“A child or young person under 16 runs away every five minutes in the UK. […] It is estimated that every year 18,000 children and young people under 16 sleep rough or with someone they have just met”
Railway Children – Reaching Safe Places
Children can go missing or run away for a variety of issues. Whatever the circumstances they are at significant risk of harm due, often associated with the decisions that they have to make whilst away from their home. These decisions are often routed in the need for protection and meeting their basic care needs but theses can often lead to them being in “debt” to others and / or being exploited.