There is currently no specific criminal offence of Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) in Northern Ireland. However, CCE is formally recognised as a form of child abuse within statutory frameworks. The Child Criminal Exploitation Action Plan (2024) outlines a multi-agency response to prevent, identify, and address exploitation, using existing legislative powers such as the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 *This ensures practitioners understand the legal thresholds, victim protections, and obligations under international and domestic frameworks, including proactive identification duties.

The following CCE definition was developed in consultation with children and young people and was endorsed for use in Northern Ireland by the Ministers for Education, Justice and Health in September 2024.

“Child criminal exploitation is a form of child abuse which occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, control, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into any criminal activity. The exploitation may be through violence or the threat of violence but may also appear to be transactional and in the context of perceived relationships and friendships. The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears to be consensual.

Child criminal exploitation does not always involve physical contact. It can also occur through the use of technology and social media.

The criminal exploitation of children and young people can include being exploited into storing drugs or weapons, drug dealing, theft, violence, intimidation, vandalism, forced labour and other forms of criminality through grooming by people that children and young people trust or look up to”

Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) is a complex and evolving form of abuse that often cannot be neatly categorised. Many children and young people experience exploitation along a continuum of harm, which may include criminal exploitation, sexual exploitation, and trafficking, often simultaneously.

Research by Barnardo’s NI reinforces the interconnected nature of exploitation. Their 2023 briefing paper Child Exploitation: A Hidden Crisis highlights that CCE and Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) are often closely linked, with online platforms increasingly used to groom and exploit children for both criminal and sexual purposes. This report also raises concerns that children and young people are often criminalised rather than safeguarded, particularly when exploitation is misunderstood or misidentified. This reinforces the urgent need for trauma-informed, child-centred approaches that recognises the complexity of exploitation and a need to respond with compassion, curiosity, and contextual understanding.

CCE exists on a spectrum, from opportunistic exploitation to more calculated, progressive and prolonged patterns of abuse. CCE is considered as trafficking or modern slavery when the act, means, and purpose criteria is met, for example, where a child or young person is recruited, harboured for the purpose of exploitation. Practitioners should be aware of these overlaps and refer to relevant guidance.

Children and young people are victims of CCE, particularly when their behaviours are misunderstood or misinterpreted. This highlights the importance of professional curiosity, contextual safeguarding, and trauma-informed practice that seeks to understand the child or young person’s experience rather than criminalise their actions.

By recognising the continuum of exploitation and the intentional targeting of children and young people who may be vulnerable to criminal exploitation, practitioners can respond more effectively, ensuring that safeguarding efforts are proactive, and tailored to the child’s unique context.

“Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate, or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. CSE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology”

Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

Any child or young person under the age of eighteen, regardless of gender, can be a victim of CSE regardless of their family background or other circumstances, including those who have reached the legal age of consent.

CSE is often a concealed form of abuse, where children and young people may not recognise that they are being harmed. Many have been groomed into trusting the person exploiting them, who could be a stranger, peer, or even someone close to them. This grooming may involve emotional manipulation, gifts, or financial incentives, creating a sense of dependency that makes it difficult for the child or young person to speak out.

Additionally, some children and young people are trafficked, either into or within the UK, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. These experiences often intersect with other forms of harm, requiring a coordinated, trauma-informed safeguarding response.

Regardless of how CSE occurs, it can have a profound and lasting impact on a child or young person’s emotional, psychological, and physical wellbeing.

In addition to the types of child exploitation detailed above, children and young people may be affected by other forms of exploitation. These experiences often intersect and compound vulnerability, requiring a trauma-informed, multi-agency safeguarding response.

Detailed below is a list of examples of child exploitation which occur throughout the UK and Ireland. This list is not exhaustive.

The terms radicalisation, terrorism, and extremism are often used interchangeably, despite having distinct meanings and implications. They are however, very different starting with the process of radicalisation which may ultimately lead to terrorism and/or extremism. The research and operational guidance for practitioners working with children and young people at risk of, or experiencing these harms is undergoing rapid development. CCE, in the form of radicalisation, is not a new concern in Northern Ireland. Whilst the terminology and type have developed, we have seen children and young people exploited over the past 50+ years by paramilitary organisations to further political and religious causes.

As such, and with all of this guidance the following information should be read as current at time of publication, but subject to change within the dynamic nature of this work.

A significant proportion of CCE now occurs online, where digital platforms such as social media, messaging apps, chat rooms, and gaming sites are used as tools to facilitate criminal or sexual exploitation. Online harm is therefore best understood as a means of exploitation to manipulate, coerce, or blackmail children and young people under the age of 18 into harmful and illegal activities.

Online harm can take many forms, including:

• Inciting children to participate in public disorder, such as riots or bonfires, often orchestrated through social media.
• Financial exploitation, where a child or young person’s bank account is used by perpetrators to launder the proceeds from criminal activities, bullying and cyberbullying can also take place online. Personal information can be obtained by the perpetrator.

Children and young people are particularly vulnerable to online harm due to a combination of factors, including the anonymity of digital platforms, their developmental stage, and in some cases, prior experiences of trauma. However, it's important to recognise that online harm can affect any child or young person.

Further information, including access to research documents, can be found on the SBNI Online Safety Hub.