- Fresh investment from the Mayor will bolster specialist support including advocacy, counselling and therapeutic interventions for children and adult survivors of CSE
- Enhanced support comes as the Met re-examines cases of CSE, including any grooming gang cases, over the past 15 years as part of the national re-investigation overseen by the National Crime Agency and the National Police Chief’s Council
- Action is part of ongoing work by Sadiq to ensure no stone is left unturned to secure justice and that all victims of CSE have access to the care, attention and specialist support services they need
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new £2.4m package of support for victims and survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) as he continues to strengthen protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms.
The enhanced support comes as the Met re-examines thousands of cases of CSE, including any grooming gangs, over the past 15 years as part of the Mayor’s ask for full transparency and the national re-investigation overseen by the National Crime Agency and the National Police Chief’s Council.
Given the nature of the Met’s work, which will be looking back over a wide range of cases since 2010, the Mayor believes there is a need to boost support services for children and adults who have been impacted.
The fresh investment from the Mayor will directly fund new Independent Sexual Violence Advocates and expand counselling provision for all survivors of CSE.
It will boost provision across all of the Mayor of London’s existing specialist support services for children and young people who have experienced any form of sexual abuse, including institutional abuse, intra-familial offending, peer-on-peer cases, online exploitation and gang-related or group-based child sexual exploitation, including any grooming gangs.
This enhanced provision includes the Lighthouse[1] - the UK’s first ‘Child House’[2] - which was set up by the Mayor in 2018 to provide multi-agency support for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in a single child-friendly environment. It remains the first of its kind in England and Wales and has supported approximately 3,000 victims and survivors across five north London boroughs, led by University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) working with the Met and NSPCC.
The specialist support will deliver advocacy, counselling, emotional and physical well-being help and is part of ongoing work by Sadiq to ensure all victims of CSE have access to the care they need.
Since taking office, the Mayor has led efforts to strengthen the protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms in London, including group-based CSE and grooming. He has delivered vital investment in specialist services to support child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, and driven forward long-overdue reforms in the way the Met protects children.
The Mayor has worked with the Met to embed a new ‘Child First’ approach to safeguarding – including an enhanced approach to dealing with vulnerable missing children to ensure CSE is treated with the seriousness it deserves. This has led to training for 23,000 officers and staff by independent experts on the risks of adultification and victim-blaming, and how to avoid these.
This work has led to a sustained increase in the identification and recording of child exploitation investigations, not limited to CSE but across the board. In the last six months, the Met has solved three times the number of cases of CSE compared with the same period last year (from 63 to 207 suspects charged).
There is also a stronger partnership approach to all cases with the Met working closer with the NCA, CPS, Local Authorities, Children's Social Care, Health and Education to safeguard those impacted and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Any individuals, groups or grooming gangs exploiting children for sex are utterly abhorrent and I want justice for every single victim of these horrific crimes. These children have not only suffered terrible abuse at the hands of the perpetrators but have been woefully let down by the authorities meant to protect them from harm.
“Since taking office, I have led efforts to strengthen the protection of children from exploitation and harm in all its forms in London, including grooming gangs. We have delivered vital investment in specialist services to support child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation and driven forward long-overdue reforms in the way the Met protects children. This includes specifically commissioning HMICFRS to independently inspect the Met’s child protection arrangements in 2023, which has led to lasting improvements.
“I have asked the Met to leave no stone unturned to secure justice for the victims of these horrific crimes. As the Met carries out its vital work to re-examine cases over the past 15 years, I’m announcing a new £2.4m package of support for victims and survivors to ensure they have the care, attention and specialist support services they deserve. I’m clear that the Met must follow the evidence wherever it leads and will continue to support and hold the Met to account to ensure it does everything possible to tackle all child sexual exploitation in the capital, including grooming gangs, to build a safer London for everyone.”
The organisations delivering the new pan-London sexual violence support service said: "We know the life-long impact child sexual abuse and exploitation can have on survivors and the suffering caused when institutions fail to respond and protect children from perpetrators. All survivors deserve support, no matter when the abuse the occurred. In light of ongoing demands on our services, this additional funding will help resource our vital work providing information, advocacy and therapy to survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in London."
Commander Clair Kelland, the Met’s Public Protection lead, said: “The Met takes all allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation extremely seriously. That’s why we are reviewing historic cases which cover online, intrafamilial, institutional, and peer-on-peer abuse cases as well as those characterised as ‘grooming gangs’. We have significantly strengthened our approach to identifying and investigating all forms of child sexual exploitation since 2022. This work has already led to a threefold increase in solved cases over the past year, with 134 additional suspects charged.
