ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) is a leading children's rights organisation working to protect children from trafficking and exploitation. Established in 1994 (read about Our History here) and registered as a charity in 2004, we are part of a global ECPAT network of over 140 organisations in more than 110 countries.  

Our vision

Children everywhere enjoy their rights to be protected and to lives free from trafficking and exploitation

Our mission

We seek to end all forms of child trafficking and exploitation, prevent harm, and secure systemic change that improves protection, care and justice. We achieve this through an integrated model that combines direct frontline youth support, policy, research, advocacy and campaigns, specialist practical training, information, awareness and capacity building. Guided by the ethical and meaningful involvement and participation of young people.

We promote and uphold children’s rights to protection, provision and participation in the UK and outside of the UK by:

• Informing, educating and researching child trafficking and exploitation
• Increasing awareness of and campaigning to end child trafficking and exploitation
• Standing with children and young people affected by exploitation
• Working collaboratively for change

Our work

We have a unique focus on children’s rights at the intersection of the full range of issues that impact child victims of trafficking, including displacement and immigration, trauma and abuse, criminalisation and alienation, care and protection. This focus allows us to highlight the systemic issues that continue to leave children unprotected and at risk of exploitation through an integrated model of work focussed on three areas of delivery:

Our Policy, Research, and Advocacy Programme seeks to improve legislation, policy and frontline practice, using evidence from research and practice. We provide parliamentary briefings, engage with international monitoring bodies, and pursue strategic litigation to secure justice and better protection.

Our Youth Programme provides direct support and recovery for young victims of trafficking and exploitation and expertise in children's cases.  The young people we support are aged 15–25 and are child victims of trafficking and exploitation. Most are refugees, unaccompanied, and care-experienced, and many face multiple intersecting challenges including insecure immigration status, racism, disrupted education, unstable housing, and trauma. We offer tailored and gender specific support for young people to enable them to learn valuable life skills, access peer support, ease their trauma, understand their rights, and have their voices heard in environments that promote safety, collaboration, empowerment, trust and choice.

Our Training and Practice Development Programme provides specialist, practical training, information and capacity building on child protection, safeguarding and child trafficking and exploitation for a wide range of professionals working with at-risk children. We train social workers, foster carers, police officers, health care and education professionals to identify child exploitation and to safeguard appropriately.