Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a type of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (Department for Education, 2017).

Resources

Consent

Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4
This package from Avon and Somerset Police is based on guidance from the Home Office, using the Disrespect Nobody campaign materials, but is tailored specifically to consent and sexual assault/rape, with additional input about the police. . . . It also includes a video about the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), also known as ‘The Bridge’, which explains who they help and what services they provide, as we wanted young people in our force area to have access to information and support relevant to them locally, not just nationally. The lesson plan assumes that lessons about healthy relationships covering issues such as respect, trust and equality, have taken place beforehand as part of the broader PSHE curriculum taught by schools.
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Not In Our Community: Grooming and Exploitation

Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4, Higher Education

Developed with young people, Not In Our Community means working together to protect against grooming and exploitation. This website contains education resources for year 6 students and above. Includes county lines materials

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Sexually Exploitative Relationships (Child Sexual Exploitation)

Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4
We recognise that as part of a PSHE agenda, CSE forms part of the broader context of sex and relationships education carried out within schools. No standalone package can encompass that remit within a standard 60-minute lesson. This package . . . is tailored to exploitative sexual relationships and assumes other lessons about healthy relationships have taken place beforehand. This resource has been produced by Avon and Somerset but it draws significantly from the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) ‘Exploited’ materials (produced with input from a range of national partners including the NSPCC, Brook, the Sex Education Forum and Barnado’s). Materials from other police forces have also been included where they represent good practice.
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Videos

Links

CEOP Safety Centre

Are you worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with you online? Make a report to one of CEOP’s Child Protection Advisors

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Childline

Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they’re going through. You can talk about anything. Whether it’s something big or small, our trained counsellors are here to support you. Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. Get help and advice about a wide range of issues, call us on 0800 1111, talk to a counsellor online, send Childline an email or post on the message boards.

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Children’s Society, The

Every young person deserves a good childhood, That’s why we fight for the hope and happiness of young people when it’s threatened by abuse, exploitation and neglect. We see the hope and courage in young people every day, and it inspires us to support them through their most serious life challenges. Now we’re stepping up the fight for hope at a time when it’s under threat like never before. Our goal and vision are built around the hopes of young people, to achieve long-lasting change for this generation and the ones to come. Find out who we are.

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Experiences shared

These are some of the experiences of child sexual abuse shared with the Truth Project by victims and survivors. All names and identifying details have been changed.

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Modern slavery & exploitation helpline

The modern slavery & exploitation helpline is part of leading anti-slavery charity Unseen. We provide information, advice and guidance about any modern slavery issue to potential victims, businesses, the public and statutory agencies such as the NHS and police.

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Not In Our Community

Developed with young people, Not In Our Community means working together to protect against grooming and exploitation. Not In Our Community is developed and continually improved with young people, including survivors, to help us protect ourselves and friends from grooming and sexual or criminal exploitation. We co-produce resources and stories based on real life events for use on social media and in schools / other groups where young people hang out. Our approach telling it like it really is helps thousands of young people understand how grooming and exploitation works so that they can better protect themselves, spot the warning signs amongst friends and know who they can go to for help.

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NSPCC

Everything we do protects children today and prevents abuse tomorrow, to transform society for every childhood.

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Stop Abuse Together

Child sexual abuse is a reality for thousands of children across our country, with at least one in ten estimated to experience sexual abuse before they turn 16. But we can all play a part in protecting children and getting them the right help. That’s why it’s important to know how to spot the potential signs of child sexual abuse and where to go for support. This website brings together advice and resources to help you keep the children in your life safe.

Website

The Holly Project

Not Counsellors • Not Police • Not Solicitors • Not Social Services. We are CSE Survivors! If you are a victim of CSE then please get in touch! We are CSE Survivors. We understand you!

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The Innovate Project

Exploring how services are addressing extra-familial risks experienced by young people outside of the family home. Building new knowledge about the processes of innovation in social care.

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Unseen: working towards a world without slavery

Unseen is a UK charity with its head office in Bristol. We provide safehouses and support in the community for survivors of trafficking and modern slavery. We also run the UK Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline and work with individuals, communities, business, governments, other charities and statutory agencies to stamp out slavery for good.

