25.11.14
Campaign to tackle child sexual exploitation in South Yorkshire
A South Yorkshire-wide campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the signs of child sexual exploitation, following the recent Rotherham scandal highlighted by the Jay report.
The ‘Spot the Signs’ campaign includes a series of posters with 14 different signs that a young person is a victim of sexual exploitation. These will be displayed in prominent public locations including on buses, in shopping centres and doctor’s surgeries.
Developed as a partnership between South Yorkshire Police, all four local councils, Crimestoppers, the National Working Group (NWG) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the campaign is just one of a number of ways the agencies are working together to increase awareness of this “shocking crime”.
The newly elected South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings (pictured), who recently replaced Shaun Wright, has given the campaign his full support.
At its launch he said: “When I became Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire I said that tackling child sexual exploitation would be my first priority.
“So far we have heard a great deal about the abuse of children by gangs - and we must continue to pursue those who have yet to be brought to justice and help their victims.
“But the shocking truth is that most sexual exploitation occurs in the home and within families. We want to provide victims of this horrific crime with the strength and confidence to come forward. That will only happen if we are all alert to the signs of abuse – the public as well as the various agencies.”
PSE spoke to Commissioner Billings after the launch of the campaign about how he hopes to tackle the issue of child sexual exploitation in South Yorkshire during his tenure. Full coverage will be in the December/January edition of PSE.
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