Are young people always trafficked from overseas?
No, young people can be trafficked from within the UK as well as from overseas and are trafficked out of as well as into the UK. Sometimes young people are also trafficked accompanied by family members or adults which can make this a difficult crime to identify. Why are young people trafficked? Young people can be trafficked for a number of reasons and there is no simple answer to this question. Trafficking of children includes exploitation, which can range from unpaid domestic service (including within their own families), employment below minimum wage with no access to schooling, through to trafficking for the sex industry and other criminal activities. Whose responsibility is it to protect young people who are trafficked? It is a co-ordinated effort from a number of agencies. The first agency that young people come into contact with on their arrival into the UK is the UK Borders Agency. They make the initial decisions and refer young people to the local authority where necessary. Lo
