Blagrave partner charity, ECPAT-UK, has published new research with Missing People into the extent of the issue of trafficked children going missing from care.
Trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are going missing from UK care at an “alarmingly high” rate, according to the new report.
The report, entitled Heading back to harm: A study on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK, has found that more than a quarter of all trafficked children and over 500 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children went missing at least once in the year to September 2015, while 207 have not been found.
Data collected from 217 local authorities across the UK reveals a “deeply concerning” inconsistency in identifying and recording information on these vulnerable children, with many unable to report on overall numbers of trafficked and unaccompanied children in their care.
We hope this report will shine a light on the problem and galvanise funders and policy makers into a response.