Conducting surveys on violence against children in the UK Joseph Traynor - Deputy Head Crime Statistics Office for National Statistics – London UK October 2018

Intergenerational abuse

Overview UK & International context Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) Questions design Ethical and other considerations

UK context An awareness, particularly among the public, driven by high profile scandals Controversies suggested that institutional responses were neither robust nor proactive. Increased reporting of historical offences Lack of knowledge and understanding

International context Global SDG indicator framework adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017. The UK aims to make full use of crime surveys which are likely to be the main source of data for reporting on at least 3 main indicators: SDG 16.2.1 Proportion of children aged 1-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month SDG 16.2.3 Proportion of young women and men aged 18‑29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18 SDG 16.3.1 Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms

Crime Survey for England and Wales Crime Survey is a large nationally representative sample survey of 38,500 respondents One adult aged over 16 selected per household, and one child aged between 10 and 15. Interviews take place in people’s own homes with the fieldwork undertaken by external research agency (KANTAR PUBLIC=) Conducted by face-to-face using trained interviewers and a structured questionnaire which includes a self completion module Realised the Crime Survey for England and Wales could be adapted to ask adults a series of questions about abuse experienced as a child

Child abuse in UK Four components of abuse: Psychological Physical Sexual Witnessing domestic violence Policy needs for data: Prevalence Nature of the abuse Age the abuse started stopped Victim perpetrator relationship Reporting rates and reason for not reporting Reaction of the authorities

Question design In designing the questions, a number of techniques were used: Cognitive interviews in the home All interviews digitally recorded and data entered into a bespoke analytic framework which summarises the issue and the cognitive concerns (comprehension, recall, judgement, response), alongside other factors such as logical ordering or socio-linguistic interpretation. Interview debriefings Pilot testing

Question design Self completion module at end of survey Questions asked in direct fashion Use of clear non emotive language Questions ordered in a general direction of severity: Psychological Physical Sexual Witnessing domestic violence

Adult Survey ethical and other considerations Ensure a safe interview environment Ensure the respondent is completely aware of the nature of the questions, and the confidential way in which the data will be held Ensure that wherever possible the respondent's reaction to the questions has been thought about Need to consider the interviewer’s role, and their responsibilities

Interview Environment Trained interviewers offering a private and secure environment Computer assisted self interviewing technique employed

Respondent awareness of the nature of the questions and confidentiality Clear introductory section A description of the nature of the questions, and what the respondent will be asked A description of how to end the interview if the respondent becomes upset or does not want to continue Information letting the respondent know they can ask the interviewer for help at any time to terminate the interview If not already provided, an assurance of the confidential nature in which the data will be stored and used

Respondent’s reaction Interviewers trained in how to respond when a respondent becomes upset Set of interview materials including information which can be left with the respondent detailing where further help can be sought Liaison with charities so they are informed of the survey and what to do if a victim contacts them following the survey

Responsibility to the interviewer Interviewers placed in a difficult situation and safeguarding issues need to be considered Interviewers must report any emergency to relevant authorities In all other incidents any responsibility is taken away from the interviewer. Interviewers must report all non emergency issues immediately to head office, where a panel of experts will discuss the issue and take any decision on behalf of the organisation and the interviewer

Results

Adults reporting abuse as a child: Prevalence rates by type of abuse and sex

Adults reporting abuse as a child: Prevalence rates for sexual assault, by sex

Sexual assault by rape or penetration (inc. attempts) Adults reporting abuse as a child: Relationship to perpetrator, Type of sexual assault Sexual assault by rape or penetration (inc. attempts) 30% Friend or acquaintance 26% Family member other than parent or step-parent 14% Stranger Other sexual assault 42% Stranger 23% Friend or Acquaintance 16% Family member other than parent or step-parent

Adults reporting abuse as a child: Sexual assault by rape or penetration (including attempts) – Reporting rates Three quarters (74%) did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time it occurred Only 7% reported the incident to the police at the time

The results Following publication, the results received widespread media coverage. Used by Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The lead Home Office Minister, Sarah Newton, said: “Having a comprehensive national picture of the scale of these types of crimes is crucial to tackling the problem and protecting our children…… I welcome the ONS’s report.” Now working with the NSPCC to undertake further analysis of the data looking at the relationship between child abuse and abuse as an adult.

New development work by ONS New module of questions developed for the current survey covering new areas of study – Abuse by peers, institutional abuse, and online abuse Feasibility study as to whether a survey of young adults and/or children will provide robust data on child abuse. New module of questions on children’s survey in relation to online behaviour including sexting, and meeting strangers over the internet Plan to publish full range of administrative data together in one place Investigate Multiple System Estimation techniques in measuring child abuse, by operating a pilot study in one region in England

Concluding remarks Prevalence studies reach somewhat different estimates on the scale of child abuse, in large part due to different definitions and methodological approaches. Administrative data tells us how many cases are being reported or identified and recorded, but it remains the case that much child abuse remains hidden Data on online is largely missing in prevalence studies In relation to SDG indicators surveys do offer a viable way forward