Centering Youth in the Fight Against Child Exploitation
By Phyllis Ruzvidzo
At the 25th Conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Alliance against Trafficking in Persons, held in Vienna under the theme “Protecting Childhoods, Shaping Futures,” like with so many similar events elsewhere before, one urgent truth echoed through every speech, panel, and dialogue: the crisis of child exploitation has become too vast, too intricate, and too devastating to confront with partial solutions.
The world is facing a global crisis in the fight against child exploitation. According to the OSCE’s 2025 report, the number of children subjected to exploitation has tripled over the past 15 years (OSCE, 2025).This alarming increase is partly driven by the misuse of digital technologies, which traffickers now use to recruit, groom, and abuse children in spaces once thought to be safe such as gaming platforms, social media, encrypted apps, and messaging services.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2022), an estimated 25 to 27 million people are affected by human trafficking globally. However, law enforcement agencies are only able to detect and investigate about 10,000 of these cases annually (UNODC, 2022). Meanwhile, the profits made by modern-day traffickers have skyrocketed, growing fivefold to a staggering $150 billion annually (ILO, 2014). Behind each of these numbers is a child stripped of their safety, their future dimmed, and their voice silenced.
But these statistics are more than just numbers; they represent real lives, real stories like Phyllis Ruzvidzo’s.
“Having lost my parents at a young age, I grew up facing immense hardships and I know firsthand how vulnerability creates the perfect conditions for exploitation particularly human trafficking.”
Such vulnerability is precisely what traffickers exploit. Where poverty, isolation, and grief are present, exploitation takes root. Yet, within that same vulnerability lies remarkable resilience. Young people are not merely passive recipients of protection; they are already resisting, organizing, educating, and leading often with limited recognition or resources.
As the advocate boldly stated:
“We, the youth, are ready to take action. We are already leading grassroots movements and using digital tools to protect our peers. But how can we gain experience if every opportunity demands years and years of it?”
Children Are Not the Future. They Are the Present.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2022), children represent nearly one-third of all detected human trafficking victims worldwide (Global Report on Trafficking in Persons). This staggering reality should not only shock the world but also drive decisive action, highlighting the urgency of moving beyond protective policies. Young people must be empowered to actively shape these policies
Youth and children are not only proximate to the problem; they are also central to the solution.
“When we talk about ‘nothing for us without us,’ we must mean it. Tokenism is not inclusion. Young people do not want to be invited just to observe and take photos they want to build the frameworks.”
At the OSCE conference, a consistent message emerged: addressing child exploitation requires a whole-of-society approach. But that society must first dismantle its tendency to underestimate young people. Lived experience is a form of expertise. Digital fluency is a form of power. Compassion is a form of leadership. When youth are empowered, systems begin to transform.
From Exclusion to Empowerment
Despite numerous international frameworks, institutional pledges, and financial strategies, the structural exclusion of youth remains persistent. Young people are often consulted but not truly heard; involved but rarely empowered. Too often, policy continues to be made about them rather than with them. This status quo must change.
“Despite strategies and policies, trafficking continues to thrive. Yet one of the most powerful forces for change young people remains sidelined.” “Decisions are made for them, without them.”
This article builds upon the OSCE speech not simply as a reflection but as a direct call to action a message to governments, civil society organizations, donors, and multilateral institutions. It challenges stakeholders to move beyond symbolic gestures of inclusion. Young people are not simply asking for seats at the table; they are already building their own. What is needed now is for their leadership to be acknowledged and adequately resourced.
Concrete Steps for Policymakers & Stakeholders:
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Fund Youth-Led Programs
- Allocate funding specifically for youth-driven initiatives focused on preventing exploitation, providing peer education, and supporting survivors.
- Establish grant programs that prioritize grassroots youth organizations rather than only large, established NGOs.
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Create Mentorship & Leadership Pipelines
- Develop mentorship programs that connect youth advocates with policymakers, law enforcement, and child protection experts.
- Offer paid fellowships and internships to young activists to ensure they gain real experience rather than being relegated to symbolic roles.
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Integrate Youth into Policy-making with Real Authority
- Establish youth advisory councils with decision-making power in anti-trafficking bodies.
- Ensure that young people with lived experience are included in government task forces and funding committees.
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Improve Digital Safeguards with Youth Input
- Tech companies should collaborate with youth leaders to design child-friendly safety mechanisms on gaming, social media, and messaging platforms.
- Governments should mandate youth representation in cybersecurity and online safety policy discussions.
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Strengthen Education & Awareness at the Community Level
- Introduce youth-led school programs to educate students on trafficking risks, online safety, and reporting mechanisms.
- Provide training for teachers and parents, with young leaders acting as trainers and community liaisons.
When youth are meaningfully engaged in crafting prevention strategies, shaping digital safety mechanisms, mentoring vulnerable peers, and holding systems accountable, measurable change begins to take root. Not in the distant future, but immediately.
As stated post conference: “I dream of a world where the next generation of young men and women growing up in villages or underserved communities like mine do not have to fight to be seen, do not have to beg to be heard. That world begins with listening to us today.”
We Were Never Just Victims
The pain of exploitation and marginalization does not define this generation it fuels its determination. Across the world, youth-led initiatives are transforming trauma into action and silence into advocacy. Their stories are not merely narratives but blueprints for change. Bryan & Denov (2011) have argued that youth are often portrayed solely as victims rather than agents of change. The end of child exploitation cannot be achieved through legal reforms alone. It requires attentiveness to those who have endured exploitation, those who are confronting it, and those who despite being dismissed as “too young” are leading the charge against it.
“Because we don’t need permission to fight for justice, but we do need opportunities to turn our ideas into impact.”
The time has come to recognize young people not only as survivors, but as strategists. Not just as beneficiaries of protection, but as architects of change. Because they were never just victims.
They are voices. They are vision. They are the change.
“Let’s move beyond words to action because the time for change is now.”
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Phyllis Ruzvidzo, of the London-based St Mary University. Since spring 2025, she serves as the IFIMES Information Officer.
