Child trafficking victims are one of the most vulnerable groups in society. That is why CARE campaigned for the Modern Slavery Act to include Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTA) to support children who have been trafficked, and to speak up for their best interests.

Although included as part of the legislation in England and Wales, the Government chose only to introduce the scheme in three sites and is still yet to roll it out across the country.

Yesterday the Government released an interim evaluation of the scheme, giving an insight into the nature of child trafficking in England and Wales:

• A higher number of children referred than expected. This could be connected to significant increases in the number of children referred to the NRM in the last couple of years

• The majority of children and non-British, but the greatest single national group is British children

• The needs British children and children from other countries are different and the way the advocates have supported them has reflected that. This may in part be because British children have wider range of other support networks.

Missing children

It has been well documented that children who have been trafficked are at high risk of going missing, whether out of fear of the authorities or because of the threats or promises of their traffickers. Sadly, when they do go missing they often fall prey to exploitation either by their original traffickers or people who take advantage of their precarious situation.

The report shows that although the children are still going missing remains, ITCAs played an important coordinating role with other services in responding to a child who has gone missing.

Added Value

A key focus of the evaluation was whether the service provides additional benefits beyond what is offered by existing services. These interim findings show that the service does add value to professionals and children in building trust, advocacy and through the ITCA’s specialist knowledge.

Extension of the scheme

The Government has announced a £2m extension of the scheme with more local authority areas being added from the Autumn, starting with the West Midlands. This will mean that one third of local authorities in England and Wales will have an ICTA service in place by 2019.

However, London and Kent, two areas that have high numbers of child trafficking victims are still yet to benefit from the scheme.

CARE Senior Policy Officer – Human Trafficking, Louise Gleich said:

“Children who are trafficked need specialist support, that is why CARE pressed the Government to include this important provision in the Modern Slavery Act.

“This report shows the value of independent child trafficking advocates and how their unique role helps to safeguard and provide a voice for already vulnerable children.

“All the evidence from the trials of this scheme so far have been overwhelmingly positive. It is clear that trafficked children across the country would greatly benefit from this provision.

“It is great news that the Government are expanding the scheme, but it must do so across the country.

“The Government committed to this scheme in the 2015 Modern Slavery Act, and slow roll-outs of this scheme only undermine this vital piece of legislation.”