Updated November 2026
Child exploitation is when someone takes advantage of a child's age, trust or situation to use them for their own gain. It can involve sexual abuse, forcing a child to commit crimes, trafficking or making a child work in harmful conditions. It can happen to any child, anywhere, online or in person.
Many children don't realise it is happening to them. That's why knowing the types of child exploitation and the signs to look for can make such a difference. Here's what to know, and what we can all do to help.
What are the types of child exploitation?
There are four main types of child exploitation. They often overlap, and a child can experience more than one at the same time.
Child sexual exploitation (CSE)
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It happens when someone uses power over a child under 18 to manipulate, pressure or deceive them into sexual activity, often in exchange for something the child wants or needs, such as gifts, money, attention or affection. It can happen online as well as in person.
Read our full guide to child sexual exploitation, including the signs and how to get help.
Child trafficking
Child trafficking is when children are recruited, moved or held so that others can exploit them. Read more about what child trafficking means below.
Child criminal exploitation (CCE)
Child criminal exploitation (CCE) is when children are manipulated, threatened or forced to commit crimes. This includes "county lines", where gangs use children to carry drugs, money or weapons between towns and cities, often far from home.
The law is changing in the UK to recognise this. On Wednesday 29 April 2026, the Crime and Policing Act 2026 received Royal Assent. It creates a specific offence of child criminal exploitation for adults who cause, or try to cause, a child to commit a crime, so that children are treated as victims rather than offenders.
Child labour
Child labour is work that harms a child's health or safety, or stops them going to school. It takes away their childhood and their chances for the future. Find out more about child labour.
What is child trafficking?
What the data says
In the UK, the Home Office's latest figures (year to June 2026, published Thursday 24 September 2026) show:
- 7,583 children were referred as potential victims of modern slavery, 30% of all 25,373 referrals, the highest yearly total of referrals since records began.
- Criminal exploitation was the most common type reported for children (48%; 3,639).
- Most UK nationals referred were children (74%; 4,095).
- 1,994 referrals were flagged as county lines cases. County lines is a term used to describe drug gangs in large cities expanding their reach to small towns. Most (76%; 1,506) involved boys.
Around the world, children made up 38% of detected trafficking victims in the UN's latest global report (2024).
These figures only count the children who are identified. Because exploitation is hidden, the real number is likely to be higher.
Joy* is a 22-year-old from Nigeria who was trafficked to Italy for prostitution when she was 16. The owner of the hair salon where Joy* worked convinced her to travel to Italy to work as a babysitter. Once in Italy, Joy* was forced to work as a sex worker. After two years, she finally managed to escape with the help of a taxi driver, who bought her a train ticket to another city and a phone.
Who is most at risk of exploitation?
Any child can be exploited. But some children face greater risk, including children living in poverty, children in care, children who go missing from home or school, children with special educational needs or disabilities, and children separated from their families by conflict or disaster.
Emergencies make children especially vulnerable. After the glacial flood in northern Nepal on Wednesday 26 August 2026, many children were separated from their families and living in temporary shelters, where the risk of trafficking and abuse rises. Our teams set up safe spaces for children and, working with local authorities, helped reunite more than 69 children with their families in the first days of the response.
Signs of child exploitation
Signs can be hard to spot, because many look like normal teenage behaviour. Look out for changes that come together or suddenly, such as a child going missing, having money or gifts they can't explain, spending time with older people, or becoming secretive, withdrawn or frightened.
See the full list of signs in our guide to child sexual exploitation. Many of them apply to all types of exploitation.
Joy* talking with Viviana Coppola – SC Italy anti-trafficking head of unit
How we protect children from exploitation
Save the Children works with communities, local organisations and governments to stop exploitation before it starts, and to support children to recover when it does.
In Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Somaliland and Zambia, our child protection programme from 2022 to 2025 helped more than 145,000 children and adults access prevention and protection services. Children who knew where to get help if they faced violence rose from 28% to 89%.
In Somalia, we support Child Welfare Committees: community members who raise awareness of child labour, child marriage and exploitation, and refer children at risk to trained caseworkers. In Haiti, we work with local partners to protect children displaced by armed violence in Port-au-Prince from risks including sexual exploitation, abuse and family separation.
What are the 4 types of child exploitation?
The four main types are child sexual exploitation, child criminal exploitation (including county lines), child trafficking and child labour. They often overlap.
What is child criminal exploitation?
Child criminal exploitation is when someone manipulates, threatens or forces a child under 18 to commit crimes, such as carrying drugs or money, stealing or holding weapons. The child is a victim, even if they seem to go along with it.
What is county lines?
County lines is a form of child criminal exploitation where gangs use children to move and sell drugs, often from cities to smaller towns, using a dedicated phone line to take orders. Children may be groomed with gifts or money, or controlled through threats and debt.
Is child exploitation a crime in the UK?
Yes. Child sexual exploitation, trafficking and forcing children into crime are all criminal offences. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 also creates a specific offence of child criminal exploitation.
What's the difference between child trafficking and smuggling?
Smuggling means helping someone cross a border illegally. Trafficking means recruiting, moving or holding a child in order to exploit them, and it can happen without crossing any border.
How do I report child exploitation?
Call 999 if a child is in immediate danger. Otherwise, call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, or contact your local council's children's services or the police on 101.
Every child has the right to be safe. In 2025, Save the Children worked with children in 92 countries to protect them from violence, abuse and exploitation, and to help them recover and rebuild. When we know the signs, speak up and stand with the people who protect children, we make it harder for exploitation to succeed.
*Names changed to protect identities
