Trafficking of children, a serious threat in the EU

18.10.2021

Children account for 22% of all victims of trafficking. The majority of child victims are girls, almost 78%. The EU Anti-Trafficking Day is a reminder that trafficking of children remains a serious threat in the EU.

Human trafficking is a shocking reality still present in our days. More than half (64%) of all child victims are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked for labour exploitation, forced criminality and begging, as well as for drug-related crimes and forced and sham marriages. They are at particular risk of falling victim to traffickers online.

 

To mark the 15th EU Anti-Trafficking Day on 18 October, Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, will participate in an online event on Twitter Spaces . This year’s event which will focus on trafficking of children, follows the new EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings, presented by the Commission on 14 April 2021, which sets out actions to identify and stop trafficking early on and to protect the victims and help them rebuild their lives.

 

The Commissioner will be joined by Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust; Diane Schmitt, EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator; Ilias Chatzis, Chief of the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Sector, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); and Stana Buchowska, Regional Coordinator for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at ECPAT International (a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children).

 

The event can be followed live on Twitter at 10:00 CET on Monday.


See also