Child sexual exploitation
Worried about your child?
Child sexual exploitation can be hard to detect and abusers are very clever in their manipulation. Some young people won’t even be aware that it is happening to them.
It’s not always easy to know what our children are up to or if anything is bothering them, but any combination of these tell-tale signs is a strong indicator that something is wrong and you should get help.
- Bruising on their arms or body
- Regularly using drugs or drinking alcohol
- Mood swings, aggression towards others
- Truancy or a drop in performance at school
- Self-harm – e.g. cutting or eating disorders
- Change in appearance, or borrowing clothes from others
- Always tired
- Unexplained relationships with older people
- Staying out late, not returning home
- They have unexplained gifts, expensive clothes, mobile phones
- Unexplained money, frequently taking part in activities requiring money
Teach them:
Teach your children about healthy relationships. Talk through strategies to help them protect themselves if they find themselves in difficult situations. Help them learn how to keep safe.
PACE – Parents against child sexual exploitation:
Pace works alongside parents and carers of children who are – or are at risk of being – sexually exploited by perpetrators external to the family. They offer guidance and training to professionals on how child sexual exploitation affects the whole family.
Parent Info provides high quality online information to parents and carers about their children's wellbeing and resilience. This service is free and ranges across a wide range of subject matter, from difficult topics about sex, relationships and the internet or body image and peer pressure to broader parenting topics like ‘how much sleep do teenagers need?’