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What Is CSE? Statutory Definition
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 — Annex B definition:
"Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or desires, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology."
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026, Annex B
The definition contains three critical elements that practitioners must understand:
Power imbalance
The imbalance can be age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, vulnerability, substance dependency, debt, or any other factor. CSE always involves someone exploiting a child's relative powerlessness — it is not a relationship between equals.
Exchange element
Something is given to or obtained from the child — gifts, affection, drugs, alcohol, accommodation, food, money, status, or protection. The exchange reinforces the power imbalance and creates psychological dependency in the victim.
Consent is not a defence
A child under 16 cannot legally consent to sexual activity. Even where a child over 16 appears to consent, if that consent was obtained through coercion, manipulation, deception, substance use, or exploitation of a power imbalance, it is not valid consent. The law is clear: this is abuse.
Types of CSE
CSE takes many forms. Understanding the different models helps practitioners recognise exploitation that may not fit the stereotypical image of CSE — it is not only carried out by strangers, and it is not only experienced by girls.
♥ "Boyfriend" / Loverboy Model
A perpetrator (often slightly older, perceived as attractive or high-status) builds a romantic relationship with the child, providing affection, gifts, and apparent understanding. Once the child is emotionally dependent, the perpetrator introduces sexual activity — often framed as "what couples do" — and may then introduce the child to others. The child frequently does not recognise this as abuse.
Warning signs
- ● Sudden appearance of an older boyfriend/girlfriend
- ● Receiving unexplained gifts (phones, money, clothes)
- ● Withdrawal from family and friends
- ● Secretive about new relationship
- ● Defending aggressive or controlling behaviour as "romantic"
Key risk factor
Children with experience of abuse, neglect, or family instability are particularly vulnerable — they may not have experienced healthy attachment or appropriate adult relationships, making the perpetrator's attention feel genuinely loving.
👥 Organised / Networked Exploitation
Multiple perpetrators exploit multiple victims, often involving "passing" or "trafficking" children between locations, individuals, and networks. This can overlap with county lines networks. High-profile cases in Rotherham, Rochdale, and Oxford brought this model to national attention, but it occurs across England.
Warning signs
- ● Going missing — repeatedly, overnight
- ● Contact with multiple unknown adults
- ● Multiple mobile phones or SIM cards
- ● Being found in unfamiliar locations
- ● Evidence of drug or alcohol use
- ● Injuries inconsistent with explanation
Multi-agency imperative
Organised exploitation requires a co-ordinated response involving police, children's social care, CEOP/NCA, and health. Intelligence must be shared promptly. Do not investigate alone — this is dangerous for you and potentially disruptive to police operations.
📱 Online / Technology-Facilitated CSE
Exploitation that takes place entirely or primarily online — including the production or sharing of indecent images of children (IIOC), online sexual extortion (sextortion), and live-streamed abuse. The perpetrator may never meet the child in person. CEOP and NCA data show this is the fastest-growing form of CSE.
Warning signs
- ● Excessive or secretive device use, especially late at night
- ● Unexplained online contacts or gifts (gift cards, gaming credits)
- ● Anxiety, distress, or anger when phone is unavailable
- ● Switching screens or hiding phone when adults approach
- ● Withdrawal from school, family, and friendships
Sextortion
Online sexual extortion — where a perpetrator obtains sexual images of a child and then threatens to share them unless further images are provided or money is paid — has increased significantly. Children are often too ashamed to tell anyone. Reassure the child: it is never their fault, and the perpetrator can be stopped. Report to CEOP immediately.
👥 Peer-on-Peer / Child-on-Child CSE
CSE perpetrated by peers — children and young people exploiting other children and young people. This may involve coercion into sexual activity, production or sharing of sexual images, or "passing" a peer to older networks. KCSIE 2025 Part 5 explicitly addresses child-on-child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Critical point for schools
Child-on-child CSE must never be minimised as "just what young people do." A child who is perpetrating CSE may themselves be a victim of abuse or exploitation — the response must address both the harm caused and the perpetrator's own safeguarding needs.
Upskirting & IBSA
Sharing sexual images without consent (including "revenge porn" and upskirting) constitutes a criminal offence under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 and the Online Safety Act 2023. Schools must not treat this as a pastoral matter — it is a crime and a safeguarding concern.
