Problematising Young Male Victims in Twenty-First Century English Child Sexual Exploitation Policy: a Critical Discourse Analysis

© 2021 Greenwich Social Work Review. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Since 2000, English child sexual exploitation (CSE) policy has expanded, both in its understanding and response, to the increasing recognition and scale of the problem. Since 2011, with the move from statutory guidance to a government action plan, there was, for the first time, a substantial increase in CSE responses across English local authorities. Within English CSE policy, male victims are often referenced as a minority population in the ‘dance’ between gender-neutral and gender-specific guidance. For an observable eight-year period, specific CSE guidance was issued on ‘Boys and Young Men’ between 2009 and 2017. Using a qualitative case study methodology with 18 professionals in England, a critical discourse analysis, inspired by Foucauldian and Liminality theories, was undertaken to understand the ‘ethics’ within professional perceptions of male victims in contemporary CSE policy. The key findings highlight an incongruity of existing CSE vocabulary with male victims due to overtly gynocentric connotations. This article identifies how male victims have been perceived in the ‘shadows’ of their female peers, perhaps, as a policy ‘afterthought’, with consequential professional practice. Essentially, male victims have been implicated through this gendered conceptualisation and are assembled awkwardly on the surface of mainstream CSE discourse in England.Peer reviewe

Children with Long Covid: Co-producing a specialist community public health nursing response

© 2021 MA Healthcare Ltd. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.12968/johv.2021.9.10.418Globally, children have been profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in many ways. Whilst the majority of children with acute COVID-19 infection experience mild illness and fully recover, substantial numbers go on to experience Long Covid. Long Covid is clinically identified by experience of persistent (and sometimes different) symptoms for many months after the acute infection (even in children who were asymptomatic). There is currently no agreed consensus on the case definition of Long Covid but real-world data from American health insurance firms and the UK Office for National Statistics report that children with Long Covid experience: intestinal symptoms, pain, breathlessness, cognitive dysfunction and post-exercise malaise. The current understanding of the natural history, diagnostics and treatments of Long Covid is limited, meaning the medical model in isolation is not helpful. Health visitors and school nurses are ideally placed to case-find children with Long Covid and co-produce child and family-centred care.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Professionals’ perceptions of young males in child sexual exploitation policy: a critical policy genealogical analysis

Background: The discourse on young males affected by or involved in child sexual exploitation (CSE) is often silenced due to the preoccupation with, and generally greater publicity of, female victims within professional practice, policy and research. Historical and contemporary CSE discourse is largely conceptualised through Feminism and Moral Panic Theory, enmeshed within a general reduction of available professional vocabulary in English child protection policy. This thesis aims to investigate these discourses. Methodology: This research analyses CSE policy implementation between 2000 and 2016 with alternative social theories within a critical policy genealogy (CPG). The CPG considers Foucault’s position of the ‘qualified speakers’ on childhood sexuality to identify the ethics of CSE policy enactment. Two specific methodologies are utilised to establish the discourse and counter-discourse on multiple levels: a critical realist synthesis of CSE policy literature (n=44) and a Foucauldian-inspired discourse analysis of policy actors (n=18) in a geographically-defined case study. Results: By bringing together the critical realist and Foucauldian-inspired datasets, the CPG presents six discourse norm circles (Elder-Vass 2011, 2012) involved in CSE policy enactment: political influences; visibility / surveillance; the construction of the ‘perfect victim’; inclusivity for young males; local governance; and championing the specialist / minority voice. CSE policy is understood, experienced and perceived inconsistently by policy enactors across a range of fields, however those within the voluntary sector are key to developing better understandings of the realities of young males. Conclusions: Policy enactors are stuck in a constant negotiating position, or dance, between co-existing realities of CSE presented by government policy and its implementation. They have to try to make sense of these dances of power (dynamism) by attempting to implement, whilst simultaneously adapting policy expectations to accommodate CSE victims. It is only through this dynamism, however, a new knowledge on young males can be revealed

Being orientated towards social justice: learning for health visitor practice

© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Peer reviewe

Special Issue: Child Protection Vocabulary in Professional Judgement – Fit for Purpose?

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Digital connection in health and social work: lessons from COVID 19

This book focusses on the move to digitally mediated forms of teaching, learning and practice during Covid-19 and offers a series of case studies which showcase positive practices during this time. Education, Health and Social Work services have all been at the forefront of national debate since the first UK lockdown in March 2020. Schools, Colleges and Higher Education institutions moved rapidly to online delivery, with educators, parents, practice learning partners and students alike compelled to adapt to online connection, disrupting previous norms and forcing a rapid acquisition of new skills. In health and social care practice, there has been a similar move to online delivery, whilst maintaining consistency of service and support. The pandemic also coincided with the recommendations of the national Digital Capabilities for Social Work project, commissioned by Health Education England, which produced a prescient framework for professional practice. This book showcases innovative ways in which practice and education have responded to the challenges of Covid 19. With ongoing debate about planning for the next pandemic, as well as adapting to the post Covid landscape, the book is a valuable resource for all those involved in health and social work education and practice

Problematising young male victims in Twenty-First Century English child sexual exploitation policy: a critical discourse analysis

Since 2000, English child sexual exploitation (CSE) policy has expanded, both in its understanding and response, to the increasing recognition and scale of the problem. Since 2011, with the move from statutory guidance to a government action plan, there was, for the first time, a substantial increase in CSE responses across English local authorities. Within English CSE policy, male victims are often referenced as a minority population in the ‘dance’ between gender-neutral and gender-specific guidance. For an observable eight-year period, specific CSE guidance was issued on ‘Boys and Young Men’ between 2009 and 2017. Using a qualitative case study methodology with 18 professionals in England, a critical discourse analysis, inspired by Foucauldian and Liminality theories, was undertaken to understand the ‘ethics’ within professional perceptions of male victims in contemporary CSE policy. The key findings highlight an incongruity of existing CSE vocabulary with male victims due to overtly gynocentric connotations. This article identifies how male victims have been perceived in the ‘shadows’ of their female peers, perhaps, as a policy ‘afterthought’, with consequential professional practice. Essentially, male victims have been implicated through this gendered conceptualisation and are assembled awkwardly on the surface of mainstream CSE discourse in England

Needs and priorities of young people with human immunodeficiency virus

AIMS: To ascertain the views of young people in the UK with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) about their health care, and to compare these views with the perceptions of nurses involved in this sector and the current social policy response. METHODS: Young people, aged 16 to 24 years, who have HIV and attend a specialist voluntary organisation and pre- and post-registration nurses attending an HIV care course were selected by convenience sampling. A cross-sectional survey was conducted by questionnaire. RESULTS: Hospital-based HIV clinics and services were the favoured source of care. There was consensus among the young people that care providers should be informative and approachable, and that care provision should include help to understand issues, such as pregnancy and contraception. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals involved in creating future social policy and commissioning services need to respond to young people's priorities and adapt to the patient's developing sexuality and the changing demographics of young people with HIV

Gaining insight into food, diet practices and nutrition during the early year’s lifespan: Preconception and pregnancy

© 2022 The Author(s). This an open access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited