Delegates at the party’s conference in Birmingham passed a motion to step up efforts to tackle violence against women.
The motion proposed to end the criminalisation of child prostitutes; ensure training agencies and border officials can identify vulnerable cases; and educate children in the issues surrounding relationship and consent as well as training teachers.
MP Tom Brake, who proposed the motion, said: "Our motion shines a spotlight on the sexual exploitation of children. We are used to reports of this happening in Thailand and Cambodia, but it takes place in our towns and cities too.
"Conviction rates are shockingly low. Barnardo’s confirmed that for 2,800 prosecutions on the grounds of sexual exploitation there are only 89 convictions and those figures don’t reflect the cases that don’t get to the Crown Prosecution Service. We must end the criminalisation of sexually exploited children."
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