What is Child Sexual Exploitation?
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is when a child or young person is tricked or forced into doing something sexual in return for things like love, affection, money, drugs or alcohol.
It’s a kind of abuse and it is against the law, although young people might not see it that way, because they are groomed by their abusers. Gradually the abuser manipulates the child to do things they are ashamed of and by the time the child realises there is something wrong, they can feel trapped and are too scared or ashamed to tell anyone.
Both grooming and sexual exploitation can happen in real life and online. In fact, online contact often plays a big part in exploitation.