Child trafficking refers to the exploitation of children, primarily for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Children who are trafficked are recruited, transported, transferred, harbored, or received for the purpose of exploitation. They may be forced to work in sweatshops, on construction sites, or in houses as domestic servants; on the streets as child beggars, in wars as child soldiers, on farms, in traveling sales crews, or in restaurants and hotels. Some are forced to work in brothels and strip clubs or for escort and massage services. Child trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, and every year traffickers steal children as young as 5 years old and sell them for forced sex or labor.

Trafficking is where children and young people are tricked, forced, or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work, or sold. Children are trafficked for sexual exploitation, benefit fraud, forced marriage, domestic slavery like cleaning, cooking, and childcare, forced labor in factories or agriculture, committing crimes like begging, theft, working on cannabis farms, or moving drugs. Traffickers can be small groups who recruit, move, and exploit children and young people on a small scale or large criminal networks that operate internationally with high-level corruption, money laundering, and a large number of victims.

Knowing the signs of trafficking can help give a voice to children. Sometimes children wont understand that whats happening to them is wrong, or they might be scared to speak out. Signs of child trafficking include:

• The child appears to be under the control of others and is not free to come and go as they wish.
• The child has injuries or unexplained absences from school.
• The child is not in possession of their own passport, identification, or travel documents.
• The child is being looked after by someone who is not their parent or legal guardian.
• The child is being forced to work or perform sexual acts against their will.

If you suspect a child is being trafficked, you can report it to the relevant authorities. Children who are trafficked are intentionally hidden and isolated from the services and communities who can identify and protect them.