Around 100 people packed out the Curve at The Forum in Norwich on
Friday June 7 to celebrate the launch of a new project which reaches out to people who are being sexually exploited.
Reaching Out on Sexual Exploitation (ROSE) is a new initiative which aims to reach out to young people at risk of online sexual abuse and to young girls who are entering online sex work.
The Lord Mayor, The High Sherriff and Bishop Graham were amongst people from a variety of agencies, including local MPs, police and councils who will be connected with the project.
It is 18 years since the Magdelene Group started – and Bishop Graham spoke of the pressures of the contemporary age. 18 years ago ‘online grooming’ would have been unheard of. The purpose of ROSE is to move with the times and address current issues young people are facing. Bishop Graham said,
“The glory of this group is reaching out an open hand of friendship that means something in the contemporary world.”
There has been much press attention on stories of grooming young girls for sex and how young people are targeted online.
It is not always obvious that a crime has taken place and young people may not be aware what is happening. Girls may be pressured to post nude photos on social networking websites and might see this as a way of moaking money. The nature of online grooming is that this behaviour can escalate and move quickly to physical abuse.
A film was shown at the launch of ROSE telling the story of a girl who meets a man who gives her gifts and earns her trust and he later passes her over to a group of men who rape her. The scale of this kind of coercion is huge.
Suzi Heybourne, Director of the Magdalene Group said, "
Exploitation is taking place in Norfolk. We are all responsible to keep our young people safe."
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