The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a surge in online distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which was already at high levels prior to the pandemic. The harm resulting from being a victim of this crime is severe, and every time a picture or video is shared, this results in repeat victimisation. The impact of this crime area can hardly be overstated and an effective response is of utmost importance.

This Paper introduces the key findings of a quantitative study of youth-produced sexual content online.

This report focuses on different cases of sexual exploitation on children. The report has a strong background information, with true examples. It tries to identify the problem of disappearance due to abuse.

The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of violence against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.

The article underlines and explores the possible link between children that go missing and child sexual exploitation.

This study both describes a home-visiting intervention program for young, sexually assaulted runaways (10 - 14 years old) and provides preliminary outcomes from the first 20 female participants.

Despite increased awareness and a heightened state of alert regarding child sexual exploitation children are still slipping through the net and falling prey to sexual predators. Serious gaps remain in the knowledge, practice and services required to tackle this problem.

Provides evidence of effective programmes to address violence against children drawn from UNICEF's decades of experience, and informed by key partners.

Report exploring the continuing hidden nature of the problem of sexually exploited children and describes what Barnardo's is doing today, while suggesting what action still remains to be taken to further protect exploited children and young people.

Communication is of critical importance in our efforts to respect, protect and implement the rights of the child. In order to make this communication with and between children, parents, governmental officials, professionals and volunteers working with or for children as effective as possible, we need to use terms and concepts that all these actors understand and consider respectful.

The main objective of the project was to compare the choice of ‘methods and strategies’ developed by Member States in order to achieve the binding results defined by the Directive and to assess them based on the best interests of the child.

Details of Missing People's work to support children who are sexually exploited

The aim of this assessment is to identify current trends in production, distribution and access to commercial child abusive material (CAM), based on the insight and expertise of EFC members, as well as observations of EU Member States law enforcement representatives.

The aim of this report is to provide an update to the Strategic Assessment of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Online published in October 2013 in the framework of European Financial Coalition (EFC). In addition to presenting the 2013 facts and figures, it also looks at other essential factors in this area.

Youtube video actors providing real statement s by a victim and an abuser, of child sexual abuse

New technology has changed how adults take advantage of children with a variety of new tools available. Victimisation has taken on new characteristics and internet, digital photography and ease of travel have all had an impact.

Terre des Hommes Netherlands' four researchers identified 1,000 predators in 10 weeks. Call for all government agencies in charge of justice to identify and convict 100,000 predators committing the crime of WCST before the end of 2014

Children deprived of parental care found in another EU Member State other than their own aims to strengthen the response of all relevant actors for child protection. The protection of those girls and boys is paramount and an obligation for EU Member States, derived from the international and European legal framework. The guide includes a focus on child victims of trafficking and children at risk, implementing an action set forth in the 2017 Communication stepping up EU action against trafficking in human beings, and takes into account identified patterns, including with respect to the gender specificity of the crime.

Following on from their ground-breaking 2016 report Heading Back to Harm, leading charities ECPAT UK and Missing People have revisited the issue using 2017 data to assess what has changed. This report shows that trafficked and unaccompanied children are still going missing from care at an alarmingly high rate.

This report provides a snapshot of the manner in which children who may have been trafficked into and within five EU states were or were not identified and protected in and up to 2016.

Every year approximately 250,000 people are reported missing to the police and other agencies across the UK. About two thirds of these reports will be children under 18 (Home Office: 2010), and a proportion of will have been victims of trafficking.

his study is a deliverable of the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016, which recognised that vulnerable groups, such as children, are at greater risk of human trafficking.

This report explores the key features of guardianship systems put in place to cater for the needs of all children in need of protection, including child victims and those at risk of becoming victims of trafficking in human beings or of other forms of exploitation. The research covers four specific areas, namely the type of guardianship systems in place, the profile of appointed guardians, the appointment procedures, and the tasks of the guardians.

This paper was developed in the context of the Trafficking Victims Re/integration Programme (TVRP), which funds NGO’s in several countries of Southeastern Europe. It is the fifth of a series that aim to shed light on good practices in the area of re/integration as well as on important lessons learned.

An exploration of research linking missing and trafficked children co-written by Missing People and ECPAT UK

ECPAT UK published a new booklet to empower practitioners, campaigners, students and the general public to ensure the needs of trafficked children are considered at every level of UK society.

Echoing Kipling’s sentiment in “The White Man’s Burden” the movement has effectively established an unchallenged dominance over debates with regards to human trafficking, which begs the questions why and who benefits from this influence?

Guidance on how professionals should act when in contact with young children that been trafficked.

Paper looking at how the European Union (EU) has chosen to respond to this challenge and assesses critically the legal, policy and implementation framework put in place to fight child trafficking.

An overall analysis and overview of child trafficking in the USA.

Handbook designed to help standardise guardianship practice, ensuring also that it is better equipped to deal with the specific needs of child victims of trafficking.

