Special leaflets to help parents, young people recognise the signs of Child Sexual Exploitation
Special leaflets which help parents, professionals who work with children and young people recognise the signs of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) have been produced by North Wales Police in collaboration with the North Wales Safeguarding Board.
As part of the continuing drive to raise awareness of what has been described as a hidden crime, three separate leaflets have been developed by the force to assist individuals in recognising the signs of CSE and what action to take if they believe someone is at risk.
“Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation is a key priority for the force and is listed as an objective of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan in reducing harm and the risk of harm. This is also one of the three strategic priorities for the North Wales Safeguarding Board,” explained Detective Sergeant Sarah Fellows of the ONYX team. “The leaflets have been tailored to three different audiences – the pupils, parents and professionals who work with children and young people however they all contain essential information about this serious crime. We hope that this will further help individuals to not only recognise the signs but also help prevent it.”
The leaflets support work that is on-going around CSE – including the Safeguarding lessons which are delivered to pupils in schools across the North Wales area by force’s School Community Police Officers (SCPO’s), as part of the All Wales School Liaison Core Programme.
The pamphlets have also been issued to pupils, teachers and made available to parents following the delivery of a special drama that has been commissioned and organised by the North Wales Regional Safeguarding Board – of which NWP are a part. They have also been developed in the run up to the national CSE awareness day on Friday (March 18).
Sgt Fellows added: “Theatre production group ‘2 Engage’ have been delivering a production at six different schools across North Wales. Primarily aimed at Year 9 pupils (13-14year-olds), the drama looks at some of the different themes of CSE which can include the use of social media, drugs, drinking etc. The aim is that the production will also bolster information that the pupils have already had from the delivery of lessons on the subject from one of the School Community Police Officers or a teacher prior to viewing the drama.”
As part of the same initiative, posters have also been produced to be displayed around schools and information packs for professionals have also been developed. All leaflets produced have a QR code which directs all those who access the code through to the NWP website where they can gain further information on CSE.
