Scunthorpe-produced film to raise awareness of child exploitation

The latest film from our Not In Our Community Campaign, produced in Scunthorpe, is launched today.

Called ‘Trapped’, the film aims to educate viewers on the issues surrounding child exploitation and encourages people to report incidents as quickly as possible.

Trapped is a true North Lincolnshire production, with young people from the area helping to shape the impactful storyline and characters, which are true to life.

Local actors also make up the cast, whose characters reflect on events to help viewers identify the different ways they are trapped in their respective situations.

The young people involved in the project came together for a special screening of Trapped at the Connect Baptist Church, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe before the film was released online.

The film was commissioned by North Lincolnshire Council’s Youth Justice Partnership and forms part of the Not In Our Community campaign from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside. Now in it’s seventh year, the campaign has helped thousands of young people understand how grooming and exploitation works so that they can better protect themselves, spot the warning signs amongst friends and know who they can go to for help.

John Gilbert, who wrote and produced the film with the help of the young people, said:

“Everyone who has seen Trapped has been blown away by how well the cast have brought the characters to life, especially given that many of them are in their first acting roles.

“The characters are based on real people and as viewers we see how their understanding of what is happening progresses through a series of interviews. Child exploitation is complicated. Our hope is that by taking viewers on this journey to figure things out for themselves they are better equipped to recognise risks and identify that the right thing would be to reach out and help.”

Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside, Jonathan Evison, said:

‘Early intervention is vital to provide young people and communities with the tools to protect themselves. Not In Our Community works closely with young people and partners to develop strong campaign messages and impactful innovative resources to raise awareness of child exploitation.

“A partnership approach is vital in tackling these issues and I am grateful to North Lincolnshire Council for working with our campaign to produce this high impact awareness raising resource.”

Cllr Julie Reed, North Lincolnshire Council cabinet member for children and families, said:

“It is essential that we continue to raise awareness on child exploitation and do all we can to eradicate it in our communities. This film has been produced as a result of working with our fantastic and aspiring young people and it’s great to see their hard work reflected in such an important topic.

“Alongside our partners, the council is passionately committed to ensuring that every young person can enjoy a safe, secure, and happy childhood, without the fear of exploitation.

“Trapped, and other like-minded resources are so important in raising awareness of these issues and will help people to identify the early warning signs of an exploitative relationship before it has a chance to develop. This is an invaluable resource which can be used in a variety of settings in the future”.

The film is available to watch on the Not In Our Community website, where you will also find further standalone films and lessons plans for use in schools, youth services and targeted working.

You can also view 'Trapped' on YouTube - click here