Sexual exploitation of children and young people under eighteen involves exploitative relationships, violence, coercion and intimidation 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. Perpetrators of child sexual exploitation are found in all parts of the country and across ethnic groups.
Reliable estimates of the prevalence of child sexual exploitation are also difficult to find. It is rarely identified and victims do not disclose for various reasons including fear of the perpetrator, shame and fear they will not be believed. Some young people are not even aware they are experiencing abuse as the perpetrator has manipulated them into believing they are in a loving relationship. The majority of child victims of sexual exploitation are girls and the average age of victims, of any gender, is 15.
The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Scorecard has been introduced with indicators being developed by partners, including the roll out of the CSE assessment tool within Children’s Social Care and the addition of a CSE marker in Police crime recording. The scorecard is being shared with the Devon Safeguarding Children Board (DSCB) subgroup on a quarterly basis.
Devon and Cornwall Police have led the creation of a Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Serious and Organised Crime Local Profile for Devon. This builds Peninsular Overview Document created in 2015. The profile is currently being circulated to partners for comments and will then be used by both the police and the DSCB CSE Sub Group to shape future work.
In a detailed analysis of CSE reported in Devon to Devon and Cornwall Police, peer-to-peer has been identified as the most common victim and offender relationship. The majority of young people identified as having been victims of CSE had a history of going missing from home or care.
The REACH team in Devon is tasked with working with children who are being sexually exploited (except those in care, who are supported by their existing social worker but the REACH team offer input). There were a total of 80 new cases identified in 2015-16 across Devon. The Multi-Agency safeguarding hub receives enquiries suspicion of CSE, and recorded 188 new enquiries in 2015-16. 223 CSE risk assessments were completed in social care in 2015-16.
Sexually exploited young people have a range of vulnerabilities which may be associated with physical and mental health problems. Some vulnerabilities contribute to the exploitation, others arise from it. These include mental health problems, self-harm and suicide attempts, injuries from physical violence, sexual health problems, pregnancy, terminations and drug and alcohol misuse. In particular, children who go missing frequently are not attending school, and those who live in care are over represented among sexual exploitation victims.