This page brings together key information, resources and guidance that members may find useful to understand and support best practice around child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation.

What are child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation?

In both forms of exploitation, children can be targeted in person or online and, for example, through social media or gaming platforms. They may have been exploited even if they don’t see themselves as victims or appear to have been a willing participant.

Child criminal exploitation

Child criminal exploitation, which may be abbreviated to CCE, is when someone manipulates, deceives, coerces or controls a child to undertake activity that constitutes a criminal offence.

Specific forms of criminal exploitation include:

• County lines, where criminals befriend children and coerce them into drug dealing, or related activities between different geographic areas
• Financial exploitation, which takes place for the purpose of money laundering. This is when criminals target children and adults at risk and take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive them into facilitating the movement of illicit funds.

Child sexual exploitation

Child sexual exploitation, which may be abbreviated to CSE, is a type of sexual abuse and involves situations or relationships in which a person under 18 is given something, such as food, drugs, alcohol, affection, gifts or money in return for performing sexual activities or having sexual activities performed on them. It can also involve violence, coercion and intimidation, with threats of physical harm or humiliation.

Children and young people are often tricked into believing they're in a loving and consensual relationship so the sexual activity may appear consensual. This is called grooming.

Specific forms of sexual exploitation include:

• Online sexual exploitation, where a child is persuaded or forced to send or post sexually explicit images of themselves, film or stream sexual activities, or have sexual conversations
• Financially motivated sexual extortion (sextortion), which involves the exploitation of nude, explicit or sensitive images or videos (either genuine or AI-generated, known as deepfakes) to coerce victims into unwanted actions such as sharing further explicit imagery or paying perpetrators to prevent further sharing.

Safeguarding against and supporting victims of child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation

Government guidance and support

• Both Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and Working Together to Safeguard Children include information on CCE and CSE, and how schools should respond if they have concerns.
• The Child exploitation disruption toolkit has been developed to support frontline practitioners to safeguard children and young people under the age of 18 from sexual and criminal exploitation.
• The Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines guidance outlines what county lines (and associated criminal exploitation) is, signs to look for in potential victims and what to do about it.
• The Child sexual exploitation: definition and guide for practitioners guidance defines child sexual exploitation, potential vulnerabilities and indicators of abuse and appropriate action to take in response.

Guidance from public services and charities

• Police.uk has pages on child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation that include signs and risks of exploitation, as well as a series of numbers, advice and links for children and adults worried about exploitation.
• Barnado’s has a useful page of definitions that might help you understand the language used around child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation.
• The NSPCC’s pages on child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation offer further definitions, as well as advice and guidance for adults who are worried about young people.