Our Rose Project continues to be an essential service to young people who have experienced sexual exploitation and the team are committed as key workers to ensuring their trauma informed support continues. Demand for the Rose Project has always been high and in this unprecedented time we are in fact recruiting two new team members who will be starting with us over the coming weeks to continue to meet this demand. We know that the nature of sexual exploitation is hidden and given the current situation we want to ensure the risk to young people doesn’t increase.

We recognise that for many young people school is a safe place and they will also be having to cope with additional anxieties at this time without support around them. We continue to meet up with the young people who need us to see us face to face, where it is safe to do so and following strict risk assessment. Where this is not possible we are maintaining regular contact with young people using phone, text, video call to journey with them through this strange and unprecedented time.

Some comments from our lovely team about their approach currently:

“The team at the Rose Project are continuing to support our young people across Norfolk, maintaining face to face contact where possible with those that are most at risk. Some of these sessions have involved a walk along the seafront, or sitting in the young person’s garden enjoying the Spring sunshine. Where we can, we’re carrying out our sessions over the phone or via video call; we’re also committed to texting our young people throughout the week to reassure them during this unpredictable period where they may be feeling isolated from peers and their routine has been disrupted. We know that this might be a time where our young people are more vulnerable, so more than ever we’re committed to giving them a responsive, flexible, trauma-informed service.”

“I’ve been using the government’s advice of a “daily outdoor exercise” to encourage my young people to come out for a walk around the local area or to sit in the park. One young person even brought her dog along which enabled her to relax and feel comfortable, allowing her to lead the conversation and us to work in a more therapeutically informed way.

I’m also reaching out through text and speaking to young people on the phone to help maintain contact and support so that they still feel held during this time. With more time on their hands at home, the young people welcome the chance for a distraction and a catch up and are often in a better place to reflect on how they are experiencing their relationships and what their needs are.”

Our Transition Service continues to provide intensive 1:1 support to young women aged 18-25 years who are experiencing sexual exploitation or coercion. Despite limiting face-to-face contact at the moment, our Transition worker is still available by phone and online chat to support young women around their individual needs. This has included emotional support and continuing our usual focus on healthy relationships, consent, self-esteem etc. which underpin our work around exploitation. As well as support around accessing health services, housing and homelessness services, support around domestic abuse and drug and alcohol.

We want to encourage everyone to look out for young people during this pandemic, and continue to look for signs of exploitation. If you see something, report it. We worry that young people will spend more time on their devices and due to being isolated may be using more online platforms to engage with people but be targeted by abusers aiming to exploit children and young people. Again we want to raise awareness of this and support campaigns aimed at parents and carers to be aware of this abuse and feel able to talk to their children about this and check in with how they are.

We also want to be as flexible and innovative in the way that we work to meet the needs of the young people we support. We are considering how we can best support them, including with access to vital services such as sexual health. We are in regular contact with our local services to get updates about how young people can currently access the services they need through phone triage, and where needed with appointments. We are working closely with them to highlight young people at risk of CSE so that they can be prioritised at this time. We want to be innovative and work with partners to ensure access to vital services in the coming months. The team are asking what young people need and supporting them to find solutions. We are looking into dropping off packs for young people, with condoms, information about iCash and other services, as well as self-test kits for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) if appropriate.