One in nine missing young people sexually assaulted

One in nine young people who go missing are sexually assaulted
while they are away, according to a new report from the National
Missing Persons Helpline.

The level of risk of sexual abuse was also found to be
heightened by a third of young people staying with a stranger and
the high proportion who slept rough.

The study, carried out by researchers at the University of York,
draws on information from almost 2,000 adults and children who had
gone missing. It calls for more support services for missing
persons with its research finding that over a third of young people
received no help at all while they were away, and only 15 per cent
of adults tried to get help from a social worker or advice
worker.

Other findings showed that people from ethnic minority groups
were significantly more likely to go missing as teenagers than
white people, and women of Asian origin were more likely to go
missing between the ages of 18 and 23 than women from other ethnic
groups.

Meanwhile, 39 per cent of the people asked said they suffering
from poor physical health or have a disability, over one fifth (22
per cent) also reported depression and around one in twelve (8 per
cent) reported other mental health problems.

‘Lost from view: Missing persons in the UK’  from 01235
465500