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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Advocacy Brief: End Immigration Detention of Children

United Nations Task Force on Children Deprived of Liberty, 01 Feb 2024

This advocacy brief provides an overview of promising practices and lessons learned to end child immigration detention in the U.S. and sets out a range of policy actions needed to scale up efforts to end this form of violence.

Inspiring Stories

ReThink Orphanages, 2024

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Research Brief: Child Marriage and Early Unions in the Caribbean

UNICEF, Maestral International, 10 Dec 2023

This research brief summarizes what is already known about child marriage and early unions (CMEUs) in the Caribbean, complemented by the findings of research commissioned by UNICEF in the framework of the Spotlight Initiative Caribbean Regional Programme and conducted in six Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Book Review: Orphanage Trafficking and International Law

Elizabeth A. Faulkner, 04 Dec 2023

This book review is written by Elizabeth Faulkner of author Kate Kathryn E.

Orphanage Trafficking and International Law

Orphanage Tourism and Orphanage Volunteering: Implications for Children

Kathryn E. van Doore, Rebecca Nhep, 15 Nov 2023

This article outlines differing perspectives on orphanage tourism and volunteering from the last decade of research. It examines the contexts in which orphanage tourism occurs and outlines the drivers for this form of tourism. In addition, it discusses the implications of orphanage tourism for children including impacts on child agency, child rights, child development, child protection, and child trafficking and exploitation.

Orphanage Trafficking: The Role of Parliaments in Reducing Harm

147th IPU Assembly, 27 Oct 2023

This resolution on orphanage trafficking was adopted by consensus at the 147th IPU Assembly and endorsed by 180 parliaments.

Thematic Brief: Volunteering, Voluntourism, Tourism and Trafficking in Orphanages

Transforming Children's Care Collaborative, 01 Sep 2023

This thematic brief contains guidance on key policy measures and concrete steps that may assist with the development and implementation of a whole-of-government strategy to eliminate orphanage tourism and voluntourism and to combat orphanage trafficking. It includes recommendations relevant to volunteer-sending and volunteer-receiving countries. In addition, it contains practical examples of effective measures from a diverse range of countries sending and receiving volunteers.

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Informe Temático: Voluntariado, volunturismo, turismo de orfanatos y tráfico de huérfanos

Transforming Children's Care Collaborative, 01 Sep 2023

Este Informe Temático sobre voluntariado, volunturismo, turismo de orfanatos y tráfico de huérfanos fue elaborado para aportar lineamientos a los Gobiernos, los responsables de políticas y otros responsables de la toma de decisiones. También respalda la implementación de los compromisos internacionales asumidos en el contexto de la Resolución de la Asamblea General de la ONU 2019 sobre los Derechos de los niños y las niñas privados del cuidado parental. Explica de qué modo tomar las medidas apropiadas para abordar y prevenir los daños asociados al voluntariado en orfanatos, el turismo de orfanatos y el volunturismo, y al tráfico de huérfanos vinculado con las actividades anteriores.