Really pleased to see how this thread has morphed to a discussion about what all adults need to be doing so children have the best chance to grow, to learn, to develop their sexual identity, to feel genuine respect for themselves and others and to be resilient. This is vital if they are to be able to deal with things life throws at them, able to make informed choices, able to form healthy, safe, equitable and respectful relationships (including sexual ones.)
I'm aware that there are initiatives here and there around the UK, both in schools and in the community, that seek to make this possible, but it's very patchy. In my experience, if the Head Teacher doesn't see it as a priority (and unfortunately, there seems to be the most resistance in faith-based schools,) it simply won't happen. There needs to be more to evaluate the programmes that are there to find out what works best and move towards making initiatives mandatory instead of voluntary, patchy and usually under funded.
Two stories in the news in recent days have been extremely depressing.
There is the report into the handling of child sexual abuse cases in Rochedale where a plethora of concerns were registered with the police, social services and health, but nothing was done. There were professionals who should have known better who did nothing, rationalising that the children were "making their own choices" and that they were engaging in consensual sex.
And, there is the Jeremy Forrester case - the teacher who absconded with his 15 year old student, where evidence is emerging that concerns about the school's poor child protection practice were known as far up the tree as the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, but again, nothing was done.
I've felt a cold chill reading some discussions on t'interwebs particularly about the Forrester case, that seem to express more concern for his well being than the young woman's. There seems to be alot of rationalising that it's really not "that bad" for reasons ranging from the old chestnut about "girls mature faster," to "in some countries, she'd be above the age of consent," to "well, the way girls dress today, men can be forgiven for thinking they are up for it." In one post, a 45 year old man tried to suggest that it's a "good thing" for trusted adults to "introduce" girls to romance, to love, to sex, because it's "normal and natural." I nearly lost my breakfast on that one and you don't want to know what I wrote as a reply! 
I've noticed fewer attempts to defend the perpetrators in Rochedale, perhaps because the girls were a year or two younger, but most probably more to do with wanting to believe the fantasy of the teacher-student romance is tickity boo while a bunch of men having sex with the same girl isn't oh, and the Rochedale perpetrators weren't white and middle class, but well . . .
I think there needs to be a mahoooooosive review of our whole approach to child protection across the UK. The system is geared up to deal with mainly younger children who are at risk of harm from a parent, carer or other adult with an element of care responsibilities for them. It just can't deal with the increasing problem of child sexual exploitation. This report from University of Bedfordshire highlights just how badly we are failing children at the moment. Even worse, I'm aware from the researchers that some of the agencies cited in examples of "good practice" are no longer able to carry it out because of cuts to funding.
So in my view, there needs to be implementation across the board of evidence-based initiatives that foster self-respect and healthy relationships, starting from a much younger age than they do now. This needs to be coupled with a major overhaul of child protection policies and services so it can effectively deal with child sexual exploitation and protect young people from violent, controlling relationships (because there often isn't a clean line between the two and perpetrators of both can be in the same age group as victims - not always the classic "older boyfriend.")
It is hard when the young person being abused probably doesn't see anything wrong with what's happening. They'll probably have been "groomed" for some time to be vulnerable to the attentions of the abuser (and it could be argued that the sexualisation of children from a very early age collectively grooms girls to be vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.) The won't necessarily welcome intervention. They'll have already probably bought into the idea that being attractive and sexually pleasing is how you get accepted, how you have a value if you are a girl.
There's also a big piece of work in tackling the attitudes of professionals that girls are just a bit "street wise," rather than victims. That happens in the context of a society that continues to perpetuate rape myths, that still holds victims of sexual abuse as culpable - yes, even when they're a pre-teen girl. Abusers will already have plenty of excuses and feel perfectly justified in what they do. These sorts of attitudes just help to shore that up, to make them feel even more okay about what they choose to do.
Also, I think alot of parents are in the dark about the risks, particularly things related to mobile technology and social networking. I don't feel even the agencies that advise parents on how to deal with stuff really focus on the gendered dimension of abuse and exploitation (that's not to say boys aren't at risk - just it often plays out differently with girls,) so there's a need for a raft of education so parents don't feel they are running to catch up. Here, I've seen so many threads from parents who've found out their daughters are engaged in sexual discussion with people they don't know on line, sharing sexual images of themselves via the web, being sexually bullied and blackmailed. Even parent's who feel they've taken all the precautions, followed all the advice, can still get "caught out."
As a society, we seem so very wary of holding abusive men accountable for their choices and the consequences of their actions. Sadly, this is still often the case when their actions are harmful to children.
Attitudes though take a long time to change. I think more needs to be done at a policy level to compel teachers, police social workers and other professionals responsible for the welfare of children to do things that genuinely put the wellbeing of children at the forefront. Only then can we hope the culture will change fast enough and effectively enough to make a genuine difference.