The Scottish government introduced a national action plan to tackle CSE at the end of last year, following a report by the Scottish parliament's public petitions committee. Barnardo's instigated the inquiry. It revealed that for many organisations, CSE received scant attention, while there was a tendency for it to be overlooked or discounted as a potential threat to vulnerable children.
Even as we recognise that better training is needed for authorities such as the police, social work and teaching professions, we also know that a significant number of young children do not consider themselves to be "exploited", misunderstanding the very nature of sexual exploitation and issues around consent. This is despite them being pressured to exchange sex for drugs, alcohol, shelter and even acceptance.
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