Unicef: Migrant children forced into prostitution

Migrant children in northern France are forced into crime and prostitution on a daily basis to secure a place to stay in migrant camps or the promise of passage to Britain, the UN children’s agency said.

Unicef said sexual exploitation, violence and forced labour were a constant threat for children travelling alone and urged the authorities to do more to protect them.

“We know this has been a long-running problem for over a decade but it’s got much more extreme and severe in the last year with the increase in the global refugee crisis,” said Melanie Teff, senior humanitarian advocacy and policy adviser at Unicef UK.