Scottish government to launch campaign to tackle child sexual exploitation

Children’s charities, police and young people are being consulted on the shape of the campaign to ensure it reaches those who are at risk of exploitation and makes a real measurable difference to tackling the issue.

On Wednesday the government will host a summit on protecting children and young people next week.

Ministers, local authorities and children’s charities will meet in Edinburgh to discuss how they can work together to ensure child protection policies are as robust as possible to keep our young people safe.

Local authorities across Scotland are attending the summit alongside police, health boards, Children in Scotland, Barnardo’s Scotland, WithScotland, the Care Inspectorate and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The government unveiled a national action plan on child sexual exploitation to the Scottish parliament in November which was published alongside a report from Children in Scotland chief executive Jackie Brock into the working of the Scottish child protection system.

Education secretary Angela Constance (pictured) said: “The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority for this government and an issue we take extremely seriously.

“That’s why we work continuously with law enforcement, children’s charities, Parliament and others to protect children from abuse and target those who attempt to prey on them.

“This week’s summit, our wide ranging national action plan and the commissioning of the Jackie Brock report are a few of a number of steps we are taking to protect our children.

“Our public information campaign to be launched this year will build on this activity to safeguard young people at risk before they become targets of this terrible crime.”

Assistant chief constable Malcolm Graham, Police Scotland lead for public protection said: “Protecting children and tackling all forms of child abuse is a priority for Police Scotland.

“It is a complex and challenging area of policing, often with different challenges in different areas.

“As Police Scotland, we bring a consistent approach to tackling offending against children in all its forms: child abuse or child sexual exploitation, and increasingly, online offending which can add an international dimension to our investigations.

“Our new National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which will be deployed into each of our 14 divisions when there are complex enquiries and as part of the local multi agency response to child protection, will enhance further our approach to supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.