Child exploitation is the exploitation of any child or young person under the age of 18. 

Exploitation can happen to any child regardless of their age, gender, background, socio-economic status, religion or culture. It occurs across all communities in the UK and whilst some children have additional vulnerabilities, any child can be targeted.  

Perpetrators can be male or female, from any or all backgrounds, communities and religions.   

There is no ‘typical perpetrator’ model and no ‘typical victim’ model. 

Child Exploitation can take many forms, such as sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, radicalisation, modern slavery and child trafficking. Often children are subjected to more than one form of exploitation at a time. 

Please remember that a child cannot consent to their own exploitation. A child may not consider themselves as a victim, the child may think that they have a free and open choice and are consenting to the criminal activity from free will.