Safeguarding children is 'everyone's responsibility' with people across Merseyside urged to know the signs.
Friday marks National Child Exploitation Awareness Day, which aims to highlight the issues surrounding child sexual and criminal exploitation, encouraging everyone to think, identify and speak out against abuse. Partners across Merseyside are coming together to continue to raise awareness of the sensitive issue by informing, educating and preventing the form of child abuse.
As part of this work, children and young people, their parents or carers and teachers or professionals working with children are encouraged to visit the Listen to my Story website. Additionally, the Eyes Wide Open campaign has resources for professionals and families on their website.
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The top signs of exploitation to look at for are regularly missing from home and school and staying out all night, a change in behaviour, a change in physical appearance, unexplained gifts or new possessions and an increase in mobile phone use or secretive use. Unexplained gifts can include clothes, jewellery, mobile hones or money that cannot be accounted for.
Other signs include receiving free substances from others, a significantly older partner or friend or lots of new friends, spending excessive amount of time online or on their mobile phone, a sudden involvement in criminal behaviour or increased offending and sexual health problems.
On Friday, Knowsley’s multi-agency Shield team, who work with children to protect them from being exploited as well as targeting offenders, will be raising awareness of the issue through walkabouts in the community, poster drops highlighting the signs to look out for and where to report any concerns. Shield will also be delivering child exploitation training to various partners and contacting secondary schools to offer an interactive child sexual exploitation awareness raising session for male Year 6 students. This will be delivered throughout the year.
Cllr Margaret Harvey, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: "Safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility, so if you have concerns that a child or young person is being exploited in some way, please report it. It’s really important that we educate our communities about the signs and vulnerabilities of child exploitation so that together, we can tackle it."
If you have concerns about a child or young person you can call Merseyside Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or Crimestoppers (anonymously) on 0800 555 111.