📦 County Lines-Linked CSE
Sexual exploitation frequently occurs alongside county lines exploitation. Girls (and boys) drawn into drug supply networks are often also sexually exploited — sometimes as a form of "payment" for drugs, debt bondage, or as part of controlling behaviour used to enforce compliance. CSE and CCE (Child Criminal Exploitation) must both be considered where either is suspected.
Dual exploitation: Research by the Children's Commissioner found that approximately 40% of identified county lines victims experienced sexual exploitation alongside criminal exploitation. Never assess for one form of exploitation without considering the other.
Warning Signs
CSE rarely presents as an obvious disclosure. The signs below are indicators of possible exploitation — no single sign is definitive, and many can be explained by other factors. It is the combination and pattern of signs that matters.
Behavioural indicators
- ● Going missing — frequently or overnight
- ● Returning home after going missing unkempt, upset, or intoxicated
- ● Sudden changes in behaviour, mood, or social circle
- ● Withdrawal from family, friends, and school activities
- ● New relationship with significantly older partner
- ● Use of sexual language beyond what is age-appropriate
- ● Engaging in sexual activity in exchange for something
- ● Self-harm, eating difficulties, or self-destructive behaviour
- ● Significant school absence or sudden drop in attainment
- ● Distrust of professionals or extreme reluctance to share information
Physical & circumstantial indicators
- ● Unexplained gifts: phones, money, clothing, alcohol, drugs
- ● Multiple phones or SIM cards
- ● Staying overnight in unfamiliar places
- ● Sexually transmitted infections or unexplained pregnancy
- ● Evidence of physical or sexual assault
- ● Contact with known perpetrators or locations associated with exploitation
- ● Evidence of substance use
- ● Being found in cars with unknown adults
- ● Carrying condoms (for a very young child)
- ● Sexual imagery found on phone or social media
Online CSE & Technology-Facilitated Abuse
CEOP's 2024 threat assessment identifies online child sexual abuse as the fastest-growing threat area. The Online Safety Act 2023 introduced new duties on platforms to identify, remove, and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM), but practitioners must understand the online landscape to identify risk.
High-risk platforms & methods
- ● Live streaming platforms (unknown perpetrators pay for abuse)
- ● Gaming platforms with chat functions (particularly targeting boys)
- ● Encrypted messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal)
- ● Social media platforms where age verification is weak
- ● AI-generated CSAM (CEOP 2024: rapidly increasing threat)
- ● Dark web forums and closed groups
KCSIE 2025 & online CSE
- ✓ Schools must have up-to-date online safety policies covering CSE risks
- ✓ Filters and monitoring systems must address CSAM and grooming platforms
- ✓ Staff training must include online grooming and CSE indicators
- ✓ DSL must understand CEOP reporting and the NCMEC CyberTipline process
- ✓ Children must receive age-appropriate online safety PSHE covering CSE
Myths & Misconceptions
Harmful myths about CSE lead practitioners to miss or minimise exploitation. Understanding why these myths are wrong is essential.
"They chose to be in that relationship / they consented"
A child cannot consent to sexual exploitation. "Consent" obtained through grooming, coercion, substance use, or the exploitation of a power imbalance is not valid consent in law or in ethics. The child is a victim — not a participant.
"It only happens to girls"
Boys and young men experience CSE at significant rates but are substantially under-reported. Male victims often face additional barriers — shame, masculine norms, fear of not being believed. CEOP data and research consistently show boys are a largely hidden victim group.
"It only happens in troubled families or deprived areas"
CSE affects children across all socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds. Children in private schools, from stable families, and in affluent areas are also targeted — particularly online. Vulnerability is the key factor, not postcode or family background.
"If they're not going missing or showing visible signs, they can't be being exploited"
Online CSE can occur entirely within a child's bedroom. A child can be regularly producing sexual images or participating in live-streamed abuse with no physical absence, no visible gifts, and no obvious behavioural change. Online exploitation can be entirely invisible to parents and practitioners.
"They would tell someone if they were being abused"
Children rarely disclose CSE — particularly when they perceive the relationship as consensual, feel shame or responsibility, fear consequences for themselves or others, are in debt bondage, or are afraid of the perpetrator. Most CSE is identified by practitioners, not through disclosure.
