WE all have a responsibility to safeguard children, a senior councillor has said.

Hundreds of people attended the annual Child Sexual Exploitation awareness event, held at Coleg Cambria, which provided a platform for an open discussion about a senstive subject.

Information, support and advice was provided by various agencies including: Looking After Me, Onyx North Wales Police, North Wales Fire and Rescue, Team Around the Family, HUB, TGP Cymru and Local Solutions.

Also at the event Night Stop, Barnardo’s, Kim, Action for Children, CAMHS, Flintshire Family Information Service, Flintshire Sorted, Communities for Work, NSPCC, Health, Flintshire Integrated Youth Provision and Stop it Now.

Cllr Christine Jones, cabinet member for social services, said: "Flintshire County Council’s Social Services continued their ongoing drive working with partner agencies to raise awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) with this week’s very successful event, kindly hosted once again by Coleg Cambria.

"Representatives of Price, Slater and Gawne Solicitors were also on hand to provide an overview of the Criminal Injury Claims Authority (CICA), a government funded organisation that was created to provide compensation for blameless victims of violent crime."

Lucy Faithfull Foundation, the North Wales Safeguarding Board and the Flintshire Domestic Abuse Support Unit were also on hand to discuss the work they do to combat CSE and support given to victims.

Child Sexual Exploitation awareness day is a national campaign held on March 18 which aims to highlight the issues surrounding CSE and encourages everyone to think, spot and speak out against abuse.

CSE is a form of abuse that involves manipulation and/or coercion of young people under the age of 18 into sexual activity in exchange for things such as money, gifts, accommodation or affection.

Cllr Jones added: "The feedback from over 400 who attended this year’s event, including young people from a number of schools and Coleg Cambria, has again been extremely positive.

"The event was well-structured and provided a platform for honest and open discussion about a difficult and sensitive issue that we should all be aware of and this, together with the wealth of information available, provided a great deal of food for thought.

"It was clear that the event sent a very strong message to young people, parents and professionals that we all have a responsibility to protect our children and that safeguarding children is everyone’s business.

"I would like to thank ASDA, Morrisons and Makro who kindly donated refreshments for the day."