Staffordshire teachers have been taught how to look out for telltale signs of child sexual exploitation after calls to Childline soared by more than a third.
In a bid to make people who work with children aware of abuse, more than 150 teachers, head teachers and lecturers from across the county attended an awareness event on Wednesday, February 14.
The event, held at Stoke City FC, was organised by Staffordshire Police and the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit ROCU, and showcased a theatre production by Loudmouth Education and Training.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicki Furlong, child sexual exploitation lead for Staffordshire Police, said: "This is an ideal opportunity for education professionals to see for themselves the high quality prevention work first-hand and hear about the impact of the programme on the children and young people who have participated."
Two presentations were shown during the event; one aimed at those aged 13 and above and the other aimed for children between the age of eight and 11.
The presentation for older children, called Working for Marcus, was shown to more than 17,000 professionals in 2017, and explores grooming, online safety and consent and teaches youngsters where they can go for help and support.
Helping Hands, the programme for younger children has been funded by the Home Office and is also supported by children's charity, the NSPCC.
Detective Inspector Kay Wallace from ROCU said: "This was a fantastic opportunity to view Loudmouth's innovative and well-researched safeguarding programmes. Both programmes provide a safe and engaging forum for children and young people to learn how to spot the signs and seek support around unhealthy relationships and different forms of abuse."
The sessions come after the NSPCC said calls to Childline about sexual exploitation soared by more than a third in 2016.
More than 3,000 counselling sessions were run over the Childline service in 2016, but there are still worries that counsellors can only respond to three out of four children who get in touch.
How to spot child sexual exploitation
The NHS offers guidance to members of the public on how to spot someone who may be a victim of child sexual exploitation.
Signs of abuse could include the child or young person:
- 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 cannot be accounted for;
- experiencing health problems that may indicate a sexually transmitted infection;
- having mood swings and changes in temperament;
- using drugs and/or alcohol;
- displaying inappropriate sexualised behaviour, such as over-familiarity with strangers, dressing in a sexualised manner or sending sexualised images by mobile phone;
- they may also show signs of unexplained physical harm, such as bruising and cigarette burns.
What is sexual exploitation?
Child sexual exploitation is a type of sexual abuse. Children in exploitative situations and relationships receive gifts, money or affection as a result of performing sexual activities or others performing sexual activities on them.
Children or young people may be tricked into believing they are in a loving consensual relationship. They might be invited to parties and given drugs and alcohol. They may also be groomed and exploited online.
Some children and young people are trafficked into or within the UK for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation can also happen to young people in gangs.
Child sexual abuse online
When sexual exploitation happens online, young people may be persuaded, or forced, to:
- send or post sexually explicit images of themselves;
- take part in sexual activities via a webcam or smartphone;
- have sexual conversations by text or online.
Abusers may threaten to send images, video or copies of conversations to the young person's friends and family unless they take part in other sexual activity.
Images or videos may continue to be shared long after the sexual abuse has stopped.
Child sexual exploitation in gangs
Sexual exploitation is used in gangs to:
- exert power and control over members;
- initiate young people into the gang;
- exchange sexual activity for status or protection;
- entrap rival gang members by exploiting girls and young women;
- inflict sexual assault as a weapon in conflict.
