Sexually exploited boys and young men often miss out on the support they would receive if they were girls because professionals don’t always recognise them as victims, children’s charity Barnardo’s has warned.
Boys told the researchers that the failure to see them as possible victims of abuse had “created barriers” and stopped them talking about abuse suffered.
Research carried out by Barnardo’s, funded by the Home Office, has found that professionals can have difficulty in identifying and engaging boys and young men.
It found that behaviour that might trigger concerns that girls are at risk is sometimes put down to “boys being boys”. As a result, many victims have gone without the specialist support they need.
Read the full article on this link to Children and Young People Now
