Children are being sexually abused across all parts of Scotland, an explosive new study has revealed.
The report by Scottish Children's Reporter Administration and the charity Barnardo's Scotland found only five council areas in the country with no cases of exploitation.
Boys are more likely to hit out through acts like criminal behaviour and going missing, it adds.
The report released today reads: "Child sexual exploitation is a particularly hidden form of sexual abuse and crime.
"Victims may not be aware that they are being sexually exploited, such is the coercive nature of perpetrators and the control they exert over their victims.
"It is very rare for a child to disclose that they are a victim.
"There is very little information on the prevalence of (abuse) in Scotland and, until this research, no information on boys who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation."
The report adds that social services are more likely to identify girls as victims- but that girls were also more likely to be victims.
It adds: "The main difference was that girls were more likely to be identified as victims by services than boys ‐ 91% were girls.
"Boys were more likely to be reported to have been exposed to violence (76% boys, 53%girls) and/or display sexually harmful behaviour (33% boys, 13% girls) than girls.
"Girls were more likely to be reported to have a much older boy/girlfriend (14% boys, 70% girls), be the victim of sexual abuse (24% boys, 55% girls), have attempted suicide (24% boys, 43% girls), self‐harmed (48% boys, 85% girls) and/or be sexually active (48% boys, 85% girls)."
The shock study comes as we revealed a surge in sex beasts- which is is set to lead to a two-tier registration system, with non-contact offenders ranked as “second division” and monitored remotely online, sources claim.
Thousands of low-level sex offenders, mainly those who have committed offences online, would never see a police officer once they return to the community or start a non-custodial sentence.
