Coventry University DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Children’s Rights in Practice young people’s perspectives of working with professionals in the context of safeguarding and supporting children who have experienced sexual exploitation Stephens, Emma Award date: 2019 Awarding institution: Coventry University Link to publication General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of this thesis for personal non-commercial research or study • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission from the copyright holder(s) • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 10. Oct. 2021 Children’s Rights in Practice: young people’s perspectives of working with professionals in the context of safeguarding and supporting children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Emma Stephens PhD October 2019 Children’s Rights in Practice: young people’s perspectives of working with professionals in the context of safeguarding and supporting children who have experienced sexual exploitation. Emma Stephens PhD October 2019 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the University’s requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Page 1 of 336 Contents Contents .................................................................................................................... 2 List of Boxes, Figures and Tables .......................................................................... 5 Glossary of Terms .................................................................................................... 8 Acronyms ................................................................................................................ 18 Abstract ................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................... 20 Research Question ............................................................................................................... 21 Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................ 21 Approach ................................................................................................................................ 22 Outline of the structure of the thesis. ................................................................................. 22 Chapter 2: Changing Narratives of Child Sexual Exploitation ........................... 26 The Age of Innocence .......................................................................................................... 27 Scientising Children ............................................................................................................. 37 Welfare State ......................................................................................................................... 43 Children’s Rights ................................................................................................................... 47 ‘Child Prostitutes’ to ‘Children Involved in Prostitution’................................................... 49 Childhood in Crisis ............................................................................................................... 60 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 65 Chapter 3: Rediscovery of Child Sexual Exploitation ......................................... 66 Adoption of the Term ‘Child Sexual Exploitation’............................................................. 66 Legislation: Protection and Prosecution ............................................................................ 73 Child Sexual Exploitation Hits the Headlines ................................................................... 77 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 85 Chapter 4: Agency, Power and Consent .............................................................. 87 Agency ................................................................................................................................... 87 Consent .................................................................................................................................. 91 Power ..................................................................................................................................... 98 Adult – Child Power Relations ............................................................................................ 98 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 102 Chapter 5: Seeking Children’s Voices ................................................................ 104 Positionality ......................................................................................................................... 105 Page 2 of 336 Philosophical Assumptions ............................................................................................... 108 Research Design ................................................................................................................ 110 Conceptual Framework: Children’s Rights Approach ................................................... 112 Theoretical Links ................................................................................................................. 118 Methological Approach: Participatory Narrative Approach .......................................... 120 Child-Centred Methods ...................................................................................................... 125 Sampling .............................................................................................................................. 130 Thematic Analysis .............................................................................................................. 133 Ethics .................................................................................................................................... 134 Limitations and Challenges ............................................................................................... 141 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 142 Chapter 6: What’s in a Word? The power of terminology ................................. 143 Terminology ......................................................................................................................... 144 Thematic Analysis .............................................................................................................. 146 Professional’s lack of understanding of child sexual exploitation ............................... 148 Judgemental attitudes ........................................................................................................ 150 Professional’s limitations ................................................................................................... 153 The impact of using the terminology identified in Table 10 .......................................... 155 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 157 Chapter 7: Children and Young People’s Experience of Service Provision.... 159 Thematic Analysis .............................................................................................................. 159 Labelled ................................................................................................................................ 161 Voiceless .............................................................................................................................. 165 Services ............................................................................................................................... 173 Professional Characteristics ............................................................................................. 183 Organisational Structure .................................................................................................... 190 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 194 Chapter 8: Power Dynamics ................................................................................ 196 Thematic Analysis .............................................................................................................. 196 Relational Power ................................................................................................................. 198 Structural Power ................................................................................................................