Leila's story

Leila was 13 when she ran away from home and was sexually exploited by older men. We supported her at a time in her life when she had no one to turn to.

There were times when I had nowhere to go

"I was born in Palestine and moved to England with my mum when I was 8. My mum is a strict Muslim and when I was 13 we started arguing a lot because she didn't want me to go out with my friends.

She thought that England was really dangerous and she was worried that I'd get into drink and drugs. I felt like I was stuck between two cultures. Soon after, I began running away from home.

Sometimes I would stay with strangers and have sex with them. It would be a roof over my head for the night and some food in my belly. I was scared but not scared enough to stop doing it. At the time it was better than having to go home.

"The men were a lot older than me but they didn't blink an eye when I said I was 13."

"As the arguments with my mum got worse, I started running away for longer, sometimes for up to a month. I'd stay with friends, or boyfriends, or with a stranger. But there were times when I had nowhere to go. I wandered the streets in the middle of the night and I was scared."

NSPCC were a friendly face at a time when I didn't have many people turn to

"I was referred to the NSPCC Protect and Respect service when I was 13 by a school mentor as she was worried about my safety. I went along to their group sessions which teach young people what sexual exploitation is and how it is harmful.

I saw that I was being sexually groomed and that men were taking advantage of me. I thought that I was an adult and I was acting like an adult but I wasn’t one.

It was nice speaking to other girls who were going through the same thing as me and knew how it felt. I hadn't told any of my friends about what I was doing so they couldn't understand what I was experiencing.

"I had one-to-one sessions with Rachel* from the NSPCC. I loved being able to talk to her about what was happening to me and I never felt judged or looked down on. I knew that I could always turn to her and tell her anything. She saved my life."

I loved the normality of the NSPCC. They were professional but they provided a friendly face at a time in my life where I didn’t have many people to turn to. I would recommend the NSPCC to anyone who is going through what I went through."

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*DISCLAiMER

Names and identifying features have been changed to protect identity. Photographs have been posed by models.