Recently the United Kingdom has been beset by a moral panic concerning gangs grooming girls for sexual exploitation. This moral panic derived from a number of well-publicised cases, the most infamous of which took place in Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Grooming children has been criminalised by section 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Adult groomers face up to two years in prison and being automatically placed on the sex offenders register. The Act is intended to protect children from abuse and exploitation. However child victims who have been abused by gangs and coerced into offending may still be liable for prosecution for any offending they have engaged in. Fear of being prosecuted may stop victims coming forward and prevent survivors from moving on with their lives. Such children are often perceived as having made a choice and criminalised. The Modern Slavery Act 2015 was designed to combat modern slavery. Recognising child sexual exploitation as a form of slavery, could lead to victims being protected rather than criminalised themselves for these offences. This article will examine how the law can be reformulated to ensure protection of children from sexual exploitation and also ensuring children are not charged for committing crimes whilst being groomed or coerced. The article will consider the limitation of the statutory defence available under section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

中文翻译：

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防止将儿童性剥削的受害者定为刑事犯罪，其中包括修饰策略——将儿童性剥削理解为奴役

最近，联合王国因团伙为性剥削目的而培养女孩的道德恐慌所困扰。这种道德恐慌源于一些广为人知的案件，其中最臭名昭著的案件发生在大曼彻斯特的罗奇代尔。2003 年《性犯罪法》第 15 条将修饰儿童定为刑事犯罪。成年修饰者将面临最高两年的监禁，并被自动列入性犯罪者登记册。该法案旨在保护儿童免受虐待和剥削。然而，被帮派虐待并被迫犯罪的儿童受害者仍可能因其所从事的任何犯罪行为而被起诉。对被起诉的恐惧可能会阻止受害者挺身而出并阻止幸存者继续他们的生活。这些儿童通常被视为做出了选择并被定罪。2015 年现代奴隶制法案旨在打击现代奴隶制。承认儿童性剥削是一种奴役形式，可能会导致受害者受到保护，而不是因为这些罪行而将自己定罪。本文将研究如何重新制定法律，以确保保护儿童免受性剥削，并确保儿童在被诱骗或胁迫时不会因犯罪而受到指控。本文将考虑根据《2015 年现代奴隶制法》第 45 条可获得的法定辩护的限制。本文将研究如何重新制定法律，以确保保护儿童免受性剥削，并确保儿童在被诱骗或胁迫时不会因犯罪而受到指控。本文将考虑根据《2015 年现代奴隶制法》第 45 条可获得的法定辩护的限制。本文将研究如何重新制定法律，以确保保护儿童免受性剥削，并确保儿童在被诱骗或胁迫时不会因犯罪而受到指控。本文将考虑根据《2015 年现代奴隶制法》第 45 条可获得的法定辩护的限制。