How three victims of child sexual exploitation in Telford have helped save more kids
Work from Telford sexual abuse survivors has led to a major increase in finding children being exploited in the town, it has been revealed.
Today has seen Tom Crowther KC publish the two-year update on his harrowing 2022 report into child sexual exploitation in the town.
That report concluded more than 1,000 children had been victims of sickening abuse in Telford, that had "thrived unchecked" for decades.
In his update Mr Crowther KC praises the work of three abuse survivors – Holly Archer, Joanne Phillips, and Scarlett Jones – who have been working with Telford & Wrekin Council following the publication of the initial report.
He said: "They have devoted untold hours to this work and the results have been inspiring."
All three were exploited and trafficked as children in Telford and gave evidence to the inquiry.
It has now been confirmed that the trio's work with the council has seen detection rates for exploited child victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in Telford, triple in the last year.
Between 2023 and 2024, the number of children referred to the National Referral Mechanism by Telford’s CATE (Children Abused Through Exploitation) Team rose from eight to 33.
It marks an increase of 313 per cent since the survivors started working with professionals to help them spot the signs of trafficking in children.
The trio have also highlighted concerns over "inadequate and conflicting guidance" at national level following the publication of the 2014 Jay report, which examined mass child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