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News

Documents and Publications

Turning the tide against online child sexual abuse (The Police Foundation)

The internet has enabled the production and consumption of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on an . . . industrial scale. It has also created new opportunities for adults to sexually abuse and exploit children. The volume of online child sexual abuse offences is now so great that it has simply overwhelmed the ability of law enforcement agencies, internationally, to respond.
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Finding out your child has been harmed through technology assisted Child Sexual Abuse

As parents we want to keep our children safe and protected from harm. It is one of the primary . . . drivers of being a parent – the balance between allowing our children to develop into independent adults, while protecting them from as much hurt as possible. But despite our best intentions, harm happens and sometimes we have to face the unimaginable truth that our child has been sexually abused. When this happens it is normal and natural to experience a range of emotions and responses that can be extremely difficult to process and manage. This leaflet is for parents in this situation.
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Keeping children safe in education 2022 Statutory guidance for schools and colleges

This is statutory guidance from the Department for Education (‘the Department’) issued under Section . . . 175 of the Education Act 2002 (as amended), the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, the Non-Maintained Special Schools (England) Regulations 2015 and the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (as amended). Schools and colleges in England must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. For the purposes of this guidance children includes everyone under the age of 18.
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Podcasts

Contextual Safeguarding

This episode is on contextual safeguarding. We talk about what the approach entails, what it looks like in practice, and . . . also discuss how work with young people been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Discussing these questions are Dr Carlene Firmin who developed the contextual safeguarding framework and leads the contextual safeguarding and peer-on-peer abuse research programmes at the University of Bedfordshire, and Samantha Roper, team manager for the multi-agency safeguarding hub (MASH) at Knowsley Council.
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Contextual Safeguarding Network

How do you use the tools on the Contextual Safeguarding network? How is Contextual Safeguarding supported by national . . . policy? How has the approach been used to support young people? In this podcast members of the Contextual Safeguarding team the University of Bedfordshire talk with practitioners and policymakers who are turning this idea into a practical reality. They share successes, reflect on challenges, and identify the next steps on the road to creating child protection systems that can keep young people safe beyond their homes.
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Harmful sexual behaviour in schools

Why is it important for schools, colleges and academies to be aware of harmful sexual behaviour? Around a third of child . . . sexual abuse is by other children or young people (Hackett, 2014). Educational settings play a key role in identifying and preventing harmful sexual behaviour.
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Learn on the Go: The Community Care Podcast

Community Care editors and expert guests discuss the latest research, theories and practice issues, and look at what . . . they mean for social workers.
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Life Online

Ofcom is launching an important new initiative to help improve online safety among communities most at risk of online . . . harm. Media literacy is crucial in helping to build a safer life online. It empowers us to become informed digital decision-makers and, importantly, to identify and protect ourselves and others against harmful content. It’s also our ticket to fully participating in society, at a time when keeping connected with the world, services and people around us has never been more important.
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NSPCC Learning Podcast

Our podcast features experts from the NSPCC and external organisations discussing a range of child protection issues. We . . . look at what we are doing to actively keep children safe in the wider community and how we can continue to improve our practices and prevent abuse from occurring. No matter your role or sector, whether you work or volunteer with children and young people indirectly or directly, you’ll gain valuable information to take away through our discussions, one-to-one chats and debates.
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NSPCC: why domestic abuse is a child protection issue

Find out how to improve your practice around domestic abuse when working with children and families. In this episode, we . . . discuss the complexities of domestic abuse and why it is a safeguarding and child protection issue. We talk about the main themes that emerged from our learning from case reviews briefing on domestic abuse and share what we see in practice.
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Poverty, child protection and the care system

In the episode, we discuss poverty, child protection and the care system. This episode was recorded in April 2017.

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SafetoNet Foundation Safeguarding Podcast

The SafeToNet Foundation’s Safeguarding podcasts focusses on safeguarding children in the online digital context. We . . . cover the technical, legal and cultural aspects of topics such as cyber-abuse, cyberbullying, sexting, sextortion, digital wellbeing and how to keep children safer online.
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Sibling sexual abuse

This episode is about sibling sexual abuse. We spoke to Anna Glinski, deputy director, knowledge and practice . . . development, at the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (the CSA Centre, for short) and Stuart Allardyce, a director of the Lucy Faithfull Foundation with responsibilities for Stop It Now! Scotland
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​​​​​​Let’s Talk Social Work

​​​​​​Let’s Talk Social Work is a space for conversation—discussion with social workers, the individuals they support, . . . and colleagues working in related professions. We consider the key matters affecting social workers as we explore contemporary issues with a focus at the local, national and global levels.
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