#LookCloser: Financial Exploitation

The Financial Exploitation of children and young people is not new, however it is emerging as a growing concern, particularly in relation to children being tricked, coerced, and forced into financial crime. This includes being targeted by an individual or an Organised Crime Group, who exploit children and young people to commit fraud and launder criminal funds through their bank accounts. This is a form of Child Criminal Exploitation.

Child Exploitation is Child Abuse. Financial exploitation can cause significant harm to a young person and have long lasting effects on their life. It can also be connected to other harms including child sexual abuse/exploitation. Yet despite this, the financial exploitation of children and young people is not well understood and can often be overlooked.

At The Children’s Society, we are developing our understanding of financial exploitation and advocating for professionals to view it as a specific harm type unto itself, as well as understanding its context within and connection to other forms of exploitation and abuse. In this session for all professionals interacting with children and young people we will:

• Explore recent learning and emerging insights on the financial exploitation of children and young people.
• Share experiences from The Children’s Society’s national Prevention Programme’s work alongside learning from partners including law enforcement, social care, and the banking and finance sector.
• Consider the implications of our findings with regards to safeguarding young people from harm and preventing their exploitation.
• Create an interactive opportunity to hear about how other professionals are responding to this emerging area.
• Provide a space to consider your own ability to identify and respond to Financial Exploitation and contribute to The Children’s Society’s evidence gathering and research on this topic.