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Victims of child sexual exploitation are being failed – says new University of Bedfordshire study

What's going on to safeguard children and young people from sexual exploitation

Fri 14th October, 2011

Victims of child sexual exploitation are being failed by Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs), according to a new study by the University of Bedfordshire.

  • only a quarter of LSCBs in England are implementing the guidance appropriately
  •  young people, their families and carers receive awareness raising in less than half of the country
  • the prosecution of abusers is rare and, where criminal proceedings take place, young people’s experience of court can be intolerable

These are just some of the disturbing findings uncovered in the two-year report What’s going on to safeguard children and young people from sexual exploitation which is being launched on Friday, 14 October in London.

The research, funded by Comic Relief, was carried out by Sue Jago and Professor Jenny Pearce from the International Centre for the Study of Sexually Exploited and Trafficked young people – an applied social research centre based at the University.

Professor Pearce and Sue Jago said: “This is a unique and important piece of work which shows child sexual exploitation is child abuse and many LSCBs are failing its victims. Our research shows there are pockets of good practice but this is not being shared across the country.

“As well as key findings we have drawn up a list of 11 key recommendations which we hope will raise more awareness of this disturbing issue and bring it to the top of children’s services’ agendas.”

The study set out to create a national record of the number of young people at risk of, or being sexually exploited, to learn from good practice and to set up a data monitoring tool.

LSCBs are the key statutory mechanism for agreeing how the relevant organisations in each local area will cooperate to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and for ensuring the effectiveness of what they do.

Questionnaires were sent to 144 LSCBs in England. A total of 100 were completed. Follow up interviews took place in 24 areas resulting in 89 interviews. A total of 1065 cases from 33 agencies in nine regions were monitored.

The study found:

  • Three quarters of LSCBs are not proactive in implementing the 2009 guidance
  • Only a quarter of the country has current protocols with coordinators to oversee the work in operation
  • Just over one third (38 of 100) of the survey respondents has a sub group in place addressing sexual exploitation and a specialist project providing services for young people
  • Well over half (64 of 100) of the survey respondents had ‘no plans’ to appoint a coordinator and a third reported that they have ‘no plans’ for developing a protocol or strategy, with some overtly stating that child sexual exploitation was not a priority for them
  • Data collection and monitoring is piecemeal and inadequate
  • Child sexual exploitation takes place in many ways. There is no one model of how young people are sexually exploited and no one method of coercion. While exploitation by an older boy/girlfriend was noted most frequently (137 of 439 cases), a total of 27 per cent of the cases noted peer on peer exploitation. Sexual exploitation is occurring within gang affected neighbourhoods.
  • A high proportion of sexually exploited young people ‘go missing’ while some are purposefully trafficked within the UK for sexual exploitation usually without intelligence sharing between professionals in different areas
  • A disproportionate number of sexually exploited young people are looked after by the local authority, and a disproportionate number are placed in residential care although care homes are known to be ‘targets’ for exploiters 
  • Many young people identified as at risk of or experiencing child sexual exploitation also experienced a range of other problems. These problems may have resulted from sexual exploitation, or may increase the vulnerability of the young people to this form of abuse. 

Key recommendations nationally include:

  • A review of the court process for child sexual exploitation
  • Training on child sexual exploitation for LSCB chairs, Directors of Children’s Services and in core curriculum for all child care professionals
  •  Each LSCB to monitor and submit annual data
  •  Inspections of LSCBs progress in protecting children from sexual exploitation
  •  A review of ‘safe’ accommodation
  • The report also recommends at a local level that each LSCB:
  • Has a multiagency strategy
  •  Uses the study’s self-assessment tool and reports progress
  •  Completes annual monitoring
  •  Has a co-located team

Professor Pearce and Sue Jago have, with Professor John Pitts, now been commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) to look into gang-associated sexual exploitation of children and young people as part of its national inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups (CSEGG) also being launched on Friday, 14 October.

Professor Pearce said: “It is the first time that research has fully explored how child protection and community safety strategies can work together to prevent gang-associated sexual exploitation. We are delighted to have been commissioned to do this research and look forward to working with the OCC on this project.”

Download the full report here - PDF 2.2 MB

Bedfordshire University

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