Legal and Policy Context

This section outlines the key legal and strategic frameworks and policies that underpin our collective responsibility to protect children and young people from exploitation and harm. It includes key legislation, international conventions, and policy commitments that guide practice across Northern Ireland.

We recognise that engaging with this material may evoke strong emotional responses, particularly for those with lived experience or those working closely with children and young people affected by exploitation. In line with trauma-informed principles, this guidance is presented with care and respect for both the reader and the children it seeks to protect.

Our approach reflects a multi-agency commitment to prevention, protection, safeguarding, and accountability, and aligns with the Public Health Approach, as set out in Making Life Better – A Whole System Framework for Public Health (2013– 2023) This framework emphasises giving every child the best start in life, supporting parenting and family resilience, and enabling healthy, confident children skilled for life. Reference may also be made to the Health and Social Care Reset Plan, which reinforces system-wide collaboration to improve outcomes for children and families.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the power and control dynamics that underpin exploitation, which intersect with wider strategies such as the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Strategy (2024–2031). Understanding these connections is critical for addressing the root causes of harm and ensuring responses are contextual, rights-based, and trauma-informed.

Why this matters

Understanding the legal and strategic context is essential for practitioners to:

• Act confidently and consistently within their statutory duties.
• Advocate effectively for children’s rights and safety.
• Collaborate across systems to prevent harm and respond appropriately when exploitation occurs.
• Navigate overlapping themes of safeguarding and exploitation, recognising the intersections between children’s rights and safeguarding and modern slavery and human trafficking.
• Understand that international conventions create binding obligations for states and state actors, imposing legal and ethical duties on governments and practitioners to uphold children’s rights and protect them from harm and exploitation.