See also the government guidance document Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation and Child Protection.

Not uncommonly adults are involved in young peoples’ substance use; either in the supply or in sharing the usage, and there should be concerns about the risks of exploitation in any such relationships. This may include exploitation of the young person whilst they are intoxicated (inappropriate or abusive sexual contact, or encouragement to commit crimes or other high risk activities) or the exploitation of the young person in relation to the provision of substances (encouragement to commit crime in return for substances, sexual exploitation in return for substances, etc.)

Questioning about exploitation needs to be done sensitively, avoiding the risk of reinforcing stigmatising views. Early explanation (pre-warning) about patient confidentiality and its limits is helpful, as a young person can be reminded at this point about these realities. A helpful technique is to normalise the problems:

“Some of the young people I have worked with before have spoken about feeling that along with the things they have liked, they have also begun to get themselves into relationships or activities that leave them feeling uncomfortable. If I gave you some examples of the kinds of difficulties other young people have spoken about, do you think you could say if you recognise any of them in your own experience?...”

If identified, then safeguarding protocols may be required to guide the most appropriate response.