Child Exploitation Information Evening

Went to an information evening tonight at a local secondary school presented by Buckinghamshire Safeguarding Children Board, local police and Barnardos. Given the recent trial at the Old Bailey involving persons from Aylesbury it has highlighted how this can happen anywhere in the country. The general gist was not significantly different from other child protection training I have received over the years but with the one clear focus it made me think about the additional vulnerability of teenagers with ASD in this type of interaction. For those who are keen for a ‘best friend’ and whose social skills have left them frequently rejected then many of the strategies of the abusers make them easy targets. The uncomfortable feeling that something about a relationship was not right is even less likely to occur. As ever there is no ‘magic’ sign to look for as many could be put down to a typical teenager but it is looking for unexplained changes in behaviour and  being aware that both boys and girls can be victims.

Useful sites included ruwise2it.co.uk

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