Child sex tourism is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sex abuse .
It is the sexual exploitation of children by people who travel from their home district, geographical region, or country in order to have sexual contact with children.
Whilst child abuse can be sexual, physical, emotional and neglect, for the purpose of this article we focus on sexual child abuse and exploitation.
If you are a victim of sexual abuse and sexual assaults (male, female, young or old) speaking for the first time is hard enough.
Making the decision to talk about what happened to you is often the biggest challenge a victim can face.
Grooming is often the precursor to sexual abuse. It is also one of the common features of the most serious and protracted sexual abuse.
The perpetrator goes to great lengths to gain the trust, confidence and emotional ‘buy in’ of a victim (and their family) such that they are able to manipulate them, blackmail and brainwash them into believing that either the abuse is tolerable, indeed acceptable, or that they have no power or authority to resist it.
Two of Emmott Snell Solicitor’s clients (referred to in this article as Mr X and Mr Y to protect their identities) have successfully obtained substantial out of court settlements after bringing compensation claims against Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council for sexual assaults they suffered whilst placed at children’s homes.
Sexual Abuse Referral Centres (SARCs) are a special service which provide help to victims of sexual assault and abuse.
They provide care for victims of both recent and non-recent assault, regardless of whether the victim has reported the assault to the police or not.
The recent conviction of a Jehovah’s Witness elder in Wales highlights once again the endemic opportunities for sexual predators within religious institutions, and the difficulty in speaking out against institutional abuse.
Church elder, Thomas Brian Jenkins, denied 20 charges of indecent assault of a young girl in the 1970s within the context of carrying out missionary activities such as “door-to-door missions” to rural properties in the Welsh countryside.
Having good support from loved ones when dealing with the psychological consequences of sexual abuse can be vital, but therapeutic support from a trained professional can also be invaluable.
On 24th September 2018, Emmott Snell once again took part in the annual Bedford Legal Walk, a 10km sponsored walk around Bedford town which raises money for local charities providing legal advice.
It is well known that many victims of childhood sexual abuse suffer with psychological conditions and symptoms that affect their day to day life and ability to function.
The symptoms of these conditions are debilitating and can be treated by various traditional psychotherapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, EDMR and counselling.
