Thursday 26th February

The Home Office has released its 2025 National Referral Mechanism (NRM) statistics, revealing an overall number of 23,411 people identified as potential victims of modern slavery, with children continuing to make up a significant proportion of those identified. 

Across the UK, 7,028 children were referred in 2025, up from 6,031 in 2024 and 5,943 in 2023, a 16.5% increase in just one year. England alone accounted for 6,256 of those referrals.

Which Children Are Being Referred? 

It is unsurprising that British children make up the largest group referred to the NRM, as they represent by far the largest child population in the UK. In 2025, 3,049 UK national children were referred or 54.7% of all child referrals.

However, viewed against overall child population size, British children remain comparatively underrepresented within the NRM. By contrast, some foreign national groups appear significantly overrepresented relative to their much smaller population base in the UK.

Sudanese children were the next most referred nationality (404 cases) or 5.8% of child referrals, followed by Eritrean children (351) or 5% and Vietnamese children (331) or 4.7%, figures that are proportionally high given the size of these communities.

Meanwhile, referrals for Albanian children have fallen sharply. In 2022, Albanian children accounted for 8% of child referrals however by 2025, this has dropped to just over 1%, with Albanian children no longer among the highest three nationalities referred.

How Children Are Being Exploited?

The types of exploitation recorded for child referrals have remained consistent between the 2023 and 2025 period, with criminal exploitation continuing to be the most commonly recognised.

In 2023, 42% (3,123) of child referrals were for criminal exploitation alone. This rose to 48% (2,891) in 2024 and reached 50% in 2025. Among UK national children, the increase has been driven largely by boys exploited in criminal activity, with referrals up 22% in 2025. Criminal exploitation covers a wide range of harms, including using children to supply and distribute drugs, produce drugs, commit shoplifting and other petty theft, money laundering, and even carry offensive weapons, among other criminal activities.

Labour exploitation is also rising among specific groups, notably Sudanese boys, whose referrals jumped from 52 in 2024 to 76 in 2025, a 46% increase.

While criminal and labour exploitation is increasingly prevalent among male children, sexual exploitation remains the primary harm reported for girls. In 2025, 549 girls were referred for sexual exploitation, compared with 75 boys. As a new report highlights, there has been an increase in referrals of sexual exploitation of women and girls in recent years - between 2020 and 2025 there was a rise of 61% in referrals of girls – from 504 to 811.

 However, this likely underrepresents the true scale of sexual exploitation among boys and criminal exploitation amongst girls. Structural barriers, stigma, and professional bias can hinder disclosure, and cases involving boys may be less readily identified or referred by practitioners for sexual exploitation while similar bias regarding the criminal exploitation of girls will hinder identification, meaning the true scale of exploitation of children is often undercounted in official figures.

Despite the rising numbers of children referred to the NRM each year, the true scale of exploitation of children is far higher. Many children remain invisible to authorities, and structural barriers are preventing formal identification, meaning official figures capture only a fraction of children across the UK.

 Patricia Durr, CEO of ECPAT UK said:

‘The number of children identified as potential victims of trafficking through the National Referral Mechanism continues to rise, and yet we know that these figures do not represent the full scale of exploitation of children in the UK.  Without identification, there is no protection or justice for child victims. As we await announcements regarding reform of the NRM and wider reform of the UK’s approach to modern slavery, we urge the government to improve the response to child victims.  Children should be safeguarded and protected first and foremost, and all decisions must be in their best interests.’

 

Notes:

Modern Slavery: NRM and DtN statistics, end of year summary 2025, Home Office February 2026

Behind the Profile Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking through Adult Services Websites, Independent Anti-slavery Commissioner, February 2026