At Invisible Traffick, we work with children and young people every day – educating them on human trafficking, their rights and how to stay safe.
We work with a broad range of children and young people through our Junior Education Programme (for P6 and P7 pupils) and our Invisible to Visible project (for ages 12–24). We see first hand how exploitation takes hold and what an appropriate response should look like when working with criminally exploited children.
That’s why we support raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) in Northern Ireland from 10 to 16, in line with international best practice.
Criminalising a 10-year-old is not justice. It’s a failure to protect.
The Reality of Exploitation
We cannot hide from the fact that child criminal exploitation is a glaring reality across Northern Ireland. At Invisible Traffick we see how children are lured in – often with gifts, money, or the promise of belonging – and pulled into cycles of crime through manipulation and coercion.
This process, known as the grooming cycle – befriend, control, abuse – is repeated until trust is broken and fear takes over. Even though some young people may not seem ‘innocent’ when they’re first targeted, that’s where our empathy and understanding of the exploitation cycle must kick in. In reality, traffickers don’t ask children if they want to join, they ask if they think they had a choice.
And the truth is: many children don’t. They often don’t even realise they’re being exploited. They may not have the words, language or even the understanding to describe what’s happening to them – or the confidence to speak out. Even adults struggle to recognise exploitation.
That’s why we need to end the system that asks children to prove their victimhood and, instead, start responding to their vulnerability.
Adultification, Bias and Broken Systems
Too often, we adultify children expecting them to ‘wise up’ while failing to see their vulnerability. But children’s brains are still developing. They do not have the prefrontal cortex development to assess risk in the same way an adult does. So, instead of viewing a non-punitive approach as softness, we need to start looking at it as science. It’s a reality we must face.
As professionals and trusted adults, we must be the calm in the chaos – the ones they can turn to when things go wrong. We are often talking about some of the most vulnerable people in our society – those in poverty, from minority communities, care experienced children or those suffering mental health or addiction problems. Because of this, they’re being preyed upon by criminal gangs, paramilitaries and other bad actors.
Our message to these children should be clear, ‘come to us, we will keep you safe from harm’.
Instead, they face the threat of criminal conviction and a life through the justice system.
Is this really how we should treat children in crisis? They don’t need cuffs, they need care.
A Welfare-Based Response
This does not mean that children who commit crimes must not be held accountable – but punishment should not come before protection. We need a justice system rooted in understanding, not retribution. One that prioritises safeguarding, not sentencing.
We need a person-centred approach where young people feel safe enough to learn, reflect, and choose a different path. That starts with us.
We need to respect young people, empathising with their lives, and demanding better systems for them.
We then need to ensure they feel completely safe to turn to us in times of trouble.
The reality is, we cannot arrest children if we want to end the cycle of child criminal exploitation. We need to ensure their safety while targeting the real criminals – those who exploit them.
Raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility is a critical step toward breaking the cycle. It’s about recognising exploited children for who they really are – victims, not villains.
Let’s be clear: exploited children need help, not handcuffs.
You can read some of our previous articles on this subject by clicking here.
About the author
Megan Phair is the Project Coordinator at Invisible Traffick.