Hansard

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. We often say that debates are important, but I cannot think of many debates that are more important than one on how we protect our children from harm and from sexual exploitation.

I thank Dave Stewart and the other Public Petitions Committee members for their inquiry. I know that they have spent a great deal of time investigating the causes of child exploitation and investigating the actions that governments national and local, and all relevant authorities need to take to prevent children from being sexually exploited. I also thank Barnardo’s for lodging its important petition in the first place.

I was a member of the Public Petitions Committee from May to December 2011 and remember when the petition was first lodged; it is clear that the inquiry was a lengthy piece of work by the committee. We all need to recognise that the issue probably deserves more prominence than it has been given in the past. I am not saying that any of us, or that any organisation, does not think that it is an important issue, and I welcome the actions that the minister has set out on behalf of the Scottish Government. However, I think that it is fair to say that the issue has not until now had the prominence that it requires, which is why the Barnardo’s petition and the work of the Public Petitions Committee have been so important.

As Dave Stewart outlined, the committee report proposes a national strategy and action plan. My Labour colleagues and I whole-heartedly agree with that proposal and we expect it to be progressed as a matter of urgency. As the minister quite rightly said, a time-consuming review is not a necessity. Where there is agreement on recommendations, we would like to see those recommendations being progressed as soon as possible.

As many members have said, to tackle child sexual exploitation effectively, we must look at the extent of the problem and that means compiling and tracking statistics. When the petition first arrived at the committee, I was concerned about the issues that were raised by children’s charities including Barnardo’s about the lack of information on the number of cases of exploitation held by the authorities.

I understand that there is currently no estimate of the prevalence of child sexual exploitation in Scotland; although studies have taken place, they have been on a small scale. We should look at statistics with caution because we are, of course, talking about children, and not statistics, but we cannot address the problem properly if it is not properly understood.

I welcome the work that has been done to date and the research that has been commissioned by the Scottish Government, but we need more comprehensive research and more comprehensive data collection if we are to fully understand the extent to which such exploitation is prevalent in Scotland and what needs to be done to tackle it.

The Barnardo’s briefing that members received in advance of the debate supports a number of the report’s recommendations and highlights the importance of engaging with children through education and work in schools. I know that the committee report makes a series of recommendations around that and I echo calls from around the chamber for those recommendations to be progressed and for greater engagement with children and young people.

We are right to acknowledge the importance of effective education programmes in helping young people to recognise and report incidents of sexual abuse. Children need to know the signs of sexual exploitation, how to raise the alarm and where they can ask for help and get the support that they need. The NSPCC’s talk PANTS campaign is an example of such a programme.

As Graeme Pearson said, of course we must look at how to prevent cases from arising, but we must also better support survivors—children and adults who suffered exploitation as children. I know that the Public Petitions Committee is also currently considering petition PE1351— entitled “Time for All to be Heard”—which is about victims of institutional abuse. A number of adults across the country continue to suffer the effects of having been abused and exploited as children. I know from speaking to constituents that more needs to be done to support many survivors. I hope that the Scottish Government will work with the Public Petitions Committee and the cross-party group on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse on that petition.

On supporting survivors, as David Torrance said, we all agree that we need safe places for children who experience sexual exploitation and other forms of abuse to go to when it is not appropriate for them to return to their family home. Therefore, like many members, I was deeply concerned to learn that the only dedicated young persons refuge, which was run by Aberlour Child Care Trust, was forced to close at the end of June last year because of a funding shortfall. Provision of refuges should be a priority for the Scottish Government, so I welcome the minister’s comments about the ministerial working group and her commitment to look again at how we support victims of child exploitation and abuse. I ask her to update Parliament and other parties on that and on how the Government will support vital support services like the Aberlour facility.

I take the opportunity to praise some of the organisations that work tirelessly to protect children from abuse and exploitation. I have mentioned Barnardo’s and Aberlour, and members have mentioned a number of other key organisations, but I particularly thank the Internet Watch Foundation, which does invaluable work in preventing sexual abuse images of children from being published on the internet—an issue that several members raised. The foundation works with the police and internet service providers to track down individuals and rings of individuals who abuse and exploit children, as well as those who share the images.

On that point, this year’s safer internet day takes place on 11 February. The day, which in the UK is organised by the UK safer internet centre, promotes safe and responsible use of online technology and mobile phones by children and young people. I encourage members and the Scottish Government to do what they can to help to raise awareness of safer internet day and the work of the Internet Watch Foundation.

As I said, the issue is clearly a serious one and many members have made a number of points about it. Effectively tackling child sexual exploitation requires a co-ordinated multi-agency response. It is essential that all services and individual practitioners take responsibility. I welcome the committee’s proposal for a national strategy and action plan, and many of the committee’s other recommendations. I again thank all the organisations that are working flat out to reduce and prevent child sexual exploitation. We should send out the message from across the chamber that we continue to support them fully in their work. Our children deserve no less.