A CAMPAIGNER from Bolton has been working on a national action plan to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Gemma Aitchison, who lives in Westhoughton, has been campaigning against the sexual exploitation of young people since the murder of her sister Sasha Marsden in 2013. Sasha was just 16 when she was sexually assaulted and stabbed 58 times after being lured to a hotel in Blackpool.

In recent months Miss Aitchison has teamed up with Labour MP Sarah Champion, the Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities.

Ms Champion last year released her plan for preventing child abuse and violence in teenage relationships with the national action plan, Dare2Care.

It looks at how best to protect children from child abuse and worked with experts and leading campaigners. Included in the groups she worked with was Yes Matters, the campaign group set up by Miss Aitchison to tackle lack of knowledge around consent, effects of sexual objectification and damage of gender stereotypes.

In March it was announced that sex education will become compulsory in all schools and the action plan hopes to make education on abuse part of this.

Miss Aitchison said: “We worked with Sarah Champion as there’s a lot of child sexual exploitation and other sex offences happening and it is important to make sure it doesn’t carry on.” She added that she hopes in the long-term the Dare2Care action plan could be made in to a bill and law so children are properly educated on exploitation.