Be our eyes and ears to tackle child exploitation

POLICE are appealing to Oldhamers to be the “eyes and ears” in the fight against Child Sexual Exploitation in the area.

Operation Messenger — a partnership between police, council and other agencies — was set up in Oldham in 2006 to deal with the sexual exploitation of youngsters. This has now become Phoenix Oldham and has expanded to place more emphasis on prevention and intervention.

Child abuse cases in Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford have hit the headlines in recent months and the Phoenix Oldham team is keen to learn from mistakes made elsewhere.

Supt Denise Worth said: “We are looking more at prevention and not just dealing with the children who have suffered abuse and effectively had their entire childhood ruined.

“A big part of what we do is raising awareness of CSE, so people feel more confident in reporting things they see. In Oldham, we are not afraid to be upfront and say exactly who the perpetrators are. “There is a misconception that all CSE is carried out by Asian gangs on white girls. This does happen, but CSE doesn’t have a face and it doesn’t have a race. It is just child abuse: anyone can be a victim and anyone can be a perpetrator. If you narrow your search to just one type of CSE you will be neglecting many other victims.

“My message is simple, if you see something that you think isn’t right, don’t turn a blind eye, report it.”

For more information about CSE, visit www.itsnotokay.co.uk.