article: A report published last month found at least 1,400 children were abused in the South Yorkshire town from 1997 to 2013. Barnardo's Scotland said child sexual exploitation was a "severe problem". It has urged government and child protection agencies not to be complacent. The charity said Rotherham should be "a wake-up call for Scotland". The Scottish government said it was committed to protecting children and young people's wellbeing. Revelations of child abuse on a massive scale in the English town were revealed in the Jay Report. Now Barnardo's Scotland has published 15 lessons it said must be learned by those involved in protecting children and young people in Scotland. The charity said child sex exploitation (CSE) "is happening across Scotland", with two large-scale police operations to identify victims and target perpetrators, one of which, Operation Dash, was ongoing. Barnardo's called for recognition, at every level, that sex between an adult and a child under 16 was always wrong and that it was not the child's responsibility to say 'No'. Martin Crewe, director of Barnardo's Scotland, said: "We know child sexual exploitation is happening across Scotland. "We know how devastating it can be. We know charities and support agencies are aware of the problem and are working to put the necessary infrastructure in place to tackle child sexual exploitation. "But as part of this process, we all need to heed the warning and learn the lessons from Rotherham if we are to be certain that we are all doing our best to protect children from this horrific form of abuse in Scotland." He added: "If there is one fundamental lesson from Rotherham it is that we cannot be complacent about child sexual exploitation in Scotland." Police Scotland said keeping children safe, particularly those who are vulnerable, was top of its list of priorities. As part of Operation Dash, 22 people have been reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in relation to a range of crimes. Det Ch Supt Lesley Boal said: "CSE is a complex challenging and sensitive area of policing. "Police Scotland works nationally to support the Scottish government's action plan on CSE and we have developed an action plan to compliment this. "In addition at a local level we have created 14 divisional public protection units that work in partnership with local authorities and health through child protection committees to tackle all forms of child abuse including CSE. "Within Police Scotland we have a number of specialist units including the National Rape Task Force, the National Human Trafficking Unit and the National Domestic Abuse Task Force that focus on serious sexual crimes." The Scottish government published updated child protection guidance in May this year. A spokeswoman said: "Child sexual exploitation is an abhorrent crime and can have devastating impact on victims and their families. "We established an expert working group to specifically examine child sexual exploitation and this work contributed to our updated guidance. We also work closely with the experts at the Centre for Excellence for Looked After Children (CELCIS) to shape policies and practices to ensure
summary: Lessons must be learned in Scotland from the Rotherham child abuse scandal, according to a children's charity.