I’m a single parent and have two beautiful daughters. My 14-year-old daughter has, for the past 12 to 18 months, been groomed for child sexual exploitation.

Our family, before my daughter was exploited, was a very normal, functioning, loving family.

Then she started to slip away from me...

My daughter started going missing from home. Her moods and attitude changed. She started to persistently truant from school, and lie about her whereabouts and who she was in touch with. She often came home with new gifts, clothes and mobile phones. She got really into drinking, drugs and smoking.

Her exploitation has resulted in the ultimate disruption of daily family life. I suffer from migraines and sleepless nights. I’ve had to defer my university place. My neighbours refuse to speak to me. I’ve received verbal abuse and threats to my family.

I never know what I’m going to come home to. My daughter has started assaulting me. People have come to my home demanding money from me that my daughter supposedly owes them for damage she’s caused to their properties or for drugs that she’s bought from them. I’ve had items and money stolen so that my daughter can buy drugs. My house keys have been stolen and I’ve had to change locks. I’ve been burgled several times.

As a parent I feel like I’ve tried everything. When I did eventually turn to the authorities I was expecting prompt, useful and humane responses but unfortunately I did not receive them.

My daughter has been excluded from school. This adds more pressure as the professional system repeats the chaos. I am now suspicious of everyone. Lies being told by my daughter and her associates, and the lack of information shared by professionals really feed into this.

I feel that if professionals engaged basic skills of human interaction by simply looking me in the face and conveying warmth, and the desire to hear my story and respect ME as someone to work with and as someone who wants the situation resolved more than anyone else, then we would be effective in protecting my daughter.

Things that would have really helped us include: professionals using basic communication skills; an early mental health assessment of my daughter (18 months on and she’s still not been assessed); a rapid, coordinated police response; and actions being taken against those who allow my daughter to stay with them.

The true cost of sexual exploitation must NOT be under-estimated. – emotional, financial, health, family disruption, involvement in the criminal court system, implications for my daughter’s development and her future well-being, and the cost to wider society. The list goes on and on.