What's Going On

What’s going on to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation? How local partnerships respond to child sexual exploitation Sue Jago, with Lorena Arocha, Isabelle Brodie, Margaret Melrose, Jenny Pearce and Camille Warrington October 2011 What’s going on What’s going on Contents Acknowledgements Acknowledgements . 3 This research has been funded by Comic Relief . For over ten years Comic Relief has been providing support to tackle the problem of sexual exploitation, funding Key findings and recommendations . 4 support services for young people and also work to train the police, teachers 1 The purpose of this report . .10 and others likely to be in a position to spot the signs of sexual exploitation . Most 2 How the research was carried out . .17 recently Comic Relief worked with its funded projects to advise the BBC on a 3 Analysing the data . 22 child sexual exploitation storyline for EastEnders which began to air to coincide with Red Nose Day 2011 . Comic Relief has been a major source of support for 4 Coordinating a multi-agency response . 27 both local and national initiatives in this area . 5 Recognising child sexual exploitation . 42 6 Supporting young people and their families . 61 The research was carried out by the International Centre for the Study of Sexually Exploited and Trafficked Young People, based in the Institute of Applied Social 7 Identifying, disrupting, investigating and prosecuting abusers . 82 Research at the University of Bedfordshire . Details of the project team are set 8 Collecting and managing data? . 99 out in annex B . A particular strength of the International Centre is its partnership 9 Looking to the future . .113 approach . It has strong links and shared projects with major children’s charities, including Barnardo’s and NSPCC; with the Office of the Children’s Commissioner Annex A – Key statistical findings . .117 for England; with organisations leading practice in this field, including the Child Annex B – The project team . 121. Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP); and with key policy makers in Annex C – Membership of the Project Advisory Group . 122. government . Annex D – The initial survey form . 123. A central objective of the International Centre is to encourage strong links Annex E – The practitioner schedule of questions . 124. between research and practice . A key partner in this research has been the Annex F – Self assessment checklist . 128. National Working Group for sexually exploited children and young people (the NWG) . The research team worked closely with the NWG to ensure an exchange Annex G – Training briefing . 132. of information with its UK-wide network of practitioners, policy makers and Abbreviations . 135. researchers . The NWG will also play a key role in disseminating the results of this research project . References . 136. The research has benefited from the advice and guidance of a Project Advisory Group (PAG), comprising key policy and practice leads in this area . Grateful thanks go to all members for their support and, in particular, to Professor Susanne MacGregor for chairing the PAG . Thanks also go to Paula Skidmore and Professor John Coleman for acting as ‘critical friends’ to the project . The research team is also indebted to the generosity of many practitioners who have given freely of their time and expertise . Working with sexually exploited young people, although highly rewarding, can also be challenging in the extreme . Listening to their experiences can be emotionally shattering . Taking on the additional work involved with supporting the research demonstrates the commitment of practitioners to the development of this area of work . They have been inspirational and we are very grateful for their support . Sue Jago On behalf of the project team 2 What’s Going On to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation? What’s Going On to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation? 3 What’s going on Key findings and reommendations Summary 4 Awareness raising and training is piecemeal and inadequate Both the survey and interview data reported poor levels of awareness This research project has explored the extent and nature of the response of raising and training on child sexual exploitation, particularly with young LSCBs to the 2009 government guidance on safeguarding children and young people, families and carers . There is an urgent need for LSCBs, through 1 people from sexual exploitation . Where the guidance is followed, there are schools and health practitioners, to extend awareness raising to young examples of developing and innovative practice to protect and support young people, to their families and to communities overall . people and their families and to investigate and prosecute their abusers . However, the research has found that the delivery of that dual approach to child Key findings: identifying child sexual exploitation sexual exploitation is far from the norm . There are three areas that cause particular concern: The research findings on how to identify young people at risk of or experiencing child sexual exploitation are set out in Chapter 5 . • only a quarter of LSCBs in England are implementing the guidance 5 Child sexual exploitation takes place in many ways • young people, their families and carers receive awareness raising in There is no one model of how young people are sexually exploited and no less than half of the country one method of coercion . While exploitation by an older boy/girlfriend was • the prosecution of abusers is rare and, where criminal proceedings noted most frequently there were significant levels of peer on peer take place, young people’s experience of court is intolerable exploitation reported . Also, while grooming was the main method of coercion identified, there were significant numbers of reports of pressure These and related findings are set out below together with recommendations on from a peer who is also sexually exploited, or pressure from other young how to ensure that action is taken, locally and nationally, to address this form of people in gang-affected neighbourhoods . Technology was widely recorded child abuse . as a method of coercion, often involving social networking . Key findings: Coordinating a local response to child 6 A high proportion of sexually exploited young people ‘go missing’ sexual exploitation while some are purposefully moved within the UK for sexual exploitation usually without intelligence sharing between professionals The findings of the research on how LSCBs implement the guidance in terms in different areas of coordinating joint working to develop a child exploitation strategy to meet the ‘Going missing’ was frequently reported and a significant number of young needs of the local area are set out in Chapter 4 . people reported to be moved between areas in the UK for sexual 1 Child sexual exploitation is a form of child abuse exploitation . Questions were raised about effective information sharing A conceptual shift is needed to safeguard older children from abuse outside between LSCBs and police to identify and track young people who had the home . Sexually exploited young people experience sexual abuse, rape, gone missing, including those abducted and forcibly moved within the UK . violence, abduction, intimidation, emotionally subtle and violently explicit 7 Research is needed to identify the needs of sexually exploited boys coercion . It is child abuse . Specialist staff trained in child sexual exploitation and young men, and of young people from BME communities are needed in multi-agency teams . The ‘snapshot’ data identified the average age of young people 2 LSCBs are failing to safeguard young people from sexual exploitation identified as at risk or experiencing sexual exploitation to be 15, with the Around three quarters of LSCBs are not proactive in implementing the majority of the cases relating to White British girls . The qualitative data 2009 guidance . Co-located units, where key practitioners from children’s raised questions about the local accessibility of services to victims from services and police work together in a team, were identified as an ‘ideal different Black and Minority Ethnic communities; the nature and type’ for developing the dual strategy . However, only around 10% of 100 understanding of exploitation within different communities; and the need LSCB areas that took part in the research have co-located units in place . for better awareness of how to assess risk and intervene to support boys and young men . 3 Isolated pockets of good practice have been developed, usually as a response to a child death or through the commitment of a local Key findings: Protecting and supporting young people ‘champion’ and families Despite there being some examples of excellent practice, this occurs in ‘pockets’ across the country often where a child’s death resulted from The findings of the research on how to support and protect young people at sexual exploitation or where an individual ‘champions’ the cause . Although risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation, and how to support and involve their not fully implementing the guidance, these areas of active practice parents and carers, are set out in Chapter 6 . demonstrate that young people can be protected from child sexual 8 Current thresholds for intervention through child protection procedures exploitation and abusers can be prosecuted . are too high 1 DCSF (2009) 4 What’s Going On to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation?

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