Child Exploitation Hub launched Mon 20 Jun 2022

Professionals from across the Bradford District have come together for the launch of a hub to raise awareness of and help prevent child exploitation.

The Child Exploitation Hub, created by Bradford Council, the police, health and other child protection professionals was launched on Thursday with an event at The Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford.

The event was an opportunity for professionals from agencies across Bradford that work to keep children safe to get together to gain insight into how they can work better together to tackle child exploitation.

The agencies already work closely with each other as partners in the ‘Bradford Partnership – Working Together to Safeguard Children’ and the new hub is designed to enhance their partnership practice.

Among the guest speakers were Sheila Taylor MBE from the National Working Group Network and an expert on the issue of child exploitation and trafficking within the UK and Carl Morton from the St Giles Trust, a charity that works to keep children away from county lines, gangs, drugs and violence

Also profiled was the council’s pioneering project, Breaking the Cycle, which sees youth workers help young people who are at risk of being criminally exploited and falling into crime.

Janice Hawkes, Independent Chair of The Bradford Partnership – Working Together to Safeguard Children, said: “Work already undertaken by the partnership has given us strong foundations to ensuring children and young people affected by exploitation have the right help and support from the multi-agency practitioners who they might come into contact with. This hub builds on those foundations and will help us ensure we develop high quality practice and responsive exploitation services that children and their families need when exploitation is becoming a risk.”

Cllr Sue Duffy, portfolio holder for children and families at Bradford Council, said: “The launch of the hub is a really positive step forward in improving how agencies across the district work together to safeguard and support children and young people who might be coerced or exploited.”

Superintendent Richard Padwell of Bradford District Police said: “We welcome the launch of the multi-agency Child Exploitation Hub. Tackling child sexual and criminal exploitation across Bradford and safeguarding children is a top priority for the force.

“The hub works to identify potential victims at an early stage and work with them to put in place bespoke preventative safeguarding measures.

“We would always encourage victims to come forward and report offences to our specially trained officers. They will be supported and their reports will be investigated thoroughly to protect them from further harm and to identify and take action against perpetrators.”