Carlene Firmin MBE Head of the MsUnderstood Partnership

 Protecting from what: case studies of CSE  Tier 1: Prevention as protection  Tier 2: Early help as protection  Tier 3: Intervention as protection  Tier 4: Exit as protection  Tier 5: Recovery and protection  Models of CSE and implications for protection  What’s worked well  Current challenges – protection from individuals, groups and spaces  Implications for policy and practice BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Oxford Dictionary noun  [mass noun] the action of protecting, or the state of being protected: FOR EXAMPLE: the B vitamins give protection against infection OR his son was put under police protection [count noun] (usually protections) a legal or other formal measure intended to preserve civil liberties and UNCRC Article 34:States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Ruth is 13 years old and living in residential care  Is groomed by a 20 year old male and perceives him as her boyfriend  The 20 year old male the passes Ruth onto a wider network of adult men  Ruth is trafficked around the country to ‘parties’ where she is sold for sexual activity  The network makes financial gain from the exploitation  Alcohol, threats and violence are used to ensure compliance  8 men are convicted once Ruth is an adult, Ruth now lives in another part of the country BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Mark is 15 years old and lives with his parents  He strikes up a ‘friendship’ with an older man who recognises that Mark identifies as a ‘gay young man’  Mark is groomed by the older man for two years before sexual activity starts  The older man then takes Mark to the houses of his friends to whom he sells Mark  Mark’s parent’s threaten a forced marriage when they find out and Mark is taken into care  The older man, and his friends, are yet to be charged or prosecuted BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Aged 11 and in first year of secondary school  Makes friends with a group of boys aged all of whom are gang-associated and linked to adult gang members  Over a 10 month period is sexually exploited by ten of these boys (alongside other peers)  Public space sexual violence  Coercion into offending (robbery and weapon carrying)  Threats online and in person  Physical violence and emotional abuse  Three boys convicted and Cecile moved BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Ruth  Mark  Cecile  AND THEIR PEERS BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Cecile, Ruth and Mark would have been protected if their exploitation had been prevented in the first place through:  PSHE  Identification of CSA  Support in relation to sexuality and identity  Whole school approaches to gender equality  Identification and apprehension of adults who pose a risk to children (both the boys and the girls) BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Cecile, Ruth and Mark would have been protected if early-help had been offered to address their vulnerability through:  Treatment and support for impact of CSA  Interruption of recruitment of ‘gang members’  Youth service provision and spaces for conversation  Response to school absence BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Cecile and Mark received an intervention following/during their exploitation and were protected from some aspects of their abuse:  Both were referred to specialist sexual violence and exploitation services  These services took a therapeutic approach to working with them and focused on securing safety and stabilisation  In Cecile’s case some of the those who had exploited her were arrested and remanded in custody  Harassment and abduction notices, plus licensing also used BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Cecile and Mark were offered exit strategies as part of their protection:  Cecile and her family were moved out of the area that she lived in, and Cecile was later taken into care  Mark was taken into local authority care and placed in a residential children’s home outside of the area he lived  Ruth moved of her own accord as she got older BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

In order to protect Cecile, Ruth and Mark from re-victimisation and on-going trauma, the following issues needed to be addressed:  Emerging personality disorder (Ruth)  Coping strategies: cutting (Ruth, Cecile), alcohol use (Ruth)  Eating-Disorder (Mark)  Disengagement from education (all three) BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Containment  Re-victimisation through networks  Unsafe neighbourhoods or schools (movement from home or school environment)  Work with young people who are exploiting  Protection of bystanders and witnesses  Protection without the criminal justice process? BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

FOCUSED AT THE INTERVENTION STAGE  Disruption of adult offenders  Monitoring of online spaces  Movement when required  Use of licensing  Increased awareness and alertness as a result or public debate  Pockets of specialist interventions BASW Oct 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

 Risk permeates environments, networks and groups – challenge in containment  Re-engagement in education and peer groups  Measuring vulnerabilities and/or strengths as a mean of protection  Engagement with bystanders as means of protection  Creating ‘victim vacuums’ rather than changing the space at all  GAPS: Prevention, early-help, exit and recovery BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR

Social Field - (Society UK) Social field - (neighbourhood) Social field - (school) Social Agent (peer group) Social field - (home) Social Agent/Habitus (child) - EXPERIENCE - POWER - SAFETY - GENDER - HARM

BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR Sexual Exploitation Violence against women Youth Violence Missing children

BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR Vulnerable adolescents vs. Vulnerable children Risk outside the home vs. Risk within the home Abuse by young people vs. Abuse by adults Unsafe social spaces vs. Unsafe individuals

Carlene Firmin MBE +44 (0) BASW OCt 2013 Presentation - NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITH CONSENT OF AUTHOR