The Safer Harrogate District Community Safety Group has launched a new campaign to raise awareness within the district of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).
- The Safer Harrogate District has representatives from key partners from voluntary and statutory agencies including Harrogate Borough Council, North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, NHS Harrogate & Rural District Clinical Commissioning Group, Probation Services, Youth Justice Service, and the Harrogate and Ripon CVS.
In advance of the school summer holidays, the group provided secondary schools in the district with a “Parents Guide to CSE”, which outlines the signs that parents should look out for to reduce the risk of their children becoming exploited.
Inspector Penny Taylor of the Harrogate District CSE Action Group said:
The guide is an important reference point for parents. It dispels some myths about CSE, and gives practical advice to parents on what to do if they suspect their child is in any way being exploited.
It’s vital that parents talk to their children about the risks of CSE, and the more information they have to hand, the better.
The guide is the Community Safety Group’s will highlight this important issue. The group recently took part in a multi-agency ‘Crucial Crew’ event for local primary schools which was held at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate. Over 1,000 Year Six children from across the district received age appropriate information on the issue of CSE.
The group has also been busy in other areas to raise awareness of the issue. In June over 500 local taxi and private hire drivers from the district attended a series of awareness raising sessions highlighting CSE. In addition, over 40 professionals, including police officers, probation officers, mental health workers, Harrogate Borough Council employees, and Compass Reach staff, have received high quality CSE training from Just Whistle, a leading national CSE charity.
Over the next few months, the Safer Harrogate District Community Safety Group will also be working with hotels in the district to give staff advice on how to spot possible incidents of CSE.
A “Parents Against Child Exploitation” self-help group has been set up in Harrogate to support parents whose children have been affected by CSE.
Anyone interested in receiving information on this group should email Nicki Dobson, CSE Coordinator for the Harrogate District, at Nicki.Dobson@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Further information on the work that the Safer Harrogate District Community Safety Group is undertaking on CSE can be obtained from Simon Aston, Safer Communities Officer at simon.aston@harrogate.gov.uk
Anyone wishing to receive a copy of the Parents Guide to CSE should e-mail community.safety@harrogate.gov.uk
