Parents & Carers Support
The topic of child exploitation shouldn’t be a taboo subject, it needs to be talked about openly by both adults and children.
Support Available
Open your eyes, it could be your child
During their journey of Joe’s exploitation, Emma and Phil identified that there was a lack of support for parents and carers.
The professions involved provided limited support due to understaffing and underfunding. At times they felt they would benefit from speaking to other people in a similar situation to share experiences and feelings rather than the professionals.
No one can truly understand the how it feels to have a child exploited unless they are experiencing the same.
Open your eyes, speak up, it could be your child.
Child exploitation, particularly drug dealing and serious youth violence, is happening in Norfolk and surrounding regions and it can happen to any child.
Q&A
It is important to remember that you are not the only person in this situation. This page is work in progress and will develop more with parents/carers input. Hopefully it provides answers to some commonly asked questions regarding CCE, knife crime and gangs.
In time, this page will develop into a parent forum, so that you can ask questions directly and support each other.
If you can not find the answer to your question, feel free to contact the Foundation directly.
Parent Helpline
The Joe Dix Foundation would like to offer telephone support to parents and carers who suspect or know their child is being criminally exploited, involved in a gang, and/or carry a weapon.
This is a support line, do not offer advice or have the answers, but we can listen and understand.
You do not have to disclose you or the child’s details. This is not an emergency helpline. The number is not staffed 24 hours a day, please leave a message and someone will get back to you.
Facing Reality
No one wants to think that their child is being criminally or sexually exploited. However, we need to face the facts that child exploitation is increasing and happening in your community.
No one but Joe knows his full story. At the time, Emma and Phil tried not to share what was happening with many people. This was due to their worries that people had:
- Lack of understanding of exploitation, countylines and gang violence.
- They were embarrassed and ashamed
- They didn’t want to be judged.
- They wanted to protect the family.
- Didn’t want to trouble/worry other people.
The Statistics About Child Exploitation
Generally, child exploitation is hidden and unreported, therefore these figures are only the tip of the iceberg with thousands more children suffering.
* According to government data in June 2023