Report focusing on what NGOs can do, with the intention of showing them what techniques there are agreement on, and what need further discussion.

A handbook aimed at strengthening the protection of children and addressing the needs of children victim of child trafficking.

Tackles the challenges of identifying trafficked children and offers recommandations in order to advance toward solutions and resolutions.

Review of TDH campaign including evaluations, publications and views of TDH staff. Campaign against child trafficking and improvements in methods and programmes to reduce child trafficking and improve protection of children who had been trafficked.

Tackles social aspects of child trafficking including the phenomenon of the feminization of trafficking, and the psychological consequences experienced by the child survivor.

Article examines challenges in the treatment of child survivors of human trafficking. Integrating psychoanalytic theory with models of self-development from the cognitive developmental psychology literature, the paper offers a clinical case presentation of an 11-year-old survivor

A study using social network analysis to explore internal trafficking of children intended for sexual exploitation.

An article aiming to update the reader with the latest information regarding the latest trends, themes and patterns in child trafficking.

Article reviewing how rumours of child trafficking have surfaced quickly after every major natural disaster since the Asian tsunami (although usually proved false or exaggerated).

Review of global child trafficking, severity, causes, documentation, what can be done and prevention from the perspective of the USA

Development of EU template and collection plan for statistical information and analysis on missing and sexually exploited children and trafficking in human beings in order to have reliable and comparable collection and analysis of indicators and other data, as well as enabling communication between EU, other EU bodies and third party organisations.

A research report based on interviews with social services on the issue of child trafficking, in the UK.

Explores the nature and methods of abuse in child trafficking. It also explores the protection and treatment offered to these vulnerable children.

Focuses on the experience of young people who leave home or travel abroad to seek work or a better life and also on children who are sent away from home by their parents. It explores initiatives that reduce the likelihood that such children will be subjected to exploitation.

Examines how implicit notions in the concepts of "children" and "home" influence the study of child trafficking.

Overview of child trafficking in the UK. Highlights the shortcomings and inconsistent standards of local authorities, the lack of specialist protection and the uncertainty of a trafficked child's immigration status, combining to make these children vulnerable to further harm and at risk from the influence of their traffickers.

Interviews with social services, other agencies and voluntary sector organisations. Across the three regions there were 80 reported cases of known or suspected child victims of trafficking. 60% of these children have gone missing from social services care and have never been found.

The extent to which children and youth are trafficked is difficult to estimate because these victims are hidden, silenced and forced to endure continued abuse creating fear and submissiveness. The estimates of children who are trafficking victims range from 600,000 to over 2 million.

Explores the ways in which the highly emotive subject of child trafficking is presented in the UK. Examining the way the issue has been tackled at two moments in time: the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st century.

Study to identify the patterns of child trafficking involving Albanian children, and especially children's views of the role of family issues and the nature of the trafficking experience.

Study exploring the internal trafficking of children and young people for the purpose of sexual exploitation across the North East and Cumbria.

Study to identify the facts on the the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation into and through the UK.

Examines twentieth century social constructions of child prostitutes and child prostitution, the origins of these representations and the extent to which they have been used as metaphors for other perceived social, economic and political problems.

Argues for a review of children's services responses to trafficked children based on a literature search, focus groups, interviews and case studies. Highlights variations in practitioners understanding of trafficking, smuggling, internal trafficking.

Describes therapy with an adolescent girl and her infant daughter, following the girl's escape from illegal detention, physical abuse and forced prostitution, after she was trafficked to the UK from Eastern Europe.

Study to understand the incidence and severity of aggression among sexually abused girls who were trafficked and then used for commercial sexual exploitation. In addition, the impact of counseling for minimizing aggression from these girls was investigated.

Presents and summarises sources of information regarding the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes within Europe. Highlights the need for education of social care professionals regarding this issue and shows the current gaps within the system.

Review of international and UK literature, report on focus groups and interviews of practitioners from children's services, analysis of children and young people trafficked into the UK and within the UK for sexual exploitation.

Child trafficking occurs in virtually all countries in Europe. Children are trafficked across borders, but they are also trafficked within countries. Internal trafficking is reported to occur in every second European country.

The IMPACT study notes that child rights violation also persists in Europe, despite the body of international, regional and national legal instruments adopted across the region to prohibit the practice and assist child victims

Study utilising modelling to explore: whether caregiver strain is linked to child maltreatment, if experiencing maltreatment is associated with risk-inflating behaviours or sexual denigration of self/others, and if these behavioural and psychosocial dysfunctions are related to vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation.

A review of the historical, neurological, and developmental vulnerabilities typical of child sex trafficking victims reveals serious doubts regarding their ability to control their choices or escape from a trafficker. The uniform shielding of all child victims of sex trafficking from legal culpability for the criminal conduct of traffickers is recommended.