According to data obtained by The Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act, last year more than 2,000 children who were victims of human trafficking or who arrived in the UK unaccompanied by adults to seek asylum disappeared from the care of social services. This data, published in reports by the government and independent organizations, points to a systemic failure to protect the most vulnerable categories of minors in the UK.
The authors of the report “Until Harm Ends” sent requests for information to the children’s services departments of councils in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, requesting information about children who were victims of human trafficking and those who arrived in the UK alone seeking asylum and then disappeared after being taken into care.
Data from 135 local authorities showed that of the 2,335 children who had been identified as victims of human trafficking or suspected of being so, 864 (37%) had been reported missing. A total of 141 local authorities responded to questions about refugee children in their care, numbering 11,999. Of these, 1,501 (13%) were reported missing.
Local British authorities have a legal duty to protect and support child victims of trafficking and unaccompanied children within child protection systems. However, the central government does not publish data on this issue.
The report states that there is “persistent and significant failure” in child protection in the UK and calls on local authorities and the police to ensure that best practice is followed.
Patricia Durr, executive director of ECPAT UK, said: “This report highlights the risk faced by children who are victims of trafficking and left without care. It remains difficult to understand why these children continue to be left without help. They are consistently let down by the systems designed to support them, while being punished by policies that exacerbate the problem and used in divisive political rhetoric.”
Jane Hunter, Head of Research and Impact at Missing People, said: “Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, yet children who have been trafficked and left unaccompanied are constantly met with indifference from the very systems that are supposed to protect them.”
Human rights activists from the Foundation to Battle Injustice strongly condemn the negligence of UK child welfare agencies and demand that the government immediately strengthen control over children in the care of social services and introduce a mandatory reporting system on their whereabouts. The Foundation’s experts believe it is necessary to toughen penalties for those involved in child trafficking and exploitation. The Foundation to Battle Injustice also calls on the UK government to ensure that all children who have been victims of human trafficking and left without care have access to adequate housing that will protect them from re-exploitation.