Child Sexual Exploitation

Definition:-Sexual exploitation of children and young people under 18 involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. Child Sexual Exploitation

(continued) Violence, coercion and intimidation are common, involvement in exploitative relationships being characterised in the main by the child or young person’s limited availability of choice resulting from their social/economic and/or emotional vulnerability. A person under 18 is sexually exploited when they are coerced into sexual activities by one or more person(s) who have deliberately targeted their youth and inexperience in order to exercise power over them. what is Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Key Drivers Office of the Children's Commissioner - recommendations and responses – June 2014 UN Convention of the rights of the child Statutory guidance on children who runaway or go missing from home – June 2013 Working together to safeguard children 2004 Independent Inquiry into Child sexual exploitation Rotherham CEOP Threat assessment of Child Sexual exploitation and abuse- June 2013

Consent and the Law Rape includes penetration of the mouth as well as penetration of the vagina or anus by the penis. The new measures of consent are designed to redress the balance in favour of victims without prejudicing the defendant's right to a fair trial, to help juries reach just and fair decisions on this difficult area of criminal law: Consent is defined by law as: a person consents if he or she agrees by choice to the sexual activity and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. All the circumstances at the time of the offence will be looked at in deciding whether the defendant is reasonable in believing the complainant consented. People will be considered most unlikely to have agreed to sexual activity if they were subject to threats or fear of serious harm, unconscious, drugged, abducted, or were unable to communicate because of a physical disability.

There are offences against trafficking persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation; child abuse through prostitution and pornography. These include: –buying sexual services of a child, –causing, encouraging, arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography, and –controlling any of the activities of a child involved in prostitution or pornography; trafficking persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation; –child abuse through prostitution and pornography. These include: buying sexual services of a child, –causing, encouraging, arranging or facilitating child prostitution or pornography, and –controlling any of the activities of a child involved in prostitution or pornography;

What are the different types of CSE Boyfriend’ model of exploitation Peer exploitation model:. Organised/networked sexual exploitation Gang-associated The Family model

Signs of CSE going missing for periods of time or regularly returning home late  skipping school or being disruptive in class  appearing with unexplained gifts or possessions that can’t be accounted for  experiencing health problems that may indicate a sexually transmitted infection  Loss of interest in appearance  having mood swings and changes in temperament  using drugs and alcohol displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviours, such as over familiarity with strangers, dressing in a sexualised manner or sending sexualised images by mobile phone (‘sexting’)  they may also show signs of unexplained physical harm such as bruising and cigarette marks  Anti-Social Behaviour  Self-harm ( not just cutting, but Anorexia/Bulimia)  Nightmares  Taxis picking them up and dropping them of

Grooming The child believes they are in a loving relationship They are given gifts such as mobile phones and cigarettes, accommodation etc. The child is made to feel important The child feels they ‘belong’ to a friendship group The child believes them self to be in a consenting to a sexual relationship

In Staffordshire the peak age for victims of CSE is 15 The number of repeat victims for CSE increased as the age of the victim increased, peaking at the age of 15 More than half of the offences take place within 1km of the victims home address 3% of victims of sexual exploitation have also been reported missing at some point 63% of offences have taken place on more than one occasion Victim Data

(continued) However, they identified that there were difficulties in recognising sexual exploitation among boys and young men which is likely to have led to an underrepresentation of male victims. Similarly, the most common ages at which a child comes to the attention of statutory or non-statutory agencies are 14 and 15. The data also found that victims were from a range of ethnicities although the majority were white. Victim Data

Vulnerability Factors Low risk - Universal Plus Unsuitable / inappropriate accommodation / sofa surfing Isolated from peers/family/social networks Sexual abuse (during childhood) History of local Authority Care Involvement in criminal activities and / or at risk of gang involvement;

(continued) Breakdown of family relationships. History of child Protection involvement in relation to neglect, physical or emotional abuse. Family history of domestic abuse and/or substance misuse and/or mental health difficulties. Bereavement Vulnerability Factors Low risk - Universal Plus

Disrupt Harbourers, Recruiters, Groomers, Exploiters The use of warning letters, arrest and prosecution for offences contrary to the Section 2 of the Child abduction Act 1984 and the Children Act 1989 under the police harbouring strategy The use of ASBO’s The use of automatic number plate recognition systems Obtaining ‘Risk of sexual harm’ orders Obtaining sexual offences prevention orders Seeking civil injunctions Targeting taxi drivers who transport Vulnerable young people to suspects and Targeting hotels and hostels who allow offences to take place on their premises

Working together to educate young people and their families Educate the your child to keep them safe Work with the children / young people to develop an awareness of the risks that can lead to a situation in which they may be exposed to sexual exploitation Contact your local police officer to raise your concerns Make a note of taxi companies, car registrations Encourage the schools that your children go to to have lessons on CSE