Criminal Exploitation
88% of police forces report county lines activity in their areas with approximately 1,500 county lines nationally. ‘County Lines’ are when individuals or gangs use children to transport and sell drugs, primarily from urban areas into market or coastal towns or rural areas to establish new drug markets or take over existing ones. They also use children to transport and hide weapons and to secure dwellings of vulnerable people in the area, so that they can use them as a base from which to sell drugs (‘cuckooing’). County Lines involves modern slavery and trafficking as well as exploitation as the adults running the network are removed from the frontline activity of dealing and instead use children. Violence and intimidation are a common feature of County Lines. Increases in knife crime and youth violence can often be an indicator of a county line in a local area. A young person’s family could be threatened as a means of propelling them to ‘work’ for the drug network.
Stages of recruitment for criminal exploitation:
- Targeting – identifying a vulnerable young person and gaining their trust
- Experience – including a young person in activities, offering them protection and a sense of belonging, testing their loyalties and skills
- Hooked – making the young person feel part of the gang, including taking on more responsibilities and being made to feel more powerful (even though this may not be reality)
- Trapped – when the young person feels dependent on the group, the exploiter’s true intents may be revealed, including through threatening behaviour, violence, humiliation and blackmail
Sexual Exploitation
CSE can happen in person or online. An abuser will gain a child’s trust or control them through violence or blackmail before moving onto sexually abusing them. This can happen in a short period of time.
When a child is sexually exploited online they might be persuaded or forced to:
- Send or post sexually explicit images of themselves
- Film or stream sexual activities
- Have sexual conversations
Once an abuser has images, video or copies of conversations, they might use threats and blackmail to force a young person to take part in other sexual activity. They may also share the images and videos with others or circulate them online.
Gangs use sexual exploitation:
- to exert power and control
- for initiation
- to use sexual violence as a weapon.
Children or young people might be invited to parties or gatherings with others their own age or adults and given drugs and alcohol. They may be assaulted and sexually abused by one person or multiple perpetrators. The sexual assaults and abuse can be violent, humiliating and degrading.
If you feel you are being criminally or sexually exploited there are many places to get help and support. These places are also to be used if you suspect a friend or family member is being exploited in any way.
Information & Advice For Young People | The Children’s Society (childrenssociety.org.uk)
Criminal exploitation and gangs | NSPCC
11-18s | CEOP Education (thinkuknow.co.uk)
CE Safeguarding Arrangements (escb.co.uk)
Child-on-Child Abuse
Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as peer on child-on-child abuse and can take many forms. It can happen both inside and outside of school/college and online. It is most likely to include, but may not be limited to: bullying (including cyberbullying, prejudice-based and discriminatory bullying); abuse in intimate personal relationships between peers; physical abuse; sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault; sexual harassment; non-consensual sharing of nudes and semi nudes images and/or videos; causing someone to engage in sexual activity without consent; up skirting; and initiation/hazing type violence.
Bullying is a type of behaviour, repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group. If left unaddressed, bullying at school can have a serious impact on a young person’s mental health, self-esteem and ability to thrive in education.
Bullying can/may:
- Be physical abuse, such as: hitting, kicking, shaking, biting
- Be emotional abuse, such as: name calling, spreading rumours or social inclusion
- Involve intimidation or threats of violence
- Involve racial, sexual or homophobic abuse
- Be perpetrated by an individual or a group
- Take place online or via technology (aka cyberbullying)
- Be motivated by real or perceived differences
- Involve an imbalance of power
- Disproportionately impact children with SEN and disabilities
Bullying | How To Deal With Bullying and Getting Help | YoungMinds
Advice for young people (kidscape.org.uk)
Bullying | The Children’s Society (childrenssociety.org.uk)
Healthy and unhealthy relationships | Childline
Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) or peer-on-peer sexual abuse | NSPCC Learning