National Child Exploitation Awareness Day

Today is National Child Exploitation Awareness Day. According to the Government’s 2024 National Referral Mechanism statistics, out of the 5999 children referred into the NRM, 78% were male and 22% were female. In terms of sexual exploitation in England in 2024, 485 referrals into NRM were for young women and girls whilst 7 were for males. 

This data shows us that young women and girls are being seen when it comes to child sexual exploitation, but are not being seen when it comes to child criminal exploitation. This gender bias means that young women and girls are being missed and becoming invisible in the data around child criminal exploitation, and also means young men and boys aren’t being recognised as victims of child sexual exploitation.

This is why the work we do at Abianda is so important - if young women aren’t being seen, then they are unable to access the support services that they need and deserve. On this day focusing on awareness of child exploitation, we would encourage anyone working with young women and girls to use their professional curiosity to ensure that no young woman who is being affected by exploitation is being missed.

The Practice Principles for Responding to Child Exploitation and Extra-Familial Harm is an excellent resource for professionals working with young people. The principles, devised using the expertise of children, young people, parents, carers and professionals, provides a framework and common language to best respond to child exploitation.

We work with young women and girls affected by criminal exploitation and violence. The central pillars of our practice are:

• Ecological in our understanding of the issues and in designing of a response;

• Contextual safeguarding applied in practice and with partners, and to understand the extent of, and solution to, extra-familial harm;

• Participatory in design and delivery, rooted in young women’s expertise; 

• Solution-focused to build alternative narratives, develop skills, resources,  independence and agency.

Our activities are delivered across the different spaces which we think are essential to bring about system-wide change for girls and young women - from individual focused one-to-one work, community spaces and places, systems, services and policy.

To achieve our vision for a world where young women and girls are free from oppression and harm caused by criminal exploitation and violence, we must be aware of and acknowledge the different lived experiences of young women across all types of exploitation. That starts by seeing them.