The number of British nationals identified as potential child trafficking victims has been rising, amounting to 2 118 cases in 2017, out of which half said they were trafficked within the UK. Despite this, Independent has learned the UK`s Home Office plans to cut support those children have been receiving, in particular specialized one-to-one support currently provided to those trafficked within Britain. Increasing number of gangs targets children, and especially those from disadvantaged background, getting them involved in drug trafficking and other illegal activities. One of the key components in fighting this trend, but also making sure the children who ones were part of those gangs fall back into exploitation is building trust and long-lasting relationships. This was a task of Independent Child Trafficking Advocate (ICTA) scheme which is going to suffer budget cuts now. Based on what Independent learned, experts working in ICTA will not be able to work with child victims of trafficking within Britain after the changes, leaving parents or guardians to protect them. Many civil organizations warm parents and guardians are not equipped to do such a demanding task, increasing risks for already vulnerable children.
According to Rupinder Parhar, policy officer at the Children’s Society “young people are often heavily criminalised in these cases, and they need an advocate who can challenge this. That is going to get a lot harder if they don’t have an ICTA”.
The Home Office issued a response stating that the old scheme for one-to-one support will be replaced by ‘expert ICTA regional co-ordinators’ whose task will be to support professionals already working with child victims.