Guide to enhance child protection and improve transnational cooperation with a focus on child victims of trafficking

Nearly a quarter of victims of trafficking registered in the EU are children. EU child victims are twice as many as non-EU child victims, with girls especially targeted and mainly trafficked for sexual exploitation.

A new guide by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) suggests 10 ways to protect children moving across EU Member States without parental care, and aims at enhancing transnational cooperation within EU member States, including law enforcement and judicial cooperation.

The guide has been developed in close cooperation with the Office of the EU Anti-trafficking Coordinator in the European Commission and delivers an action under the priorities set forth in the 2017 Communication on Stepping up EU action against trafficking in human beings (PDF). This is in line with the 2018 EU Agencies’ Joint Statement of commitment to address trafficking in human beings (PDF) signed by ten EU agencies.

Children remain at the core of the EU’s agenda to address trafficking. Ensuring that all victims are identified and can access appropriate assistance and protection is a priority for the EU, as recognised in the 2017 Communication. Ultimately, the overarching objective of the EU is to prevent the crime from happening in the first place.