St Giles is delighted to announce that our Expect Respect service has been shortlisted in the Safeguarding Award category at the Children & Young People Now Awards 2026.
The nomination recognises the outstanding work of our specialist team in Wolverhampton, supporting girls under 18 who are at risk of, or experiencing, child criminal and sexual exploitation.
Expect Respect was established to address a significant gap in safeguarding services. While exploitation affecting boys is increasingly recognised, girls’ experiences are often hidden or misunderstood, with warning signs too frequently mistaken for poor mental health, challenging behaviour or unhealthy relationships rather than indicators of abuse and exploitation.
Working alongside City of Wolverhampton Council, schools, youth justice services, West Midlands Police and a range of specialist partners, the service provides gender-responsive, trauma-informed support that helps girls build confidence, strengthen protective relationships and move towards safer futures.
During the judging period, Expect Respect supported more than 90 girls, delivering 325 one-to-one mentoring sessions and 222 hours of advocacy. The service helped girls improve family relationships, re-engage with education, better understand the risks of exploitation and significantly reduce incidents of going missing.
At the heart of the programme is the belief that trusted relationships change lives. Delivered by female mentors, including practitioners with lived experience, Expect Respect creates safe spaces where girls feel listened to, believed and understood.
The service has also strengthened partnership working across Wolverhampton, ensuring girls receive joined-up support through coordinated safeguarding responses while helping professionals better recognise the unique ways exploitation can affect girls and young women.
Tracey Burley, Chief Executive of St Giles, said:
We are incredibly proud that Expect Respect has been recognised by the Children & Young People Now Awards. This shortlisting reflects the dedication of our team and partners, but most importantly the courage and resilience of the girls we support every day. Their experiences remind us why gender-responsive, trauma-informed support is so important and why no young person should be overlooked because their exploitation doesn’t fit traditional perceptions of risk.
The winners will be announced at the Children & Young People Now Awards later this year.