Small World, Big Responsibility – The UK’s role in the global trade in children

This report seeks to provide a snapshot of how child exploitation is part of a global trade operating in the world today. And it’s a lucrative business. Human trafficking is thought to be the third biggest international organised crime, after the drugs and arms trade. An estimated 20% of trafficking victims are children. But child exploitation goes far beyond the act of trafficking a child. It is an issue that cannot be ignored despite having a less visible impact on the UK and its citizens than gun crime or drug abuse. The international community, national governments, local communities, families and children themselves must work together to ensure that children grow up safe and secure within their families and communities and stop this thriving global trade. The hope is that this report serves to stimulate coordinated action to combat the global trade in children.