What to do if you think a child is being exploited

If you’re concerned about a child it’s best to get help as quickly as possible. You can:

• contact the NSPCC on  0808 800 5000 to speak to trained professionals about what is happening. They can take action and signpost you to the right services and support agencies in your area.
• contact the police immediately on 999 if you’re worried the child is in danger
• contact your local council’s social care department.
• talk to the safeguarding lead at the child’s school and ask for support
• If you don’t feel comfortable reporting the situation to the police you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously.

The Children’s Society Look Now website has information for people working in different sectors, like fast food restaurants and hotels, who may see children who are being exploited.

If you need someone to talk to about parenting you can contact Children First’s helpline or Action for Children.

If you need someone to listen, you can contact any of the organisations listed on the Mind website here.

You may be worried that the child will get into trouble with the police if you report the situation. However, as criminal exploitation is a form of child abuse, it is important to get help as quickly as possible.

In Scotland, there’s guidance that helps protect people who may have been forced into crime because they were victims of exploitation or human trafficking. 

The guidance tells prosecutors (the people who decide if someone should go to court) to look out for signs that a person was a victim of exploitation. They are also told they don’t always have to wait for full reports about whether the exploitation took place before deciding not to take the case further.

The guidance is to help make sure people who have been used or forced into crime get the right support and aren’t punished.

Children caught up in criminal activity may also be at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation. This can make what is already a painful, distressing situation seem even worse. But if this affects your family it’s important to remember that you're not alone: there is help out there, and you can get through this. Our section on child sexual abuse has information on what to do if you’re concerned that a child is being abused and advice on how to cope if your child has been abused.

Exploiters may try to groom or coerce children and young people into sending them intimate or sexual images, which they then use to blackmail them. Again, this is a horrible situation, but there are lots of practical things you can do if this has happened and lots of organisations that can help your family. Our pages on when things go wrong online and sextortion have more advice and links.