Modern day slavery includes recruiting, moving, receiving and harbouring children for the purpose of exploitation. Child trafficking is a form of modern slavery. Many children are trafficked into the UK from overseas, but children can also be trafficked from one part of the UK to another.
Children are trafficked for:
- Child sexual exploitation
- Criminal activity, including cannabis cultivation, street crime: such as pickpocketing, begging and bag theft, moving drugs, benefit fraud, immigration fraud and selling pirated goods, such as DVDs
- Forced marriage
- Illegal adoption
- Unreported private fostering arrangements (for any exploitative purpose)
- Domestic servitude, including: cleaning, childcare, cooking,
- Forced labour, including working in restaurants, nail bars, factories and agriculture
This list is not exhaustive and children who are trafficked are often exploited in more than one way. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying victims of modern slavery and human trafficking and ensuring they receive the appropriate protection and support.
Comprehensive guidance and referral forms can be found on the NRM site: