Hansard

I offer my sincere thanks to three separate entities. First, I thank Barnardo’s for bringing forward the evidence that lay behind the petition, which resulted in the report that we are debating.

Secondly, I thank Aberlour Child Care Trust and all the other groups that are involved, long term, in dealing with the problem of child sexual exploitation. I mention Aberlour in particular because I, like the member who commented on the matter earlier, regret the decision that was taken in 2013 to withdraw funding for the one refuge in Scotland that might have helped children who have suffered exploitation. I am therefore pleased that the minister said that the situation will be re-examined; I look forward to the outcome of that.

Thirdly, I acknowledge the work of the Public Petitions Committee, which undertook a challenging investigation into a subject that is of great importance to the future of Scotland and our young people. I think that the committee’s report deals sensitively with the issues.

Only this morning, I received a telephone call from a constituent who did not know that this debate was to take place today but who has brought to my attention issues that, for the past few months, I have been attempting to deal with—issues that are the result of a period of betrayal that he suffered as a child. He should have been cared for and protected but instead he suffered sexual exploitation. Many decades later, he is still dealing with the pain, regret and isolation that have come from that experience.

I will not go into the detail of my constituent’s case, but I think that it mirrors the experience of many children and adults in our community, who must deal with such experiences day in and day out, often with little chance of escape or with insufficient support.

In that context, I remind members and the minister of the main inquiry objectives: to identify the nature and extent of child sexual exploitation in Scotland—a matter that we should continue to pay attention to and work on; to identify the most pertinent issues that need to be tackled in a changing scene that needs to be addressed year by year; and to continue to make recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of our services.

Scottish studies are few and far between. The sheer extent and the nature of the subject matter are little known to us, and much is guessed at on the basis of the work and efforts of those engaged in this area of activity. I have no doubt that in her closing speech the minister will acknowledge the need for more research in the area as well as the need to understand clearly the beginnings of exploitation and how it develops in a country such as Scotland.

At a UK level, the child exploitation and online protection centre has engaged in some research, although it is acknowledged to be very limited. However, even that UK-wide study, into which Scottish police forces have fed, acknowledged that nearly 5,500 reports of the exploitation of children were received in 2008-09, with the figure rising a year later to 6,291 reports.

We are perhaps at an advantage, in that CEOP’s new head is Johnny Gwynne who, as a former police officer from Scotland, will have an interest in what happens here. I have no doubt that he will be supported by Gordon Meldrum and Bob Lauder, both former members of the Scottish police service, who operate at a high level in the National Crime Agency.

CEOP’s report also acknowledges that 27 per cent of girls reported that they had been forced or pressurised to engage in sexual activity against their wishes. That is a real problem for girls in our community that needs to be addressed urgently.

We know who will be in some of the high-risk groups. They come from families who are facing difficulties and where neglect, abuse and domestic violence are part of daily life. They also include those who are in our care system. Unfortunately, we know that children in care systems across the United Kingdom, where the management of the care environment is not disciplined and effective, can be abused, either by their peer group in the care home or occasionally by those who are given the duty of looking after them. We recognise that we need to address that on-going problem. Those who seek to exploit children will also seek out the posts that make that exploitation so much easier. I hope that the minister, in taking the matter forward, will pay some attention to that element of the problem that we face. Indeed, she has indicated that an action plan or national strategy is vital in progressing the issue.

Not a great deal has been said so far about the internet and the use of chat rooms. Recent reports show that more than 10,000 children in the far east are exploited by adults who live and conduct their business here—