Child sexual exploitation in the United Kingdom

Child sexual exploitation is a devastating problem that continues to be persistent all around the world, including in the United Kingdom. The UK has taken several steps to combat CSE, such as implementing legislation, developing policies and programs, and collaboratingwith various entities. In this article, we will explore these efforts.

But first, what is child sexual exploitation? The UK government has defined Child sexual exploitation as a form of child sexual abuse. Which occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. CSE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through technology. The exchange can be tangible or intangible or as the prevention of something negative, for example, a child who engages in sexual activity to stop someone from carrying out a threat to harm their family.

Legislative Actions

The UK has established an extensive legal framework to criminalize CSE. Some of the most important acts in relation to CSE are;

The Sexual Offence Act 2003 which covers most sexual crime laws in the UK. It criminalizes several offences related to CSE, such as;

– Grooming a child for sexual activity
– Paying for the sexual services of a child
– Causing/inciting/arranging/facilitating childprostitution or pornography
– Trafficking children for sexual exploitation

The Protection of Children Act 1978 which criminalizes taking, distributing, possessing with a view to distribute, or publishing indecent images of children. Later, the Criminal Justice Act 1988 criminalizes having indecent images of children in your possession.

The Online Safety Act 2023 which requires companies to prevent children from accessing harmful content online and provide easy ways to report issues when problems arise online. This act also has created measures companies must follow to tackle illegal content, such as child sexual exploitation and abuse materials, and grooming.

Lastly, the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (Sarah’s Law) which allows parents and caregivers to inquire with the police about whether an individual who interacts with their child has a record for child sexual offences.

Reporting and seeking support

When someone wants to report (suspected) child sexual exploitation or wants to reach out to receive advice orhelp, they can get in contact with the following:

– The local council’s children’s social care team, to report (suspected) child abuse
– The police, to report (suspected) child abuse
– NSPCC, to discuss concerns about suspected child abuse and to receive advice.
– ChildLine, a 24/7 free helpline for any child seeking advice or support
– Child Exploitation and Online Protection’s Child Protection Advisors, to report grooming, online sexual abuse, or the way someone is communicating online

Policies and Programs

Besides the legislative actions, several policies and programs have been developed to prevent CSE or to support its victims.

Campaigns for awareness and prevention

Some of the campaigns that have been created are;

Stop it now! campaign, created by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation. This initiative aims to prevent individualsfrom engaging in online child sexual abuse.

Something’s not Right campaign aims at helping secondary school children recognize and report exploitation.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has created two campaigns on self-generated child sexual abuse material. Firstly, the TALK campaign which encouraged parents to Talk, Ask, Learn, and Know with their children about online dangers. Secondly, the Gurls Out Loud campaign which empowers children to recognize and reject exploitative online interactions.

Besides these four campaigns, many more campaigns and initiatives have been created, covering a wide range of issues.

Training and support for professionals

To effectively prevent CSE and support victims, professionals need to have sufficient knowledge to identify and address CSE. Many training programs have been created by several NGOs and organizations;however, participation is not mandatory. This lack of enforcement limits and reduces the reach and effectiveness of these programs.

Recovery services for victims

Recovery services are essential for helping victims. One recent initiative is the Lighthouse, based on the ‘Barnahus’ model, which provides a child-friendly environment where victims receive medical care, therapy, and legal support. Unfortunately, there is currently only one Lighthouse in England and one in Scotland, limiting its reach.

​When victims seek psychological help, they are often referred to NHS services; here, victims often face long waiting times, a lack of specialized care, and an insufficient number of sessions. Additionally, the lack of consistent funding for services like Rape Referral Centers worsens these problems.

Collaboration

Addressing CSE requires cooperation across agencies, sectors, and borders. The UK has made significant efforts in collaboration to combat CSE.

National partnerships

Nationally, mechanisms such as the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) and the Hydrant program have been created. MAPPA is focused on bringing together police, probation, and social services to manage risks posed by offenders. Whereas the Hydrant Program leads the CSE task force, developingbest-practice advice, developing strategies, and creatingpolicies for tackling CSE.

International Cooperation

As CSE is a borderless crime and a global problem, it is important that international cooperation exists. Some of the cooperations and initiatives the UK has been part of are;

– WeProtect Global Alliance, uniting 300 members worldwide to combat OCSE
– The Five Country Ministerial, an annual conference that brings together the UK, USA, Canada, and New Zealand. Together, they created the ‘Five Eyes Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse’. These principles are created for companies and cover issues such as online grooming and live streaming of child sexual abuse to industry transparency and reporting
– The virtual Global Task Force, a partnership of law enforcement agencies around the world who operate together to tackle global (online) child sex abuse.

