What is Child Exploitation?
Child exploitation is when someone uses a child for financial gain, sexual gratification, criminal activity, labour or personal advantage.
The exploitation of children can take several different forms and perpetrators who exploit children will use different techniques to groom children, with the intention of eventually controlling the young person.
Because of this grooming, often the young person may not realise they are being exploited. Grooming can include giving the young person gifts or new possessions, buying them drugs or alcohol, offering them a relationship. This can make them feel special, loved and part of a community (gang). They do not realise they are being used and are in danger.
Equally if they do realise they are being exploited, the threat of violence, exposure or harm to the young person, their friends or family can make it hard to escape an exploitive relationship.
How to know if a child is being criminally exploited?
It can be hard to tell if a child is being exploited as there are different forms of child exploitation, and young people respond differently depending on their individual experiences and circumstances.
Which is why for many parents and professionals understanding what signs of exploitation can look like is key. Our leaflets below provide more information.
What to do next?
The most important thing is to talk to your child if you think something is wrong. The sooner you establish if there is an issue, the sooner you and your child can get the help you both need and deserve.
This might not be an easy conversation. If your child is being exploited then they may feel they are betraying the perpetrator (who to them is a friend or a role model), they may be scared and, in some cases, young people feel they are – wrongly – to blame and telling someone would get them into trouble or not make a difference.
Download our leaflets for further information, help on how to start a conversation, and advice on what to do next.
If you have specific concerns about a young person and would like to speak to someone please fill in this form and we will get back to you within 24hrs.
Resources
If you want more specific information about County Lines exploitation – when criminals befriend children, either online of offline, and then coerce, force or manipulate them into drug dealing, you can view our resources on this topic here.