Carefully monitor any behaviour that\u2019s out of the ordinary for the child in question, and report your concerns to the relevant authorities as soon as possible. It\u2019s not always the case that something\u2019s amiss, but the more alert you can be, the better.<\/p>\n
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What Are The Signs of Child Sexual Exploitation?<\/h2>\n1. Behavioural Changes<\/h3>\n
In the early stages of grooming, children at risk often do not display behaviours which suggest that something negative is happening to them. In fact,\u00a0behaviours may be initially positive, as the child believes they are in the midst of a blossoming romance. Perpetrators are often skilled at boosting the exploited child\u2019s ego and making them feel cared for and loved In the early stages, a child may seem newly happy and confident.<\/p>\n
However, once these emotions wear off, children adopt a variety of coping methods to deal with what\u2019s happening to them. The key is to look out for behaviours that are uncharacteristic.<\/p>\n
Examples of behavioural warning signs to look out for are:<\/strong><\/p>\n Many of the warning signs of child sexual exploitation reveal themselves in the child’s day-to-day routine.<\/p>\n For example, has the child begun using their mobile phone, tablet or computer in an excessive or obsessive manner? Many children can seem glued to their devices but keep an eye out for secretive behaviour or new gadgets that seem to have appeared out of the blue. Do they have a new mobile phone or an alternative sim card?<\/p>\n Secondly, consider the child\u2019s normal friendship group. Has the child fallen out with their friends or reduced the amount of contact that they have with them? The child may withdraw from their usual social circle and begin associating with others that they wouldn\u2019t usually hang out with, who you haven\u2019t seen before or who have no\u00a0link to the child. They may be considerably older than the child in question.<\/p>\n Also, look out for changes in the child’s appearance. It\u2019s perfectly normal for a young teen to take pride in their appearance, wear more makeup or style their hair, so it can be difficult to identify this as a cause for concern. However, girls, in particular, may begin wearing fancy clothes and jewellery that they can\u2019t afford or dress in a more adult way than usual if they are caught up in sexual exploitation. As the exploitation continues, a child may begin to display more concerning behaviours such as sudden weight loss, a lack of personal hygiene or a gaunt appearance.<\/p>\n Our Child Sexual Exploitation Training<\/a> helps practitioners to understand the complexities involved with child sexual exploitation issues and be aware of how to recognise it, who is most at risk, why young people respond in the way that they do and how children become implicated in CSE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sexual exploitation can also lead to dangerous behaviour changes which are alarming for any parent or carer. Again, these warning signs don\u2019t always indicate exploitation and are sometimes just part of a rebellious child\u2019s development, but never dismiss them\u00a0without investigation. For example:<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just a child\u2019s behaviour that can change if they\u2019re caught up in CSE, but their physical and mental health can also suffer. Warning signs to look out for include:<\/p>\n You may have recognised that a child is behaving differently, or that they have a health issue that you\u2019re concerned about, but you may not realise or be able to identify that it\u2019s as a result of sexual exploitation. There’s no single, definitive sign that can tell you if abuse is happening,<\/strong> and sometimes it takes a combination of factors for the truth to become appear.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, in an abusive situation\u00a0young people rarely tell adults,<\/strong> no matter how close your relationship is with the child.<\/p>\n Sometimes a child is sexually exploited by human traffickers<\/strong> within an\u00a0organised crime network<\/a>. This makes it harder for adults to form a relationship with the child and spot a problem. This is because organised crime groups often move children to another location and school before adults can identify a problem. Trafficked children show many of the same health issues, but you won’t be able to spot behavioural changes. Therefore, it’s a good idea to get to know the specific\u00a0signs of human trafficking and modern slavery.<\/p>\n For this reason, it is essential you understand how to spot the possible warning signs and report your worries to the relevant authorities if anything becomes a cause for concern. For example, have you seen a child hanging around with people you don\u2019t know? Have they received a new phone and won\u2019t tell you where it\u2019s come from? Have they developed an unexplained health problem? Is their behaviour getting them in trouble with school or the police?<\/p>\n Of course, none of these signs is concrete evidence of child sexual exploitation, especially if they appear in isolation. In fact, many of the warning signs listed within this article are part of typical teenage life.<\/p>\n It\u2019s only when warning signs accumulate, or many people share the concern that the full picture becomes clear.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you know how to recognise the warning signs of potential child sexual exploitation (CSE)? Learn what to look out for in our quick guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":29295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[75,100],"class_list":["post-7054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safeguarding","tag-safeguarding-children","tag-trauma-and-abuse"],"acf":{"schema_disabled":false,"schema_properties_FAQPage_question_answer":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_tools":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_supplies":null,"schema_properties_HowTo_howto_steps":null,"schema_properties_WebPage_cssSelector":null,"schema_sameAs_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_repeater":null,"schema_custom_json_override":false},"yoast_head":"\n\n
2. Changes to Normality<\/h3>\n
![\"withdrawn](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/child_grooming_signs.jpg\")
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\n![\"expert](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/expert-tip-icon.png\"){kind=icon}
<\/div>\nNeed a Training Course?<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n3. More Dramatic Behaviour Changes<\/h3>\n
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![\"child](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/dramatic_behavioural_changes_health_concerns.jpg\")
<\/p>\n4. Health Issues<\/h3>\n
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\nIs It Exploitation?<\/h3>\n
![\"sad](\"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/child_sexual_exploitation_cse.jpg\")
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\nFurther Resources:<\/h3>\n
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