The importance of children’s narrative within a multi-centred, dynamic ecological framework for child trafficking assessment and planning

Abstract

An ecological approach to understanding child abuse and working with separated children are not new concepts. This paper proposes a dynamic development of the model for use by front line practitioners that takes account of the movement and exploitation of children caught up in child trafficking, while recognising the primacy of children's narratives when information is difficult to obtain. Adopting a holistic planning and assessment approach utilising dynamic life story work addresses the realities of children's lives as they move around, with the potential for numerous social contacts and influences in home, transit and destination countries. The model recognises not only the physical journey and exploitation of the child, but also their emotional and psychological journey through exploitation and abuse, hopefully, towards healthy and safe outcomes. While such a model recognises the complexities of the lives of children on the move who have been trafficked, its major drawback for professionals is its complexity and the difficulty of obtaining, and making sense of information from the potentially numerous countries, situations and people children have encountered.