Hard-hitting drama highlights dangers of on-street grooming

The High Sheriffs’ and Humberside Police Tribune Trust will today present a grant of £2,500 to the CARE (Children At Risk Of Exploitation) scheme, run by sexual health charity Cornerhouse, at the launch of a hard-hitting drama project at Hull Truck Theatre.

Based on the actual experiences of young people working with the charity, it will feature 12 drama workshops that will culminate in a production being performed at the theatre on December 19.

Called Out of Mind, Out of Sight, the title of a national report into the issue, the play will address the dangers of the growing phenomenon of the on-street grooming of vulnerable young people.

It follows a review by the National Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), launched after an investigation last year uncovered the serious sexual exploitation of vulnerable young girls in the Midlands, which saw a number of men jailed.

Cornerhouse chief executive Tish Lamb said the charity successfully applied for three years of funding for a dedicated CARE worker in 2009 after hearing growing evidence of young people being exploited on the streets of Hull. She said: “About five years ago we started to get a number of young people talking to us about the fact that if they were homeless they would sleep with people for a bed for the night.

“This increased and built up and resulted in us putting in a bid to Comic Relief recognising this was an issue.

“The project is about working both with young people who have been identified as being at risk of exploitation, as well as with other professionals ensuring they are aware of the issues and recognising the signs of someone being groomed.

“It’s very difficult to put figures on, but we are aware that some young people will be focused on by older people and confidence is built up and a relationship sometimes, and for some young people that may be the only relationship they may be having so there’s that trust element.

“We won’t say you can’t trust them, it’s about building up their own awareness and very much around young people recognising this is an issue, building up self-esteem and self confidence.”

The creative learning team at the theatre will work with a group of young girls and with information about the real risks they have faced produce a play that will look at the extent of the problem and action that can be taken to stop it and pursue offenders.

The performance will be recorded and on a DVD for use as an educational and training resource.

All UK police forces and safeguarding children boards were asked to contribute to the CEOP research, but not all complied.

Some of those that did respond reported no incidents of localised grooming in their area - which has prompted fears the problem is not being recognised.

The trust said: “The research indicated that this did not reflect information from victims and general intelligence suggesting localised grooming and exploitation was common but hidden from services, hence the title of the report, Out of Mind, Out of Sight.

“This was because offenders, often groups of young men, deliberately created and exacerbated vulnerabilities that victims had, such as disengagement from their families, detachment from services, and challenging behaviour in schools and the community.”

Trust director Geoff Ogden added: “One of the aims of the trust is to support community-based and led projects that support vulnerable victims.

“The grooming and sexual exploitation of young people in an age of social networking is a very serious and worrying issue.

“The sponsorship of the programme by the trustees will significantly raise the profile of it, thus preventing offences and prosecuting offenders.”