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One of the most serious and organised crimes faced by some young people in the UK today, sexual exploitation, is being tackled in an EastEnders storyline in the run up to Red Nose Day in part to help raise awareness of the issue.
Over the next few weeks, viewers will see Whitney Dean fall for the charms of an unscrupulous man who ultimately sexually exploits her for his own financial gain.
The storyline will culminate in a special ten-minute episode, which is being featured as part of Comic Relief's Night of TV on Friday 18th March.
Comic Relief hopes that through working alongside EastEnders, Whitney’s powerful story will alert young people to the dangers of sexual exploitation.
Sexual exploitation is a serious and highly organised crime that involves young people or vulnerable adults being coerced, forced or threatened by predatory abusers into engaging in sexual services in exchange for attention, accommodation or gifts.
These young people are often moved around the UK to increase their isolation from family, friends and those who care about them to allow abusers to exploit them on a much greater scale. The effect on their lives and futures is devastating.
Comic Relief has been tackling the problem of sexual exploitation for the last ten years, both funding and working closely with several projects to help young women who have experienced sexual exploitation overcome their trauma and turn their lives around. To ensure the story reflects the reality of young people caught up in sexual exploitation, the EastEnders script writers have consulted with teenage girls, through projects funded by Comic Relief, who have experienced this form of abuse first hand.
Watch the storyline unfold on EastEnders on BBC One over the coming weeks and find out how Red Nose Day money is helping to change lives(opens in new window) across the UK and Africa right now, by funding projects addressing these issues and many more.
