Tackling child sex abuse issue

South Lanarkshire Child Protection Committee are backing a new campaign that tackles child sexual exploitation.

It comes as new research shows 93 per cent of parents have heard of child sexual exploitation, but almost a third (29 per cent) know little about it and over a third (36 per cent) believe it won’t affect their family.

In 2014/15 ChildLine in Scotland provided 635 counselling sessions to children and young people worried about child sexual exploitation, with the NSPCC responding to 62 inquiries from adults in Scotland in the same period.

Norman Dunning, independent chair of the South Lanarkshire Child Protection Committee, said:“Child sexual exploitation is a complex form of abuse in which victims are manipulated, pressurised or forced into taking part in a sexual act in exchange for receiving something.

“It’s often a hidden crime where the child may not understand that they are a victim and so may not come forward to ask for help.

“This research shows that most parents don’t know a lot about the ways in which child sexual exploitation can take place and don’t believe that their family is at risk.

“The reality is child sexual exploitation takes many different forms, both online and offline, and can affect any young person regardless of their gender or background.”

Go to www.csethesigns.scot for info.