Cross Party Working Group on Child Sexual Exploitation Welcomes Assurances from Home Secretary

A cross party group of MPs have welcomed assurances from the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, that confronting Child Sexual Exploitation remains amongst the Government’s highest priorities.

The Cross Party Working Group on Child Sexual Exploitation wrote to the Home Secretary having been convened by Sarah Champion MP, Member of Parliament for Rotherham. The MPs came together having each encountered gang related Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in their own constituencies. They were alarmed by the similarities in cases across the country and by the implications that this raised.

In their letter to the Home Secretary, the Working Group called for the Home Office to undertake research into common patterns of behaviour in cases of gang-related CSE to better understand the drivers of this specific form of abuse.

In response, the Home Secretary offered reassurance of his personal commitment to confronting Child Sexual Exploitation and detailed research currently underway to better understand patterns of offending.

Commenting on behalf of the Working Group, Sarah Champion MP said:

“We welcome the personal involvement of the Home Secretary in ensuring that statutory approaches to confronting this appalling crime are robust, effective and evidence led.’

‘Having encountered child sexual exploitation in our own constituencies, the Group are determined to ensure that the Government both delivers on its promises to victims and survivors, and does all that it can to understand and prevent gang-related CSE.”

Commenting on the Group’s ongoing work, Sarah said:

“Going forward the group will be pressing for more action around sentencing, prevention, supporting victims and survivors and the police response.”

You can read the Home Secretary's letter here