Suffering in silence: children and unreported crime

This report presents the findings of a Scoping Inquiry into the hidden victimisation of children and young people, undertaken on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Victims and Witnesses of Crime. The Inquiry was commissioned in response to findings from the most recent Crime Survey for England and Wales which indicates that less than one-fifth of children and young people who experience theft or violent crime report this to the police. The charity Victim Support, who provides the secretariat to the APPG, undertook research for the Inquiry in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire. Evidence was gathered in four ways: • a short review of existing literature; • an analysis of relevant data sources including the Crime Survey for England and Wales; • a rapid call for evidence from charities, service providers, statutory bodies and campaigners; and • three focus groups with children and young people

Making justice work : experiences of criminal justice for children and young people affected by sexual exploitation as victims and witnesses

Making Justice Work is a one year participatory pilot research project, carried out by The International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking at The University of Bedfordshire. The research explored young people’s experiences of the criminal justice system in child sexual exploitation (CSE) cases, and the ways in which these could be improved

‘Helping me find my own way’: sexually exploited young people’s involvement in decision-making about their care

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Professional DoctorateThis thesis explores the role and relevance of the concepts of participation and service user involvement for work with sexually exploited children and young people. The central research questions are: how do young people at risk of, or affected by sexual exploitation, experience their rights to involvement in decision-making processes about their care? What is the meaning and value of the concept of participation from service users’ own perspectives? And what are the gains of involving these young people in decision-making processes about their care? The research involved in-depth qualitative interviews with twenty young service users and ten practitioners. Three theoretical frameworks underpin the study; a constructivist approach to childhood; sociological approaches to agency, and discourses of children’s participation rights. The analysis of data was informed by both narrative and grounded theory approaches. The thesis argues that young people’s perspectives on professional welfare, though rarely recorded or allowed to inform policy and best practice, shed new insight onto the efficacy and limitations of existing child protection practice with adolescents at risk of sexual exploitation. Consideration is given to how young people experience and respond to services, including their decisions about disengaging from or circumventing professional support. The thesis concludes that these demonstrations of agency and power, though often interpreted as deviant, are essentially rational and often protective. Through this lens young people’s agency is recognised as a resource rather than a problem. The thesis concludes by arguing that the ability of support services to protect young people affected by sexual exploitation is contingent on the degree to which they involve young people in decision-making about their care. Rather than standing in opposition to paternalistic approaches to protection, the narratives suggest that participation and empowerment are necessary conditions of a protective service, especially for those considered most marginalized or vulnerable

Providing safe and supported accommodation for young people who are in the care system and who are at risk of, or experiencing, sexual exploitation or trafficking for sexual exploitation

This report presents the findings of a scoping study into accommodation for young people at risk of/experiencing sexual exploitation. The scoping study took place January to March 2011 and included a literature search, consultation with young people, consultation with practitioners and development of a full research proposal. The research was funded by the NSPCC

The AVA project : empowering young people to address domestic and sexual violence : final evaluation report

The AVA Project: Empowering young people to address domestic and sexual violence (hereafter referred to as ‘the Project’) was developed and led by AVA, a UK charity committed to ending gender based violence and abuse. The overarching aim of the project was: “to deliver therapeutic group-work and leadership development to disadvantaged and marginalised young people to improve their understanding of domestic and sexual violence, to improve their emotional wellbeing and to empower them to influence peers and advocate for the needs of themselves and others within social care and education services”. The project defined itself as underpinned by a number of key values including: youth work (specifically the principle of voluntary engagement); participation; and feminist practice. It was funded for £298,254 over three years by Big Lottery: Reaching Communities Fund, commencing in April 2013 and, with a short project extension continued until July 2016. The project was delivered in five local sites (localities) across England, through two distinct though related models: MODEL 1: ‘Peer Education’ - a therapeutic group-work model across two project sites focused on improving emotional wellbeing and awareness of domestic and sexual violence (DSV). MODEL 2: ‘Youth leadership’ - a youth leadership project to improve young people’s emotional wellbeing, their understanding of domestic and sexual violence (DSV) and that of their peers, whilst increasing opportunities for, and the abilities of, young people to influence services aimed at them in relation to DSV

Learning about online sexual harm

This research was commissioned by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (the Inquiry), as part of its investigation into institutional responses to child sexual abuse and exploitation facilitated by the internet. It was a small-scale, mixed-methods study which aimed to explore children’s and young people’s perspectives on: being online; risks of online sexual harm; education received about online sexual harm within state school settings; how such education could be improved; and what else should be done to better protect children and young people from online sexual harm

Sexual exploitation and its impact on developing sexualities and sexual relationships: the need for contextual social work interventions

This article considers how young people’s developing sexualities are influenced by extra-familial social and cultural contexts, particularly in relation to experiences of sexual violence. It draws upon young people’s voices to illustrate the choices they make when they encounter, or engage with, exploitative contexts. Utilising the cumulative evidence base of our studies into sexual exploitation, trafficking and violence over the past ten years, we employ Bourdieu’s theory of the interplay between structure and agency to elucidate the relationship between young people’s choices and abusive social environments. When navigating or engaging with exploitative contexts, young people’s sexualities can be distorted through abusive normalising processes; coercive practices; professional attitudes which condone abuse; and/or structural inequalities that call for survivalist behaviours amongst young people. In exploring this social model of consent, we highlight the need to move beyond one to one (1:1) social work practices to engage with situations, contexts and relationships that disrupt young people’s developing sexualities. Such an adaptation of social work practice would adopt principles of ‘contextual safeguarding’ and we conclude by offering illustrations of interventions that have begun to explore this developmental pathway

Being heard: promoting children and young people’s involvement in participatory research on sexual violence: findings from an international scoping review

This report shares findings from an international scoping review conducted on the engagement of children and young people in participatory research on sexual violence. The report discusses a range of ethical and practical challenges of involving vulnerable children and young people in participatory research on sensitive issues and draws out key considerations for research practice

Research into gang-associated sexual exploitation and sexual violence : interim report

The research has been commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England (OCC) as part of their Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups (CSEGG).This report presents the interim findings of a two year study into gang-associated sexual exploitation and violenc

"It's wrong - but you get used to it" : a qualitative study of gang-associated sexual violence towards, and exploitation of, young people in England

A report commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and GroupsThe research was commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England as part of its Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. The research aimed to consider: the scale and nature of gang-associated sexual violence and exploitation in six areas of England; the main pathways into gang-related sexual violence and exploitation for young people living in these neighbourhoods; and potential models for an effective multi-agency response to the issue