Statutory Framework
Key Legislation
- Sexual Offences Act 2003: Makes sexual activity with a child under 16 a criminal offence regardless of consent. Specific offences for child sexual exploitation (ss.47–50) carry up to 14 years' imprisonment
- Protection of Children Act 1978: Indecent photographs of children — including distribution and possession
- Modern Slavery Act 2015: Trafficking children for sexual exploitation — includes a specific defence for child victims (s.45)
- Online Safety Act 2023: Platform duties to prevent, identify, and remove CSAM; CSEA as a priority offence
- Children Act 1989, s.47: Duty to investigate where a child is suffering or likely to suffer significant harm — CSE is always significant harm
Statutory Guidance
- Working Together 2026: Requires all agencies to have CSE-specific training and policies; includes CSE in Annex B definitions
- KCSIE 2025: Explicitly requires DSLs to be trained in CSE indicators; requires schools to address online CSE through PSHE and filtering
- Safeguarding Children in Education (DfE): Specific guidance on schools' role in identifying and responding to CSE
- CEOP Child Protection Command (NCA): Lead national agency for online child sexual abuse; manages CAID database
Guidance for Schools & DSLs
KCSIE 2025 Requirements
- ✓ DSL must be trained in CSE and CCE indicators and referral pathways
- ✓ All staff must receive regular safeguarding training covering CSE
- ✓ School online safety policy must address CSE risks
- ✓ Filtering and monitoring must be appropriate to age and risk
- ✓ PSHE must include age-appropriate content on relationships, consent, and online safety
- ✓ Any disclosure or concern must be referred to the DSL immediately — not investigated in school
Practical DSL Checklist
- ✓ Know your local CSE/MACE (Multi-Agency Child Exploitation) referral pathway
- ✓ Maintain a CSE concern log — record patterns, not just incidents
- ✓ Know the CEOP reporting process and CAIT (Child Abuse Investigation Team) contact
- ✓ Do not investigate or interrogate — refer and monitor
- ✓ If a child is going missing, refer immediately — do not wait for a pattern
- ✓ If a child discloses, thank them for telling you, reassure them it is not their fault, and refer to MASH/CSC without delay
How to Refer — CEOP & MASH
CEOP — Online Abuse
For online CSE, sextortion, indecent images, or grooming via the internet, report directly to the NCA's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command (CEOP).
Report to CEOP ↗Both children and adults can report. Reports are investigated by NCA specialists. Retain all device evidence — do not delete.
MASH — Offline / Contact CSE
For contact CSE, concerns about physical exploitation, county lines-linked CSE, or any concern where you believe a child is at risk of significant harm, refer to your local Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).
Find your local MASH via your LA or LSCP website. For emergencies, call 999. For non-emergency welfare concerns, call 101.
Record the specific concern
Date, time, what was observed or disclosed, by whom. Do not investigate or question the child beyond a first response.
Refer to your DSL immediately
Any member of staff who has a CSE concern should refer to the DSL without delay — do not hold the concern until the next day.
DSL refers to MASH or CEOP
MASH for contact CSE; CEOP for online CSE. Both referrals can happen simultaneously where both dimensions are present.
Consider a MACE referral
Many areas have a Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE) meeting — a specialist panel for complex or ongoing CSE cases. Your DSL or MASH can advise whether a MACE referral is appropriate.
Guidance for Parents & Carers
If you are worried that your child may be being sexually exploited, you are not alone — and it is not your fault. CSE can happen to any child, and perpetrators are very skilled at hiding what they are doing from parents.
If you're concerned about your child
- ✓ Talk to your child calmly and without blame — they need to feel safe with you
- ✓ Contact your child's school — the DSL can advise and refer
- ✓ Report to CEOP (online concerns): ceop.police.uk
- ✓ Call the NSPCC: 0808 800 5000
- ✓ Contact your local children's services / MASH
- ✓ If your child is in immediate danger, call 999
What to avoid
- ✗ Do not confront the suspected perpetrator — this can put your child at greater risk
- ✗ Do not punish or blame your child — they are a victim
- ✗ Do not delete images or messages on your child's devices — these are evidence
- ✗ Do not try to investigate yourself — contact the police or CEOP
- ✗ Do not assume the relationship is "just a phase" or that your child will grow out of it
Who to Call
Related Resources
Key Statutory References