Fifth of Britons unknowingly aid child trafficking

More than a fifth of Britons may be unknowingly contributing to child trafficking, a survey published today reveals. People who buy pirate DVDs and roses from street vendors, smoke home-grown cannabis, give money to child beggars and use prostitutes may be supporting what the United Nations has described as "a modern day slave trade", says research published by ECPAT, the international campaign against the sexual exploitation of children. According to the survey, published at the launch of a nationwide campaign to raise awareness, 89% of those questioned were not aware that their activities may be contributing to illegal businesses run by networks who smuggle children from China, Africa and Afghanistan.

According to the survey conducted across 17 UK cities, a third of adults were not aware of the extent of child trafficking in the UK and a third believe trafficked children only end up in foreign countries."There has been a culture of disbelief," said Jan Buckingham, values director at the Body Shop which is helping to fund ECPAT UK as part of the campaign. "People don't see that children are being trafficked into the UK. They turn a blind eye."