By Lucy Caulkett-
Essex police are launching a campaign highlighting the dangers of child sexual exploitation.
The I Didn’t Know Child Sexual Exploitation campaign, organised by Essex police will be run for five days from today, Monday, to educate and enlighten the public about the dangers of exploitation and the criminal networks that do it.
The operation leading up to CSE day on March 18, will show people how to get help and spot the signs, each being published on social media to reach a wider audience.
Deputy chief constable, Matthew Horne, said: “We want to raise awareness of the devastating impact of child sexual exploitation and ensure young people and parents know where they can go for advice and support.”
Child sex exploitation takes many forms. In many cases, the abusers promise their child victims, sweets or gifts of different kinds in exchange for sexual activity. Children are often threatened with the prospect of sharing the sexual activity with their friends and family members, causing child victims to often just keep quiet and continue to suffer in silence. Many child abuse victims don’t quite understand why they are experiencing the abuse, and become used to it as just another routine sexual event that would earn them some gift or some payment.
Researchers who have interviewed many child sex victims, have said that child sex victims are sometimes rewarded for performing sexual acts better than other victims, and are sometimes made to compete against other child sex victims in order to normalise the act in which they are participating. After a period of time associating with others performing the same activity, the routine of their activity can become a way of life in which they sometimes bond with their abusers and even those on the receiving end of the whole abuse. The bond formed may be mixed with elements of fear, but it takes on a general feeling of bonding.
Awareness of child sex exploitation is very important, because the scars can be lasting. Some child victims of abuse become indefinitely promiscuous after such horrendous experience, giving away sex so easily and so astonishingly, that many call them slags. Yet, many slags may be products of past sex exploitation. Some gangs deliver child victims or former child victims to their friends, who queue up for oral sex, referred to as ‘shiners’ in the street culture. Many of these so called slags are often victims of child sex exploitation, unbeknown to the perverted guys that queue up for a cheap thrill. Child sex exploitation is an very serious offence, and the children who suffer in the hands of their abusers are often scared for life.
They eventually realise in full the terrible experience that have been put through, but do not have many people they can confide in about this. The shame and fear of ridicule, in addition to the feeling of degradation is often too much for them that their only outlet sometimes is continued lose sexual conduct. What they really need is help, not further exploitation.
Police are encouraging the public can support the campaign by letting others know about the website, speaking to families and letting them know how they can get help, and printing off the resources so they can be displayed in public areas. The campaign was set up and run last year by Essex police along with children safeguarding boards.
It won the Gold Award at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations pride awards and the Partnership Working Category at the You Make a Difference awards in Essex.
The eye of media.com are fully supporting the campaign supporting child sex exploitation, and jointly call for others to support it too.