Scunthorpe-produced film raising awareness of child exploitation

Entitled ‘Trapped’, the film aims to educate viewers on the issues surrounding child exploitation, 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 will come together for a special screening of Trapped at the Connect Baptist Church, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe from 5.30pm on Wednesday (June 23), after which the film will be released online.

The film was commissioned by North Lincolnshire Council’s Youth Justice Partnership and forms part of the Not In Our Community campaign. Now in it’s seventh year, this 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.”

Councillor Julie Reed, 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 will be available to watch on the Not In Our Community website after the premiere.