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Trafficking of children (aka "Child Labor" and "Child Exploitation) is a form of human trafficking and is defined as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labor and exploitation.[1]:Article 3 (c) This definition is substantially wider than the same document's definition of "trafficking in persons".[1]:Article 3 (a) Children may also be trafficked for the purpose of adoption.

Though statistics regarding the magnitude of child trafficking are difficult to obtain, the International Labour Organization estimates that 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.[2] The trafficking of children has been internationally recognized as a serious crime that exists in every region of the world and which often has human rights implications. Yet, it is only within the past decade that the prevalence and ramifications of this practice have risen to international prominence, due to a dramatic increase in research and public action. A variety of potential solutions have accordingly been suggested and implemented, which can be categorized as four types of action: broad protection, prevention, law enforcement, and victim assistance.[citation needed]

The main international documents dealing with the trafficking of children are the 1989 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1999 I.L.O. Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention and the 2000 U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.

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Once a potential victim has come into contact with state authorities, identifying the child as a victim of trafficking takes time. The process often benefits from a thorough understanding of the child’s story. For a child who is in trouble with the law, hearing the child's full story helps caseworkers and officers determine if the child is actually a victim of a crime herself, such as exploitation, abuse, or trafficking. For a child in an administrative process, such as an asylum procedure, hearing the child's full story helps caseworkers to detect cases of trafficking.