Zara

“We always used to hang around at the bus shelter after school. That’s where I met Josh. He was my friend’s older cousin – he regularly bought us alcohol, it felt like he was a good guy, doing us favours because we couldn’t get served.

One day, he asked me to drop a bag off at his mate’s house. I didn’t know there were drugs inside. When my mum found the bag and got rid of everything, Josh said I owed him for what she had flushed.

After that, things changed. He hurt me and told me I had to “work off” the debt. I stopped arguing and just did what I was told because I was scared of what would happen if I didn’t. The assaults became regular, sometimes involving his friends.

I became withdrawn, angry and got into more trouble. Looking back, people probably just saw a teenager drinking, hanging around and causing problems. What they didn’t see was how scared, trapped and alone I felt.”

Zara was targeted by an exploiter while she was at a bus shelter in her town. She was groomed with what she was told was free alcohol. She was then coerced into carrying drugs, after being tricked into believing she had a debt to repay, and threatened with violence. Members of the public had opportunities to recognise she was at risk of exploitation. Our free Community Guardian programme will give you the skills and confidence to understand the tactics exploiters are using, and how to seek support for children at risk.