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Policing and Crime Bill

I rise to support the amendment, and especially the comments of my noble friend Lady Stern. I remind the Committee of the observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. It stated: ""The State party should always consider, both in legislation and in practice, child victims of these criminal practices, including child prostitution, exclusively as victims in need of recovery and reintegration and not as offenders"." That is important because, if you treat them as offenders, you are likely to deter them from seeking assistance from the authorities, which plays into the hands of the abusers. Therefore it is essential that we do not criminalise them.