U me and the kids

UK Lifestyle,Parenting & Beauty Blog

  • Life-style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifts and Gadgets
  • Interior
  • parenting
    • Activities and Things to do with Kids
    • Baby & Toddlers 0 – 2 years
    • Family Movies
    • Games for Kids
    • Seasonal Fun
  • Money Saving
  • Linky & Giveaways
    • Competitions Linky!
    • Current Competitions
    • Previous Competitions
  • Reviews
  • Travel
Home » Lifestyle Parenting » How you can help fight Child Exploitation In Young Adults

How you can help fight Child Exploitation In Young Adults

April 6, 2016 | 1 Comment

This month I am working with The Children’s Society and helping teens between the ages of 16 and 17. The Children’s Society is a national charity that runs crucial local services and campaigns to change the law to help this country’s most vulnerable children and young people. Their supporters around the country fund their services and join their campaigns to show children and young people they are on their side. I am part of the Seriously Awkward campaign which is an urgent priority campaign calling on the Government to strengthen the law to protect 16 and 17-year-olds from child sexual exploitation. This isn’t just awkward, it’s serious. Child exploitation is a widespread problem that can happen to any child up to age 18, in any community. As a parent of teens, this shocked me as I wasn’t aware of the problems 16 and 17-year-olds face just because they’re over the age of consent. 

How you can help fight Child Exploitation In Young Adults - MP #seriouslyawkward

What is child exploitation?

Child exploitation is where abusers encourage children to do sexual activities and in return they will give gifts, money, affection and even accommodation. Exploitation can even occur through technology without the child realising, for example, persuading a child to share sexual images without anything in return. Violence and intimidation are common and abusers mainly aim for vulnerable young people. There are no exact figures on how many teens are affected by child exploitation, however, The Children’s Society support 750 young people a year at risk of, or experiencing sexual exploitation, in specialist services across the country and have developed online child sexual exploitation resources.

The facts 

  • Teenage girls aged 16 and 17 are more likely to be a victim of a sexual offence than other age groups, with almost 1 in 10 saying they experienced a sexual offence in the last year.
  • Teenage boys are less likely to come forward and disclose abuse. Only 1 boy for every 10 girls aged 16 and 17 reported a sexual assault or rape to police in England in the last year. This means that no-one actually knows the true scale of sexual offences taking place against boys aged 16 and 17 and this devastating issue is not widely talked about.
  • Too often, older teenagers do not get help and the law fails to give them the same protection as younger children. This includes the police lacking the tools they need to intervene early to protect this age group in the same way they can protect under 16-year-olds and problems getting therapeutic support.  

How you can help fight Child Exploitation In Young Adults - Chloe

Why we need to help 

A crucial opportunity has now arisen to strengthen the law to protect 16 and 17-year-olds from sexual exploitation. A bill, introduced by Government in February, could see changes that mean older teenagers are better protected. As the laws stands, police cannot step in and protect older teenagers in the same way they can protect children under 16.  By making a few changes to the Policing and Crime Bill, the Government can change this. As the bill progresses through Parliament, we need your help to ensure as many MP’s as possible back the changes we need to ensure greater protection for young people experiencing exploitation. All you need to do is fill in this form, and it could help young people for future generations: Invite your MP

4 things that could be changed right now with your help

  • More powers for police to intervene early to stop sexual exploitation of vulnerable 16 and 17-year-olds before it happens.
  • A new offence for those who use alcohol and drugs to threaten, coerce and groom children.
  • More consistent data collection by the police so that children get the same protection regardless of what police authority they live in.
  • Better support for victims while their case is investigated and prosecuted to help them stay engaged and part of the process.

For more understanding, here is Becky’s Story : 

I never knew how bad this situation was and I’m truly shocked. To find out more about The Children’s Society click here.

Support them over on Twitter  and like them on Facebook. #seriouslyawkward

Related posts:

Default Thumbnail#SHEHELPED My Mum An Amazing Women in my life Guiding Teens To Their Perfect Career With Start Top-10-Skylanders-Imaginators-Character’s-I’m-excited-for-Crash-BandicootTop 10 Skylanders Imaginators Characters I’m excited for Robinsons #GetSquashd Nutrition and Hydration Week Challenge National Citizen Service – Let your teenager learn valuable life skills

Filed Under: Life-style, Lifestyle Parenting, parenting, Teens Tagged With: #seriouslyawkward, Advice, charity, Family Advice, law, politics, support, teen parenting, teens

About Rachel Hirst

A parent to 2 teenage boys. I love to write about parenting topics, Interior design and Money Saving Tips.

Comments

  1. Gillian Brewster says

    April 12, 2016 at 5:23 am

    We do need more help for this area, in this age of social media, things just being a tap away. I wonder how many of these need out protection. .early intervention by the police. And then people for these youngsters to talk to.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Rachel Hirst

20 Amazing Unicorn Birthday Party Ideas

Suffer From Stress & Anxiety?

Thoughtcloud CBD

Further Information

About Me

Contact

Cookie Policy

Advertising & PR

Terms & Conditions

Sign Up Newsletter

Find More Competitions at

www.theprizefinder.com

Brands we work with!

More Parent Bloggers

TOTS100 - UK Parent Blogs
TOTS100

mumsnet bloggers network

Copyright © 2021 Runway Pro Theme by Viva la Violette

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.