A lot of children in the UK have happy, healthy relationships as they grow up with other boys and girls, but how do you know when one of those relationships is risky?

Harmful relationships – how much do you know?

As we grow up, we develop friendships with lots of different people. It’s how we learn to enjoy healthy relationships, and that’s a great skill to have. But things can go wrong along the way and people might try to take advantage of children, forcing them into dangerous situations before they know it. That’s why you need to be aware of warning signs that someone may want to exploit you – and to be very careful who you trust.

For example, mobile phones can be given by family and friends as a gift – but bad people might give the phone as a present to push children into doing things that can harm them.

Think about different relationships

It can be hard to recognise a harmful relationship, because children often believe they’re in a good relationship with the person – or people – who want to abuse their trust. It could be a friend or group of friends. It could be someone they think of as a boyfriend or girlfriend. It could be a person or a new group of people they’ve only just got to know. But, whoever it is, they could use clever ways to take advantage of the relationship – and that means you could be harmed almost before you know what’s going on. That’s why it’s important to look out for the warning signs.

Who can you trust? 

It’s not always easy to tell. No matter what your gender, age or background, you can suffer abuse, so you need to be careful.

Jessica’s story

“My mum wasn’t around any more, my dad was drinking and my sister was skipping school. I was 14 and got involved with a group friends outside school – they were older.

“At first, I thought it was really cool to have older friends. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. They were drinking and there were a lot of drugs around.

“I thought if they were doing it, then it must be okay. There was a lot of peer pressure to get involved. But nothing told me it was wrong. Anyway, at first it was okay – I could get the money from my dad. But, after a couple of weeks, I was getting hooked and there wasn’t enough money.

“My new friends said that it was fine and introduced me to a new male friend. They said he fancied me, and said that I should go out with him. I didn’t realise what was happening, but I was being set up. By the time I realised that I’d been used, it was too late, I was hooked on drugs. The need and want became more and more.”

Barnardo’s 

Barnardo’s now works with Jessica to help her recover her confidence and break free from the abuse, which is known as sexual exploitation. If you are worried about a situation, then you can contact Barnardo’s at tinyurl.com/dx25hay.

Top tips to stay safe

1. Trust yourself to know when something is wrong. If someone makes you feel unsafe, pressured or frightened, follow your instincts and seek help.

2. Don’t trust people you don’t know, even if they seem friendly. Never give away personal details.

3. Don’t be tricked into doing things that are unsafe, even if they seem like fun. What might look exciting at first could be more dangerous than you realise.

Note for parents and teachers

This is the first time First News has covered this difficult topic but, after talking with Barnardo’s, we realised how important it is to raise awareness. Every year, Barnardo’s works with more than 1,000 children, some as young as ten, who have been victims of sexual exploitation. The national figure is much higher.