To conclude, despite these efforts, gaps and challenges remain. Mandatory training for professionals is still lacking, and recovery services for victims are underfunded. Victims have stated that the waiting time for mental health support is way too long and have highlighted a lack of specialized care. The reach of initiatives like the Lighthouse must be expanded, and consistent funding for victim services must be established. Lastly, greater data collection and monitoring of victims is needed.

Sources:

Department for Education ‘Guidance; Child Sexual Exploitation: definition and guide for  practitioners’ (United Kingdom Government, 2017) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-sexual-exploitation-definition-and-guide-for-practitioners Accessed 30 October.

Sexual Offences Act 2003

’Protection of Children Act 1978

Criminal Justice Act 1988  

Online Safety Act 2023

Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, ‘Guidance: Online Safety Act: explainer’ (UK Gov, 8 May 2024)

<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/online-safety-act-explainer/online-safety-act-explainer> accessed 2 January 2025.

Almudena Lara, ‘How the Online Safety Act will help to protect children’ (Ofcom, 6 February 2024) <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children/how-the-online-safety-act-will-help-to-protect-children/> accessed 2 January 2025.

Home Office, ‘Guidance: Find out if a person has a record for child sexual offences’ (UK Gov, 26 March 2013) <https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-a-person-has-a-record-for-child-sexual-offences#:~:text=information%20for%20practitioners-,Overview,by%20a%20convicted%20sex%20offender.> accessed 27 December 2024.

‘Calls To Make Reporting Child Abuse A Legal Requirement’ (Personnel Checks Limited, 14 November)

<https://www.personnelchecks.co.uk/latest-news/calls-to-make-reporting-child-abuse-a-legal-requirement#:~:text=Under%20current%20rules%2C%20the%20reporting,board%20social%20workers%20(Northern%20Ireland> Accessed 10 December 2024.

‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023’ (HM Government, 2023) <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669e7501ab418ab055592a7b/Working_together_to_safeguard_children_2023.pdf> page 7, accessed 10 December.

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Tim Loughton, ‘Press release: Government confirms future funding for children’s charity and helpline’ (UK Gov, 15 February 2011) <https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-future-funding-for-childrens-charity-and-helpline> accessed 18 November 2024.

‘CEOP Safety Centre’ (Child Exploitation and Online protection) <https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/> accessed 17 January 2025.  

‘How can CEOP help me?’ (Child Exploitation and Online protection) <https://www.ceop.police.uk/Safety-Centre/How-can-CEOP-help-me-YP/> accessed 17 January 2025.

‘Deterrence Campaign’ (Stop it now) <https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/deterrence-campaign/> accessed 10 December 2024.

Home Office ‘Policy Paper Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy’ (UK Gov, 7 June 2021) <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-sexual-abuse-strategy/tackling-child-sexual-abuse-strategy-accessible-version>  accessed 19 December 2024.

Kat Rado-Barnes ‘Home Office launches ‘Something’s not right’ campaign’ (GMCVO, 8 February 2021) https://www.gmcvo.org.uk/news/home-office-launches-%E2%80%98something%E2%80%99s-not-right%E2%80%99-campaign> accessed 11 December 2024.

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Child sexual exploitation in the Netherlands

Child sexual exploitation is a devastating problem that continues to be persistent all around the world, including in the Netherlands. The Netherlands has taken several steps to combat CSE,  such as implementing legislation, developing policies and programs, and collaborating with various entities. In this article, we will explore these efforts.

​But first, how has the Netherlands defined CSE?Sexual exploitation is defined as forcing someone to perform sexual services in exchange for payment, which could include money, clothing, food, etc. Unfortunately, the Netherlands does not create special legislation forCSE. Under Dutch law, sexual exploitation is seen as a form of human trafficking; this is very problematic, as some forms of CSE are connected with human trafficking, but many forms are not.

