Adopt and reinforce counter-trafficking specific measures to prevent child trafficking, protect and assist child victims.

As children are increasingly detected among victims of trafficking, national authorities should ensure that child protection services, including care facilities, are sensitized and equipped to detect and refer cases of child exploitation and pay particular attention to children’s vulnerabilities to being trafficked.

As the link between child labour and harmful practices such as forced and earl\ marriage that lead to trafficking in children is increasingly established, the international community should reinvigorate campaigns to end child labour in all its forms (SDG 8.7) and to eliminate child, early and forced marriage (SDG 5.3) as well as support the adoption of national legal frameworks to address these issues.

Trafficking of girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation is recording an alarming increase in many regions of the world. The international community and national authorities should increase efforts to prevent this form of trafficking, to ensure victim-centred and trauma-informed investigations, as well as tailored protection and assistance programmes for girl victims.

Some forms of child trafficking in the Global North seem to be connected with the increased numbers of unaccompanied and separated children at Borders and further inland. National authorities should enhance reception services and mechanisms to provide immediate assistance to unaccompanied and separated children at borders in order to reduce the risk of being exploited in destination countries. 

Families have a fundamental role in the prevention of child trafficking as well as in the detection and assistance of victims. The role of families should be included in counter-trafficking frameworks.