There is a growing problem both in the UK and worldwide: a culture of abuse that sickens those people brave enough to find out more about it; a culture of sexual exploitation.
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Children (mostly girls, but not always) as young as 10 years old are groomed, trafficked and sexually exploited by older men. When I say ‘older men’, I don't mean 50-60 year olds, I mean men in their mid 20's - young enough to make the excuse of being a boyfriend.
The victims are offered drinks, cigarettes, drugs etc. but later are made to repay the favours by having sex with friends of the man concerned. This in many situations is the beginning of years of sexual abuse.
The link to a story in the Daily Mail from earlier this year tells of horrific abuse to a young girl who was prostituted out by a group of Asian men. Sadly this is not a ‘one-off’ by any means.
According to the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) approximately 35 accused go through the legal system each year under charges of human trafficking.
Barnardos quote a figure of approx 75 victims of trafficking a year with as many as 1,000 victims falling prey to pimping or prostitution.
The problem is, from what I can understand from the Crown Prosecution Services, that because it is so difficult to get a conviction for charges of human trafficking it is more common to try for a lesser conviction of rape. This of course masks the true extent of the problem and leaves the accused with a much more lenient sentence and able to return to their disgusting activities within months of the court case.
Although this problem is rife in parts of Northern England it does happen all over the country, victims are alienated from their families and find it incredibly difficult to rebuild their lives if they are lucky enough to escape from the culture of abuse.
http://www.soca.gov.uk/about-soca/about-the-ukhtc
3 comments:
Excellent! This article is not only informative but a very telling account of what is going on in our society today. The exploitation of our young people is not only disgusting but destroys the life potential of its victims and leaves them scarred forever in so many ways! As a society we are bound to create better legislature, educational programs and protection of our young people! This must happen now before the next wave of young people are destroyed by this insidious crime!!!
An excellent article. Every parent needs to be aware of the dangers that are out there. Not just on the internet but on the streets too.
Exploitation of any child is not acceptable and the governments of our world need to be addressing it more.
An excellent article. The more we can inform parents and teenagers about the dangers of 'grooming' the better. It is so easy to slip into this murky and dangerous world, but so much harder to get back out again.
Thank you for this informative reminder.
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