MORE than 200 children in Scotland have contacted a national charity in the past year to say they have been sexually exploited – a 28% increase on the previous year.
The shock findings come in the annual report from the NSPCC’s Childline service, which showed it carried out an average of 12 counselling sessions every day in 2018/19 with children who had been groomed and forced into sexual activity.
It delivered 4500 sessions – a 16% rise – to children and young people coerced or forced into sexual activity, the youngest of whom was aged nine.
In more than a third of the sessions they disclosed how they were targeted online – usually through social media or video games – often by their peers or people known to them.
Most commonly they received help from Childline because they were forced to perform or watch sexual acts or had been persuaded into sending naked images or videos of themselves. Childline said some were threatened that the images would be shared with friends and family.
Exploitation featured in more than half of the total 8841 counselling sessions about sexual abuse.
Young people said their experience with sexual exploitation also included receiving affection or gifts in exchange for sexual activities.
Now, the NSPCC is calling on the Scottish Government to provide proper training to teachers so they can deliver effective and relevant lessons about healthy relationships, consent and sex; and support young people to get help from a trusted adult.
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One 15-year-old girl told a counsellor she was feeling suicidal after being sexually exploited by a gang of boys: “One day I met up with some boys and they made me feel worth something.
“It started off small, complimenting me, stroking my hair. One day one of them started kissing me so I pushed him away and said no, but he wouldn’t stop.
“I ended up having sex with him because I was scared about what would happen if I said no. This pattern continued between the gang. I didn’t see a problem with it until school found out and told me what was happening was a crime.”
Childline’s Annual Review also showed the biggest jump – a quarter – in the number of 16-18 year-olds receiving counselling for sexual exploitation.
Matt Forde, national head of service for NSPCC Scotland, said: “Earlier this year, the Scottish Government made 16 recommendations after reviewing personal and social education in its schools.
“It needs to now ensure that when these recommendations are implemented, teachers are confident to deliver the improved messages.”
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