Legislative actions

The Netherlands has implemented several laws addressing CSE. The most important ones are:

The Dutch Penal Code which criminalizes the following:

– Inducing minors to engage in sexual acts for payment
– Coercing individuals to benefit financially from the sexual exploitation of others
– Engaging in sexual acts with an individual knowing or suspecting they are being exploited
– Possessing, producing, distributing, or accessing child sexual abuse material
– Attending performances involving sexual acts with minors

The Eradication of Online Child Pornographic Material Act which went into force 1st of January 2025. This Act mandates that hosting companies promptly remove CSAM from their servers; if companies do not comply, they will face fines. This Act could make a big difference as the Netherlands is a major host of CSAM globally, in 2021, 41% of URLS hosting CSAM reported werehosted on Dutch servers.

While these laws and acts show the Netherlands’ effortsto combat and address CSE, there are significant gaps, such as the lack of legislation addressing CSE independently of human trafficking, leaving certain forms of exploitation unaddressed. Additionally, the Media Act 2008 restricts harmful content for children, fails to reflect the complexities of the modern digital environment, and does not properly protect children on the internet.

Victim support and helplines

Victims of CSE and children have access to several helplines to discuss their problems such as the Kindertelefoon, Slachtoffer hulp Nederland, and Hulplijn Seksueel Misbruik, all offering advice and referrals to specialized support if needed. Additionally, one contactthe Children’s Rights Helpdesk to receive information on what rights a child has and how to help a child. Lastly, one can also contact CoMensha’s national helpdesk for issues related to human trafficking, such as registration of victims and advice on legal matters, shelter, specialist care, assistance, and counselling.

Victims of CSE can access general support through Slachtoffer hulp, which offers judicial and psychological assistance. However, studies have shown a lack of specialized care, long waiting lists, and insufficient national oversight of service quality.

Policies and Programs

A few policies and programs have been launched in the Netherlands to address CSE, although most efforts are part of broader anti-human trafficking initiatives.

Municipal role

Municipalities play an important role in identifying and addressing all forms of human trafficking, including CSE, as most of the policies surrounding human trafficking are managed by the municipalities. However, the absence of a standardized national framework has resulted in inconsistent approaches, which has made it difficult for municipalities to cooperate with each other. Additionally, many municipalities struggle to connect youth care services with education and social support, limiting their ability to provide adequate help to children.

National and International campaign

Some of the campaigns launched in recent years are:

– The Combatting Human Trafficking Togetherprogram which is focused on prevention, protection, and prosecution. Aiming to increase awareness, improve victim identification, and enhance cooperation.
– The Don’t Look Away campaign which educated people on how to report suspected child exploitation, even when abroad.
– CoMensha has created many awareness-raising sessions for professionals, including for doctors and youth aid workers.

Despite these efforts, gaps remain as very few programs specifically target CSE.

Cooperation, monitoring, and accountability

Collaboration with international organizations and NGOs is integral to the Netherlands’ approach to combatting CSE. As CSE is a borderless crime.

International cooperation

Some of the international cooperations the Netherlands has been part of are;

– Down to Zero Alliance which is focused on preventing child exploitation in Asia and Latin America.
– The European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Crime Threats which targets organized crime, including CSE.

Monitoring

Monitoring of victims and perpetrators within the Netherlands is severely lacking. It is believed only around 3% of underage sexual exploitation victims are visible to authorities, leaving the majority invisible and thus without support. In 2021, CoMensha registered 63 underage victims of sexual exploitation, while the estimated number is around 1300 children. This gap highlights the need for improved data collection.

​Additionally, perpetrators of CSE in the Netherlands have relatively few supervision processes during their probation service and lack access to specialized resocialization programs. Coincidently, re-offending rates are much higher than the average for other crimes. Within two years, 36% of perpetrators re-offend, and 65% re-offend within seven years. Addressing this issue is essential in the fight against CSE.

NGOs

The government takes NGOs seriously and will request their help in modernizing laws and request advice when needed. However, drastic government funding cuts await NGOs; between 2026 and 2030, the government will cut one billion euros from their subsidy framework for NGOs, going from 1.4 billion euros to somewhere between €390 to €565 million. This will limit the resources of NGOs that play a critical role in combatting CSE.

The Netherlands has made efforts to combat CSE through legislation, policies and programs, and cooperation. However, significant challenges remain. Such as the lack of legislation explicitly addressing CSE, inconsistencies in municipal approaches, and inadequate support for victims hinder the Netherlands’ ability to prevent CSE and to support victims.

Sources:

Types of human trafficking’ (National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children) https://www.dutchrapporteur.nl/trafficking-in-human-beings/types-of-human-trafficking Accessed 30 October 2024.

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Media wet 2008 artikel 4.1.A

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