Child Exploitation

Welcome to the Child Exploitation Toolkit, developed by Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton (HIPS) Safeguarding Children Partnerships.

Although safeguarding risks are traditionally associated with the home environment and linked to parenting capacity, children can also face significant safeguarding risks outside the home (extra-familial harm), for example from drugs, gangs and youth violence and sexual and criminal exploitation.

Adolescents may be more vulnerable to these forms of extra-familial harm as they become more independent and enjoy more freedom, and as peer influence increases and family influence declines. This occurs against a backdrop of physical, emotional and cognitive changes present during adolescence that results in young people being more open to risky behaviours.

This HIPS toolkit has been developed to support professionals working with children who may/are at risk of child exploitation.