficking. Conflict and post conflict environments pose the greatest risk to children since the breakdown in family and social systems, the increase in poverty, and large numbers of troops present, are all factors which make sexual and economic exploitation of children more common.

Prevention is crucial to reduce the incidence of children affected and includes the registering of all displaced children, and their temporary care until verification and family reunification activities can take place. All children, caretakers, and communities should be educated on the risks to children and protective steps to ensure children do not become separated and exposed to abuse and exploitation. Where possible, unaccompanied children should be placed in regulated and protective family environments such as kinship or foster care.

Governments, the police, border controls, teachers, and all organizations responsible for protection must work together to prevent trafficking, identify those children at risk, advocate for their safety, and prosecute those responsible. This includes awareness raising for communities, institutions, and personnel working with vulnerable groups, such as armed forces, peacekeepers, and humanitarian workers.

Support services for children who have been trafficked should include medical, psychosocial, family reunification, and legal elements, to facilitate the reintegration of the child into the community and to enable educational and economic opportunities which are in the child’s best interests.

This section of documents examines the nature of trafficking in more detail, and includes policy and practical information to prevent and respond to child exploitation.

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Plight of missing child migrants in Europe

France24, 27 Jan 2017

Delphine Moralis discusses the 10,000 refugee children that have gone missing in the EU.

Direct Work with Sexually Exploited or At-Risk Children and Young People: A Rapid Evidence Assessment

Silvie Bovarnick, Sara Scott and Jenny Pearce - University of Bedfordshire, DMSS, Barnardo's, 02 Jan 2017

This review is intended to provide Barnardo’s with an overview of what ‘direct work’ with young people entails in the context of CSE.

Key messages from research on child sexual exploitation: Social workers

Maddy Coy, Nicola Sharp-Jeffs and Liz Kelly - Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse, 2017

This briefing paper is for social workers. It brings together key messages from research on child sexual exploitation with implications for practice and should be read in conjunction with guidance for professionals.

Haiti Policy Brief: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children it Aims to Help

Elevate Children Funders Group, 2017

This policy brief from the Elevate Children Funders Group describes how private donors add to "the pull factors drawing more vulnerable children into institutional care and away from family or community care" in Haiti.

Nepal Infographic: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children it Aims to Help

Elevate Children Funders Group, 2017

This infographic from the Elevate Children Funders Group describes how private donors add to the "pull factors drawing more vulnerable children into institutional care and away from family or community care."

Partnerships with Overseas 'Orphanages': Implications of the proposed Modern Slavery Act for Australian Charities

ACCI Missions & Relief, 2017

This briefing note has been written to give Australian charities currently engaging with overseas residential care institutions an overview of the issue and an understanding of some of the potential ramifications of the proposed Modern Slavery legislation.

Voluntourism Information Sheet – Support families, not orphanages

Linda Reynolds, Senator for Western Australia & Kate van Doore, 2017

This newsletter issue from Senator Linda Reynolds of Western Australia, written in conjunction with Kate van Doore of Griffith Law School, was written in preparation for the Australian Parliamentary inquiry on modern slavery and describes the ways in which orphanage trafficking constitutes modern-day slavery.

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2017 Whole of Syria Child Protection Needs Overview – Compilation of Child Protection Data Collected for the 2017 Syria Humanitarian Needs Overview

iMMAP, UNICEF, 2017

This document provides analysis of child protection needs and risks at the government level to support child protection actors in programmed development, resource mobilasation and advocacy.

Haiti Infographic: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children it Aims to Help

Elevate Children Funders Group, 2017

This infographic from the Elevate Children Funders Group describes how private donors add to "the pull factors drawing more vulnerable children into institutional care and away from family or community care" in Haiti.

Nepal Policy Brief: Why Funding for Orphanages is Harming the Children it Aims to Help

Elevate Children Funders Group, 2017