Council backs campaign to keep children safe

DARLINGTON Borough Council staff will join a national campaign aimed at raising awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation and Child Sexual Abuse (CSE/CSA).

The #PurpleChristmas campaign is being run as a day-long social media ‘thunderclap’ on Friday (15 December), with schools, local authorities and other agencies across the country preparing to show their support.

People around the globe are being encouraged to wear purple and share #PurpleChristmas posts on social media to show their support.

In Darlington, it is planned to light up some council buildings – including Darlington Hippodrome and the Dolphin Centre – in purple to symbolise both the authority’s support for the campaign and its commitment to ending CSE/CSA

Staff are being encouraged to wear purple at work on Friday (December 15), to show their support for the campaign.

Councillor Cyndi Hughes, Darlington Borough Council’s Cabinet member for Children and Young People, said: “I am proud that Darlington is supporting this important campaign, which highlights the responsibility we all must share - to keep children safe from harm. I would encourage as many people as possible to wear and share purple to mark #PurpleChristmas.”

Suzanne Joyner, Darlington Borough Council’s Director of Children and Adult Services, said: “This is an issue that is close to my heart, and one I feel it is important that we in Darlington show our support for.

“I hope this campaign – and others like it, such as National CSE Awareness Day, in March – will help break the taboo around CSE/CSA and empower victims to come forward.”