Child sex exploitation crimes up in Wales, NSPCC says

The NSPCC says some children do not realised they are being abused until they are much older

The number of crimes recorded with an element of child sexual exploitation has seen a big increase in Wales within the past year, a charity said.

There were 752 cases logged by the four Welsh police forces in 2021-22.

This compared to 440 in 2020-21, 378 in 2019-20 and 351 in 2018-19, the NSPCC said.

One 18-year-old from Wales told Childline she "still has panic attacks" when she sees the man who sexually assaulted her when she was younger.

She said: "When I was young, an older family friend touched me after offering me cigarettes and alcohol. He would buy me expensive things and give me money.

"He wanted to know if I had told anyone about what had happened. I still see him sometimes and I get panic attacks when I see him.

"I tried to tell someone in my family about it, but she didn't believe me."

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A 15-year-old girl from Wales said: "I've been having a sexual relationship with my mum's ex-boyfriend. We were also sexual with each other when he used to live with us. I know that I was very young and I didn't really know what I was doing.

"Sometimes I think it was abuse, but sometimes I don't. He is pretty much my boyfriend. I have really confusing feelings about him as he's the only one who's made me feel wanted."

Other cases involve sexual exploitation after being trafficked from their home after being threatened with violence or the promise of a better life elsewhere.

Darren Worth, service head of Childline, said: "Our counsellors have heard from children who have said they didn't realise what they experienced in a relationship or friendship was wrong until they were much older and some said at the time they thought their abuser was someone they could trust.

"Others said they thought they were to blame for what had happened and were scared about what would happen if they did speak out."

The charity's chief executive Sir Peter Wanless believes everyone has a role to play in protecting children from sexual exploitation, with better sex and relationship education needed to help young people understand "what is and is not a healthy relationship".

'Harrowing experiences'

The children's commissioner for Wales has called on the Welsh government to produce a "thorough plan" on how it intends to strengthen prevention procedures.

Rocio Cifentues said: "Last week we heard the harrowing experiences of thousands of survivors from across the UK as part of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse's concluding report.

"These latest figures are another reminder of the scale of child sexual exploitation in our society.