Child Safety at Home
Safe From Harm: Understanding and Preventing Child Trafficking
T.C Lekitlane
Safe From Harm: Understanding and Preventing Child Trafficking
by T.C Lekitlane
Child trafficking is one of the most disturbing crimes a parent can imagine — but knowledge, not fear, is what protects children. This book explains what child trafficking actually is, how traffickers operate, who they target, and — most importantly — what parents, caregivers, educators, and communities can do to prevent it. Drawing on guidance from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, the ILO, and leading child protection organisations, this guide replaces confusion with clarity. It covers online and offline risks, the warning signs that are often missed, what to do if a child goes missing, and how to support survivors. The goal is not to frighten — it is to equip every adult with the knowledge to recognise, prevent, and respond to child trafficking.
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Guide preview
Introduction: What Child Trafficking Really Is
Child trafficking is a crime that involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines it clearly: any child under 18 who is used for exploitation — whether or not force, fraud, or coercion is apparent — is a victim of trafficking.
This definition is important because it removes a common misconception. A child does not need to be physically moved across a border to be trafficked. They do not need to be locked in a room or physically restrained. Exploitation can happen in the child's own home, in their neighbourhood, or through a screen. The essence of trafficking is not movement — it is exploitation.
According to the UNODC, approximately one in every three detected trafficking victims globally is a child. Over the past 15 years, the proportion of children among detected victims has tripled. Girls are primarily trafficked for sexual exploitation, while boys are mostly trafficked for forced labour. But these patterns are not absolute — children of all genders are vulnerable to all forms of exploitation.
Nearly 20,000 children worldwide were identified as trafficking victims in 2020 alone — and the actual number is believed to be far higher because most cases go undetected. The ILO estimates that approximately 27.6 million people were in forced labour globally in 2021, including millions of children. In sub-Saharan Africa, children account for the majority of trafficking victims. In South Asia, nearly half of victims are children, exploited for labour or forced into marriage. In Central America and the Caribbean, most detected victims are teenage girls trafficked for sexual exploitation.
This book is written for parents, caregivers, educators, and community members everywhere — in Cape Town, Jakarta, Nairobi, São Paulo, New Delhi, London, and beyond — who want to understand the reality of child trafficking and, more importantly, know what to do about it. The goal is not to fill you with fear. It is to give you clear, actionable knowledge that protects children — because knowledge, used well, is one of the most powerful prevention tools we have.