UPDATE (July 2019): This petition is now closed. Thank you to the 30,000 supporters who called on the Government to guarantee specialist support for child victims of trafficking. You can keep the momentum going by taking our follow up action demanding stable futures for all trafficked children.

Thousands of children are identified as victims of trafficking in the UK, and the numbers are rising each year. Unaccompanied and separated children in migration continue to be among those most at risk of being trafficked. All of these children need an independent, trusted individual to support them, yet in England and Wales there is still no comprehensive guardianship service available to them.

Will you take 5 minutes to raise this with the Home Secretary on Twitter?

Use our example tweet below or write your own, remembering to add Home Secretary Sajid Javid's Twitter handle:

All trafficked, separated & unaccompanied children must have an independent guardian to help them access their rights. @sajidjavid it's time to make this happen so #allchildren affected by #modernslavery are identified & protected from further exploitation http://bit.ly/2Sg3y0K

Click here to multiply your impact by emailing your MP and asking them to raise this with the Home Secretary

All trafficked, separated and unaccompanied children should have access to an independent guardian

These children may have had to flee their country due to conflict, and then been exploited on their journey to the UK. Or they may be British children in the care system, let down by the adults around them. They may have been forced to grow or sell drugs, or forced into sexual exploitation. They may have no relatives or friends in the UK. They may face prosecution for offences they were forced to commit by their traffickers. They may have physical injuries and mental health conditions as a result of their abuse.

Now imagine that these children have to navigate the immigration, criminal justice, social care, health and education systems on their own, often without a parent or trusted person to support them.

International standards say that all unaccompanied, separated and trafficked children should be entitled to an independent, legal guardian to act in their best interests and support their needs. It has been shown that having a guardian can help unaccompanied children feel comfortable to share experiences of trafficking, which leads to them receiving the support they need to recover. Having a guardian also helps prevent children from being re-trafficked. Yet in the UK, a much more limited version of guardianship exists in law, and it has not been made available to all children across the country. 

Please take a minute to raise this with the Home Secretary on Twitter

Thank you for standing with our most vulnerable children.