Child Sexual and Criminal Exploitation

CSE

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a hugely distressing form of sexual, emotional and physical abuse of children.  It can be extremely difficult to recognise as many of the warning signs are symptomatic of challenges that all parents of adolescent or near adolescent children face. In Bedfordshire, we are committed to protecting children and young people from harm and prosecuting those who commit sexual crimes against them. We will do this by working with partners to:

• Identify children at risk of sexual exploitation
• Intervene with children and families to safeguard those at risk of exploitation
• Adopt proactive problem-solving measures to identify, disrupt and prosecute those seeking to sexually exploit children
• Train staff to recognise signs that a child is being exploited
• Raise public awareness of child sexual exploitation
• Follow the LSCB child protection procedures on child sexual exploitation if a child is identified as suffering or is at risk of sexual exploitation

Please see some links to CSE documents below:

Bedfordshire CSE Disruption Toolkit  March 2018

CSE Missing Strategy 18-20

CSE Practitioners Guidance

CSE Guidance Core Document 2017

CCE

In 2020, Bedfordshire has been transitioning towards an exploitation model. As well as tackling CSE the new pan Bedfordshire strategy takes all forms of exploitation into consideration including: knife crime, county lines, OCG’s, Drugs, modern day slavery and trafficking. The response to reducing this exploitation will be a multi agency whole systems approach. Child Criminal exploitation is defined by the Home Office as:

‘Child criminal exploitation occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual. Child criminal exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.’

Please see some links to CCE documents below:

Child exploitation disruption toolkit 2021

Contextual Safeguarding 

Exploitation Practitioner Documents 

Bedfordshire Child Exploitation Tool 

Parents as Partners

When working with parents whose children have been affected by exploitation professionals should follow safeguarding procedures but it is also

Support Services for Parents and Contextual Safeguarding

Here are some of the documents we have been working on at YouTurn to support partners in the fight against

Documents for Practioners

Please click the link below to view a one page info-graphic where many tool kits and guidance documents, in regards

Exploitation Documents

Please click on the links below to access Bedfordshire guidance documents, screening tools and information in regards to tackling Child

Online Exploitation

During these unprecedented and uncertain times as a county we must remember that exploitation does not end because of the

‘Bedfordshire: First county to launch the Home Office Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit’

Bedfordshire has become the first county to launch the Home Office Child Exploitation Disruption Toolkit, which gives front line practitioners

Exploitation and Disruption

Early last week YouTurn travelled to Cambridgeshire Police HQ in Huntingdon for the NWG (National Working Group) conference on Disruption