‘An uncomfortable comfortableness’: ‘care’, child protection and child sexual exploitation

This paper reports findings from a qualitative research inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) involving young people with experiences of CSE. The paper considers how ‘care’—understood as an act, an orientation and/or set of relations (including statutory responsibilities at the level of the local state)—featured as a recurrent theme across the data in respect of the ways in which participants made sense of the problem of CSE, why they were vulnerable and at risk, and the ways in which people should respond to such risks. Findings suggest that young people who are without care and recognition from protective adults, and who are not permitted as active agents in setting the terms of their own support, are vulnerable to CSE. Not only do adult care-giving and practices of child protection feature in participants' accounts as being part of the problem, but they suggest that the instigation of these practices, made as a response to CSE, can ignore and serve to compound that which they are attempting to prevent and disrupt. There is an urgent need for care responses to address the complex underlying issues behind CSE, and to open up the possibility of interventions beyond narrow child protection responses

Responding to child sexual exploitation in Australia: Challenges and opportunities from the perspectives of case workers in a statutory care environment

There is a growing interest in understanding and responding to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Australia, but limited empirical research from Australian contexts. The research reported here contributes to the evidence base by considering challenges and best practices for responding to CSE from the perspectives of 15 caseworkers in a statutory child protection and out of home care environment in one Australian region. In so doing, the paper also offers insight into CSE along with consideration of the emerging practice directions and systems surrounding these in the Australian context. Findings point to potential problems arising from existing frameworks for understanding and responding to CSE. Participants held concerns about a narrow focus on young people’s sexualised behaviours in the wider multi-agency care context. This was understood to obscure a more complex understanding of CSE and its broader context of vulnerability and connection to unmet needs – some of which can arise from the care context itself – making identification and intervention difficult. Findings align with research that emphasises outreach and intensive support for young people centring on strengthening connections, identifying and addressing unmet needs and sustaining safety through consideration of placements and living circumstances. Consideration of practice challenges and opportunities signals the importance of child-centred, wellbeing-oriented directions allowing for multiple models of CSE victimisation, underpinned by a shared language in the multi-agency context and enhanced provision in existing systems

Child sexual exploitation in South East Wales: problems and solutions from the perspectives of young people and professionals

The thesis examines a social phenomenon that has come to be referred to within UK policy discourse as ‘child sexual exploitation’. It is a qualitative, inter-disciplinary study, presenting new data drawn from a series of semi-structured interviews. Two groups of interviewees feature in the thesis: young people with personal experience of sexual exploitation; and professionals with varied responsibilities for identification and onward referral in this area. The aim of the thesis is to provide an in-depth understanding of child sexual exploitation through a thematic analysis of the rich accounts provided by those directly involved. The thesis is about child sexual exploitation. At the same time it is about a range of problems – personal, social and professional – that beset and inform this public issue. The thesis explores the wider problems experienced by young people with particular experience of child sexual exploitation, and also the problems experienced by professionals seeking to work effectively with young people identified in this way. However, at root the thesis addresses the possibility that (further) problems might arise from the way in which ‘child sexual exploitation’ itself is conceptualised within policy frameworks in Wales. In particular, the thesis develops an analysis that is critical of policy that wholly defines and provides an explanation for ‘child sexual exploitation’ according to a ‘grooming model’ – and one in which children and young people figure predominantly as the passive victims of predatory adult perpetrators. The findings suggest that there are multiple forms of sexual exploitation, and central to any understanding of sexual exploitation is that underpinning the exchange of sex is the meeting (and taking advantage) of unmet needs. The findings also relay broader messages about the role of care in prevention and intervention work. Whilst the thesis acknowledges and in no way dismisses ‘grooming’ as a way of understanding child sexual exploitation, it is argued that a re-articulation of the grooming model is needed in order to recognize that children and young people can be aware of the coercive nature of their relationships, and to give greater weight to the reasons why they may choose to stay in exploitative relationships. In addition, it is argued that ‘child sexual exploitation’ (as a policy concept) should include other kinds of transactional sex which may be more transient, but equally raise questions about the range of choices available to young people that prompt them to exchange sex for financial, emotional or material reward. The thesis is exploratory and critical in its contribution to an understanding of child sexual exploitation and professional practice, and seeks to provide insights and understanding to a mixed audience, both academic and professional

The same but different? Exploring the links between gender, trauma, sexual exploitation and harmful sexual behaviours

This article presents data on 1550 children and young people with experiences of child sexual exploitation or who are displaying harmful sexual behaviours (HSB). Data were collected from two recently merged services operating across Wales: one working with children and young people who are at risk of, or abused through, sexual exploitation; and the other providing assessment and intervention services for children and young people displaying HSB. Importantly, the research provided an opportunity for a comparative analysis of key demographic characteristics and abuse histories of two separate cohorts of children and young people. Clear differences exist across the two cohorts in terms of gender. However, our analysis revealed similar patterns in relation to their experiences of prior abuse, and the prevalence of a family history of domestic violence is near identical. We consider how these findings speak to a need to understand the role of gender, and to recognise potential gendered understandings and gendered trajectories of harm for children. Findings also indicate the importance of directing attention to the wellbeing needs of children and young people who have experienced trauma, regardless of the presenting issues of concern

Understanding the educational experiences and opinions, attainment, achievement and aspirations of looked after children in Wales

This report presents the findings of research that explored the educational experiences attainment and aspirations of looked after children and young people (LACYP) in Wales. The findings of the report are drawn from interviews with LACYP and an analysis of available statistics and literature on the looked after children population

Exploring communication between social workers and children and young people

A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the UK between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video-stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners’ behaviours and outlines a model for so doing