New campaign focusses on child sexual exploitation

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Youth workers will be visiting the Island's secondary schools all week to raise awareness about Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). They want to enable people to spot the warning signs and report it or seek support if needed.

On 18 March, National CSE Awareness Day, there will also be a stand in King Street to reach out to parents and the general public.

Youth workers will also be focusing on the issue of CSE over the next two weeks through a number of discussions and activities across their Youth Projects with videos, quizzes and art work. They adapt the content of those discussion so that they are age-related while still making sure younger ones are aware of the issue, talking for example about unhealthy friendships. 

The goal of the multi-agency campaign, that includes the police and the Safeguarding Partnership Board, is to explain CSE to people of all ages so that they can spot the signs and get support if they or someone they know is a possible victim of the crime.

Principal Youth Officer Mark Capern said: "We want to engage with as many people as possible, from the parents to the younger ones. Last year, we had a lot of people come to ask questions at our stand in town. We want people to know what CSE is and where to go to seek support."

One of the ways youth workers have been using to engage with people is through their street team who ask people to write comments about CSE on their hands. "It is a great conversation starter", said Mark Capern.

Although Islanders might believe CSE is not cause to concern, Mark Capern assures there is still a need to be vigilant. "We have nothing like the higher profile cases in the UK with organised gangs. It is not a massive issue but one we need to be aware of. With social media and online use, we need to be at the forefront of the issue to make sure our children don't become victims."

Detective Inspector Mark Hafey said: “Reported incidents of CSE in Jersey are low, but there is evidence that, on occasion, young people are exposed to CSE, so we mustn’t be complacent in our approach to tackling it. Jersey has relatively low levels of crime, but we should not be naïve to the fact that appalling crimes can still happen here. The National CSE Awareness Day aims to highlight the issues surrounding sexual exploitation; encouraging everyone from all walks of life to think, spot and speak out against abuse and adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ to this abuse within our society. It is unacceptable that any child who confides in someone could be ignored. Together, we can work to inform, educate and prevent child sexual abuse."

We have started the Jersey raising awareness yesterday... staff will be out and about this week. https://t.co/4GR2i9oEve

— Jersey Youth Service (@JsyYouthService) March 14, 2017