“We’ve expanded specialist teams and rolled out training to more than 11,000 officers on recognising CSE and 23,000 on trauma-informed communication. These changes are making a real difference, with positive outcomes for victims rising by 6.2%. Our commitment is clear: to safeguard victims, bring offenders to justice, and ensure every child is protected.”
Claire Waxman OBE, London Victims Commissioner, said: “I welcome this new £2.4m fund from the Mayor which puts victims and survivors first. It will directly fund new Independent Sexual Violence Advocates and the vital work they do, alongside therapeutic care for victims and survivors of all ages who have experienced any form of sexual abuse.
“The national review and reinvestigations must mark a turning point in the quality and consistency of police work. But alongside that, it’s vital we enhance the provision of specialist support for survivors – as we are doing in London - so all those who have been impacted can come forward and receive the help, care and attention they deserve.
Notes to editors
+ During a Policing Plenary Meeting at City Hall on Thursday, 13th November, the Met Commissioner warned against using "grooming gangs" as a catch-all term for CSE because offending includes abuse within families, in institutions, between peers and online. The Commissioner added that the ethnicities of suspects varied and are "reflective of the diversity we see in the city". The Commissioner explained that once the initial assessment was complete, the Met expected "maybe 2,000 or 3,000 cases" to be considered for possible reinvestigation but stressed this would still cover a wide mix of offending types, not solely grooming gangs.
+The information about 9,000 historic cases of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) under review in London was made public because the Mayor requested the Met to be completely transparent and leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of the perpetrators of these vile crimes. The cases being reviewed cover child sexual exploitation, gang- related child sexual exploitation, intrafamilial abuse, institutional abuse (e.g. schools, care homes), peer-on-peer abuse and single incidents with more than one suspect.
+ Ethnicity of perpetrators in CSE cases: In a recent letter to the Mayor of London the Met Police Commissioner set out how the Met is committed to safeguarding all victims of these terrible offences and bringing those responsible to justice. The Met review of 9,000 cases follows a much wider definition of CSE drawn from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) definition. The letter also explains how the force does “see significant crossover between sexual exploitation of children, and the criminal exploitation of young people” and “based on the data we (the MPS) do have, we see suspects who are broadly reflective of London’s population.”
+ The Mayor is clear that all police and safeguarding action around CSE must be victim centred and suspect focused. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime encourages anyone who has been impacted by any form of CSE to come forward. Anyone with information about an offence taking place in London should report it to the Met, or anonymously through Crimestoppers online or via 0800 555 111.
+ If you are under 18 and have experienced sexual abuse or exploitation, please enter your postcode on this site to find the nearest service that can help support you: https://www.csacentre.org.uk/find-a-support-service/
Alternatively, if you are already in contact with the police or social care they can make a referral for support to your local service on your behalf.
+ If you are over 18 and have experienced sexual violence or abuse, you can find out about available support services via the London Survivors Gateway here: https://survivorsgateway.london/.
[1] https://www.thelighthouse-london.org.uk/about-page/
*The Mayor has invested more than £233m to tackle VAWG in all its forms and is supporting the Met’s V100 action to go after the most prolific offenders as well as delivering vital Met reform to boost public protection. Sadiq’s funding is working to save lives, reduce waiting lists and keep doors open for vital specialist support services for victims.
In 2023, the Mayor personally requested that HMICFRS look into child protection at the Met, including the effectiveness of the Met police service response to child sexual exploitation. Action has been taken on all recommendations. And we are now seeing sustained improvements.
The Inspectorate report the Mayor ordered has led to the Met embedding a new ‘Child First’ approach to safeguarding –including an enhanced approach to dealing with vulnerable missing children - to ensure Child Sexual Exploitation is treated with the seriousness it deserves. This includes training for 23,000 officers and staff by independent experts on the risks of adultification and victim-blaming, and how to avoid these.
The Mayor’s record investment for the police has helped train over 11,000 frontline officers to identify all forms of child exploitation, leading to a sustained increase in the identification and recording of child exploitation investigations, not limited to CSE but across the board.
The Mayor also set up and funded a Violence and Exploitation Support Service which provides specialist support to young Londoners who are vulnerable, caught up in or at risk of being exploited in the capital as well as helping to set up Lighthouse - a City Hall-funded project that helps survivors of child sexual abuse.