LINK TO CHANGE
Choice. Challenge. Change.
What is Exploitation?
At Link to Change, our vision is of a world where everyone can live free from exploitation. But what does exploitation mean?
Exploitation is when someone uses something or someone else unfairly for their own advantage. In other words, it is when someone preys on another persons vulnerabilities for their own benefit. Exploitation is never the victim's fault.
More on Exploitation
You may have heard the term exploitation used to describe unfair working conditions, where people are not paid enough for the hard work they do; specifically in poorer countries where labour is cheaper. This is absolutely one example of exploitation, but it is not the only way it happens. The type of exploitation Link to Change works to prevent happens much closer to home.
When someone, or a group of people, tricks or misleads another person into doing something that is not right, this is exploitation.
To reach the point of exploitation, there is often a targeting and grooming process that happens first, which makes a person easier to manipulate. Grooming can include a perpetrator buying someone food and gifts; or even vapes, alcohol, and drugs. It can be offering lifts home from school or giving them attention that they don’t get elsewhere.
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But, there is really no such thing as a freebie. Groomers will later hold these gifts to account, and manipulate their victim into engaging in activity that they want; whether this is sharing nude images, engaging in sexual activity, holding weapons, or transporting money and drugs.
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Exploitation can come in many different forms, but is is very important to remember that the victim is never to blame and it is never their fault.
What does exploitation look like?
Exploitation can come in many forms and it can be hard to know you're being exploited, or recognise that someone else is being exploited, especially because there are so many different ways it happens. However, here are some signs that grooming and exploitation may be happening to you or someone you know:
Being encouraged to skip school and to go missing from home.
Receiving unexplained gifts from new friends and/or partners.
Being peer pressured into taking things like drugs and alcohol.
I think I might be in danger
If you think this is happening to you, it is important to speak to a trusted adult, such as a parent, carer, or teacher.
You can also contact us via email or by phoning the office.
If you are in immediate danger, call the police.
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If you are being exploited, it is important to understand that it is not your fault. The people abusing you are in the wrong.
I am worried about someone
If you think you know a young person who is being exploited, we can help.
As a charity, Link to Change operates across Bedfordshire, working with children and young people aged 7-to-26.
We offer early intervention work, targeted at young people who are at a medium to low risk of exploitation. This service aims to provide educational and critical thinking skills so that young people involved can make informed decisions. This support can happen in a group setting or as 1-2-1 sessions.
For those needing support beyond our early intervention work, our practitioners offer long term support to help children and young people make healthy decisions about their futures and break the toxic cycle of exploitation.
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If you are worried about someone, give us a call and fill out a referral form.
