Talking to Youth About CSEC

Tips for talking to youth that may be at risk of experiencing CSEC and for handling disclosures.

Creating a Safe Space

  • As adults, it can be sometimes hard for us to understand youth culture, norms and behaviors. It can also be easy for us to judge them as “good” or “bad” in comparison to when we ourselves were young. Youth today are living in completely different social and environmental contexts than even just 10 years ago!

    As safe and trusted adults in their lives, we must be open-minded and empathetic to the experiences and challenges of youth today. If youth feel like we are judging the context and experiences of their lives, they will not feel safe to open up and talk to us when they are in trouble or need guidance.

    To be non-judgmental means:

    • have self-awareness about your own biases and thoughts

    • Do not blame or belittle people for their choices

    • Practice empathy & compassion

    • Do not judge others as “good” or “bad”

    • Do not treat people as “worthy” or “unworthy” of support

  • Youth are the true experts in their own lives, and they have a lot more knowledge and wisdom than we sometimes give them credit for. If there is something happening that you do not understand, approach the situation with curiosity and allow the youth to teach you!

    There is nothing more empowering than feeling like an “expert” and like you have something to offer. Encourage youth to identify their skills and strengths and provide opportunities for them to share that with you and their peers.

  • Sometimes it can be hard getting young people to open up. Motivational Interviewing Techniques can be a way to both find out what is going on in a young person’s life and be directive to help problem solve!

    There are many options for Motivational Interviewing Techniques training in the community, but remembering this simple OARS acronym can assist in helping youth get to the heart of the matter:

    • OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS can be a starting point for conversation and empowers the youth to share the information that is most relevant to them.

      EXAMPLE: “What’s been going on” instead of “is everything okay?”

    • AFFIRMATIONS that recognize a person’s strengths and reinforce positive behaviours.

      EXAMPLE: “It took a lot of courage to talk to me today” or “You handled yourself really well in that situation”

    • REFLECTIVE LISTENING lets the youth know you are really listening to them with intention and presence. This also can assist in preventing communication breakdown. To do this, repeat, rephrase, or paraphrase what has been said, emphasizing the emotional aspects of what the youth said.

      EXAMPLE: “It sounds like you are saying…” or “it sounds like this situation is making you feel…”

    • SUMMARIZE to ensure you have heard and interpreted what has been said accurately. Use your summary to focus on change talk — if they youth recognizes a problem, show concern, express intent to change or optimism for a solution.

      EXAMPLE: “I hear you saying you want to go back to school, but there are others things going on in your life that make that hard to do. Did I get that right?”

If Disclosure Happens

DO NOT PANIC

As a safe and trusted adult in a child’s life, it can be scary if we think that something bad is happening to them. Often, they don’t understand the risks they are taking, especially when it comes to commercial sexual exploitation.

If children or youth are coming to us for help, it is not going to go over well if we overreact or dramatize the situation by saying things like “I can’t believe this is happening to you!” or “We have to call the police right away!”.

This means not only saying the right things but also being mindful of our body language while we are talking to them. Young people are very intuitive and can pick up on our discomfort very easily.

Staying calm and keeping our cool increases children and youth’s trust that we will be true allies in helping them problem solve. Your job at this point is to listen, believe, and validate.

Address Confidentiality

You are going to need to build a trusting relationship with the youth to be able to effectively support them. One way to foster trust is by being upfront with youth about your professional boundaries and confidentiality. There is a Duty to Report to Child Welfare, and you may have professional boundaries around confidentiality you need to consider.

More information on Duty to Report can be found on our Who to Contact Page

Let the Youth Set the Pace

Meet the person where they are at and do so on their terms. Try not to question take over the disclosure and over-question about what happened. Do not expect youth to present as victims in need of rescuing. Often, youth who have experienced CSEC do not perceive themselves as victims and may try to protect their abuser.

It’s understandable that you may want to gather all the information you can right away, but doing so is a bad idea for a variety of reasons. Some youth will not be ready to disclose, and we should not try to force that disclosure in any way.

Also, if the case ends up in the Criminal Justice System, it is a common tactic of defense lawyers to subpoena 3rd party records to find inconsistencies in the victim’s statements. Only gather information relevant to the child’s safety and leave the investigating to Detectives and Child Protection Workers who are the ones with the professional mandate to conduct investigations.

Address Immediate Needs

It’s okay to ask questions about what the person needs and address any concerns about physical safety.

TESS has created some tools to assist service providers in Safety Planning, Participant Needs Assessments, and Key Contacts for Disclosures. Contact Us for more information.

Reach Out for Help

No one person, no one service can meet every need a survivor of sexual exploitation or trafficking may have. Do not be afraid to talk to others for referrals to services who may be able to help support! Use hypotheticals to maintain confidentiality.

Next Steps & More Information

Check out Who to Contact for next steps on getting help from services dedicated to serving those who are at risk, already entrenched, or attempting to exit the sex trade.

Our TESS Directory has more information and direct referrals to programs and services available in Nova Scotia by our TESS Partners.

More information can be found in our Resources for Parents and Resources for Educators pages.