My Dangerous Loverboy’ film launched to combat child sexual exploitation
21 September 2010
A film designed to protect children and young people who might be vulnerable to sexual exploitation is launched today.
‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ tells the story of a young girl who is groomed and sexually exploited by an older man before being trafficked around the UK between groups of men. The film is aimed at professionals - including front line police officers, child support workers, and teachers - who are in a position to spot warning signs and to help prevent this kind of exploitation taking place.
Accurate estimates of the scale of this type of abuse are hard to make because victims are often too afraid to make a formal complaint against the perpetrators. The UK Human Trafficking Centre and its partners, who commissioned the film, hope that in addition to encouraging early intervention, it will give victims confidence to come forward and help bring their abusers to justice.
‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ was launched at the 4th annual Safe and Sound conference today, to an audience of frontline professionals. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) will be working with the UKHTC to develop an educational package for use in schools through their Thinkuknow outreach programme.
All forms of child sexual exploitation are child abuse cases and as such are dealt with in the context of local child protection arrangements. However, in a minority of cases there is also an element of trafficking, where organised crime groups are involved for financial gain and vulnerable children are moved from one location to another. Each case merits its own approach.
Liam Vernon, head of the UKHTC, said:
“Child sexual exploitation is a deeply disturbing crime which involves the targeting of vulnerable children, sometimes in a significant and organised way. The crime relies on fear to stay hidden – not just from law enforcement but from everyone who could step in and prevent it.
“We want this film to create awareness of the circumstances in which this kind of exploitation can occur, and encourage vigilance from everyone in a position to notice the behavioural and physical signs that indicate abuse.
“In those cases where there is also an element of trafficking, the UK Human Trafficking Centre is on hand to provide expertise and assist the police, CEOP and other agencies tackling child sexual exploitation where we are needed.”
Sheila Taylor, Chair of the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People, and Chief Executive of Safe and Sound, said:
“Historically the voluntary sector has highlighted child sexual exploitation and trafficking. There is now better education for professionals in identifying and understanding this problem. More police forces and social services are responding appropriately to cases but there is more to be done.
“Safe and Sound and many of our partner organisations have believed for a long time that we needed something like this film to get the message out even more widely and harness all the eyes and ears we can to ensure that wherever possible we intervene even before the abuse can take place, and that we are always providing the right level of care to ensure children and young people are not re-victimised.”
Information on the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre is available on its website.
More information on the work of the UK Human Trafficking Centre is available here. To obtain copies of My Dangerous Loverboy, please send an e-mail to admin@ukhtc.pnn.police.uk Your details will be added to a waiting list and copies will be issued when they become available.
‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ film launched to combat child sexual exploitation
21 September 2010
A film designed to protect children and young people who might be vulnerable to sexual exploitation is launched today.
‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ tells the story of a young girl who is groomed and sexually exploited by an older man before being trafficked around the UK between groups of men. The film is aimed at professionals - including front line police officers, child support workers, and teachers - who are in a position to spot warning signs and to help prevent this kind of exploitation taking place.
Accurate estimates of the scale of this type of abuse are hard to make because victims are often too afraid to make a formal complaint against the perpetrators. The UK Human Trafficking Centre and its partners, who commissioned the film, hope that in addition to encouraging early intervention, it will give victims confidence to come forward and help bring their abusers to justice.
‘My Dangerous Loverboy’ was launched at the 4th annual Safe and Sound conference today, to an audience of frontline professionals. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) will be working with the UKHTC to develop an educational package for use in schools through their Thinkuknow outreach programme.
All forms of child sexual exploitation are child abuse cases and as such are dealt with in the context of local child protection arrangements. However, in a minority of cases there is also an element of trafficking, where organised crime groups are involved for financial gain and vulnerable children are moved from one location to another. Each case merits its own approach.
Liam Vernon, head of the UKHTC, said:
“Child sexual exploitation is a deeply disturbing crime which involves the targeting of vulnerable children, sometimes in a significant and organised way. The crime relies on fear to stay hidden – not just from law enforcement but from everyone who could step in and prevent it.
“We want this film to create awareness of the circumstances in which this kind of exploitation can occur, and encourage vigilance from everyone in a position to notice the behavioural and physical signs that indicate abuse.
“In those cases where there is also an element of trafficking, the UK Human Trafficking Centre is on hand to provide expertise and assist the police, CEOP and other agencies tackling child sexual exploitation where we are needed.”
Sheila Taylor, Chair of the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People, and Chief Executive of Safe and Sound, said:
“Historically the voluntary sector has highlighted child sexual exploitation. There is now better education for professionals in identifying and understanding sexual exploitation. More police forces and social services are responding appropriately to cases but there is more to be done.
“Safe and Sound and many of our partner organisations have believed for a long time that we needed something like this film to get the message out even more widely and harness all the eyes and ears we can to ensure that wherever possible we intervene even before the abuse can take place, and that we are always providing the right level of care to ensure children and young people are not re-victimised.”
Support for the victims of child sexual exploitation is provided by Barnados, Child Line, CEOP and the NSPCC.
For more information on the work of the UKHTC see its web pages.
For more information on human trafficking see our Threats pages