Any parents experienced with teens and escort sites

[Hectorshousewasfab]

Friend has found her daughter using an escort site to earn money. Still at school, just turned 18 and lives outside the family. Mother is devastated and school want police involved.
Has anyone had any experience like this they can share? Daughter seems oblivious to dangers and just says she wants to be financially independent.
Can anyone share any experience of this!?

Why can she not live at home with her Mother? Is that her choice or the Mother's choice? I imagine a good, supportive start may be to see if daughter needs to come home...

@Kindlynow no Dd wanted to move out to focus on her studies

@SylHellais I’m sorry you feel that way., sadly this is very true.

[quote Hectorshousewasfab]@Kindlynow
So today school told parent this is out of pastoral remit and it has to be reported to police.
The landlord situation, if what’s she’s telling me is true developed after she moved in. He thought he was in a relationship but then discovered her list of clients and Dd told him what she was doing. He took her to be tested for STD and she tested positive so at that point he contacted mother and arranged a private meeting in which he told her everything about his intimate relationship and her Dds sex work.[/quote]
Hm really though?

@KurtWilde why would I bother wasting my time if this wasn’t actually something that is not only v real, but I’m looking for help for. My friend is on the verge of a breakdown, her daughter in a precarious situation, school seems to have jumped the gun without considering the impact and all the while a newly turned 18 year old girl is in potential danger.

@Timeforabiscuit

Are you England? There are very strict safeguarding practices the school should be following.

As they heard first I believe they are duty bound to report to childrens social services (I think up to age 21), they should be the first people to contact, although raising with the police should get to the same team via a different route.

Social services would then engage via school with youth workers, or possibly youth offending team or early intervention - as they have the best skill set to engage with older teens.

Not purely a police matter in England at all.

Children's services are up to 18 years old, not 21, as 18 year olds are adults

@ChairmansReserve I was hoping possibly someone had experienced a situation where a Dd or friend of similar age had engaged in sex to pay off student loans or similar and to gain some understanding or pointers of how parents handled it.
I haven’t just joined MN in fact have been a member for probably 8-9 years!

@Timeforabiscuit

I know my local authority does it differently, trying to join adult and children's services during transition of 18-24 was a huge issue which we've tried using various bridging service to fix.

Apologies op, but as you can see you may get a really patchy response depending on where you live.

Transitions from children's to adult services are for people with disabilities. There are adult safeguarding processes but they don't apply to 18 year olds with no additional needs

@KurtWilde well honestly I wouldn’t waste my time if it wasn’t for the fact I’m out of my depth trying to help someone with something I have no experience of.

But OP you've already had advice about it. Your friends DD is classed as an adult. And I'm sure many 18yo engage in sex for many reasons. Also can I add that being an escort doesn't mean she engages in sexual activity.

[quote Timeforabiscuit]@KurtWilde there is no magic switch that goes off at 18 - and police and social care know this! They will engage and support NOT based on an arbitrary line drawn at age, but a risk profile of behaviours, the hard line has been done away with particularly with care leavers.[/quote]
This isn't a care leaver though
I assure you, absolutely assure you that children's social services do NOT assess 18 year olds. They do not fall under the children act. The children (leaving care) act applies to over 18s but there is very strict criteria for who this applies to.

Are the school concerned that she may bring them into disrepute?

@KurtWilde. Yes I realise that. She is engaging in sex for money. Whilst technically she’s an adult she is still a girl at school.

@nimbuscloud I would hope not but can’t dismiss the possibility. They were apparently supportive before knowing about the situation but have now seemingly washed their hands and said it’s a matter for the police. As ppl on here have highlighted it seems police can’t really intervene so not sure why school insists police are involved!

@Babycham1979

It’s got nothing to do with the law. She’s over 18 and it’s perfectly legal. The school sound like idiots.

Disapproval doesn’t make it against the law.

The school has a duty of care to other pupils, so she's quite likely to find herself shown the door. .

@2bazookas no school has said they won’t expel her

So do any MNs out there have any suggestions of support for parents that have experienced this.

She's over 18 and an adult living away from parent home. Hundreds of students do similar to pay their rent or earn cash. Whether it's a school or a college makes no difference. Sad but true