Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation
REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS
The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011:
Regulation 11 - Independent fostering agencies—duty to secure welfare
Regulation 12 - Arrangements for the protection of children
Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards
STANDARD 4 - Safeguarding Children
STANDARD 29 - Notifications of Significant Events
RELEVANT INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE
Contents
- Introduction - What is Child Sexual Exploitation?
- Signs of Sexual Exploitation and Sharing Concerns
- How Carers can Support Children
- Children and Young People who go Missing
- Training Requirements and Support
1. Introduction - What is Child Sexual Exploitation?
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a form of child sexual abuse. It can take many different forms. It can include contact or non contact activities and can take place online or in person, or a combination of both. Any child or young person can be sexually exploited, regardless of their background; both boys and girls can be abused in this way.
The UK Government’s current definition, applying in England is that child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology. (Working Together to Safeguard Children).
Often children and young people are groomed into sexually exploitative relationships by people who have manipulated the child or young person to believe they are in a relationship with them. They may have been bullied and threatened into sexual activities by peers or gangs which is then used against them as a form of extortion and to keep them compliant.
Children who are experiencing child sexual exploitation may also experience multiple and overlapping harms simultaneously, including criminal exploitation, domestic abuse, online abuse, trafficking, emotional abuse, harmful sexual behaviour, coercive control, serious youth violence and mental health issues.
Individual needs of the child or young person in relation to all their personal characteristics, including ethnicity, culture, gender and sexuality, are particularly significant where child sexual exploitation is present and should be part of the care plan. The risk assessment needs to consider all of these factors, the interplay of risk and protective elements on the current risk to the child or young person.
A child may have already been sexually exploited before they were admitted to the foster home; others may become targets of perpetrators during their placement. Child sexual exploitation is NEVER the child's fault, all children and young people under the age of 18 have a right to be safe and protected from harm.
Children cannot consent to their own abuse. Professional judgement and knowledge of exploitation, abuse, and trauma can be used to reframe what has been said and remove blame from the victim
1.1 Who is at Risk?
Any child or young person can be a victim of exploitation and abuse. However, some people are often not recognised as victims. Sometimes internal bias, or even prejudice, can impact how professionals identify and respond to victims.
1.2 Adultification of Child Victims
Adultification is a type of bias which skews the perception of certain children, leading to others, including some professionals, viewing them as more ‘grown up’ or ‘adult’, which can lead to lapses in safeguarding and unfair treatment.
Adultification can affect children of all ethnicities and can be associated with other factors such as poverty, homelessness, children in care or children involved in the criminal justice system.
1.3 Definitions
Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is an umbrella term that includes different types of abuse, including intrafamilial CSA, online CSA and child sexual exploitation.
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a subset of child sexual abuse involving a power imbalance and the coercion or manipulation of a child into sexual activity in exchange for something the child needs or wants.
Group-based child sexual exploitation (group-based CSE) is a subset of child sexual exploitation where two or more perpetrators are involved.
Online child sexual exploitation can be particularly challenging to identify and respond to. Technology enables perpetrators to contact multiple potential victims at any given time. It also offers a perception of anonymity, for both children and young people and perpetrators, making it easier to say and do things online that they wouldn't do offline. Online exploitation may occur alongside offline abuse, and foster carers should consider how online contact, grooming, coercion, image sharing and extortion may facilitate in-person harm.
Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion, commonly referred to as “sextortion,” is a serious form of online exploitation and blackmail in which offenders threaten to release intimate images or videos of a victim unless the victim pays money or complies with other demands. Perpetrators often use fear, intimidation, and humiliation to coerce victims into providing additional explicit content, sending money, or continuing communication. These incidents frequently occur through social media platforms, messaging applications, dating websites, online gaming platforms, and email.
2. Signs of Sexual Exploitation and Sharing Concerns
Foster carers are in a good position to notice the changes in behaviour and physical signs which can indicate involvement in sexual exploitation. To keep children and young people safe, and prevent serious harm it is important to try and identify children at risk of harm from sexual exploitation at the earliest opportunity.
Children will often demonstrate their distress through external behaviours as a way of communicating to the outside world that something is wrong.
Sometimes, particularly with boys, this distress may be displayed through aggressive, harmful or challenging behaviour in school or at home, including running away, substance use or displaying harmful sexual behaviour.
Young people's offending behaviour should be understood in the context of wider issues and experiences, such as previous abuse or trauma, which may include experiences of being subject to child sexual exploitation and/or exploiting other children.
Looked After Children can be more vulnerable to exploitation, as are those with special needs and migrant or unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
It can be difficult for children to tell their foster carers that they are being sexually exploited; initially they may not recognise that they are being abused. Once they are being sexually exploited, threats from their abusers or feeling that may be in some way to blame for their own abuse can make it difficult for a child/young person to ask for help.
The key signs that a child or young person is being sexually exploited are:
- Unexplained money or gifts
- Going missing (for short and long periods), or during the course of the school day
- Being distressed or withdrawn on their return home
- Secrecy around new friends
- Having additional mobile phones, or worrying use of the internet
- Sexual health problems, including pregnancy
- Changes in behaviour/emotional wellbeing
- Drug or alcohol misuse
- Secretive behaviour
- Involvement in criminal activity
- Unexplained physical injuries.
Foster carers should record details of any concerns they have as this can help identify patterns of behaviour, including potential perpetrators and other child who may be at risk. Concerns should also be shared with the child's allocated social worker or the Children's Social Care Emergency Duty Team (if outside of working hours). If you have concerns that a child is in immediate danger, always ring 999.
3. How Carers can Support Children
If concerns about child sexual exploitation were identified before the child is placed with foster carers, their Placement Plan should contain details of the day to day arrangements which have been agreed between the foster carers/the Agency and the placing authority - to keep the child safe.
If a foster carer has concerns that a child is being sexually exploited or is at risk of being exploited, they should always share these with the child's allocated social worker and their supervising social worker or the Agency, so that action can be taken to safeguard the child. Sexual exploitation of a child who is in foster care is considered a 'significant event' and must be reported to Ofsted by the Agency.
Remember if there are any concerns that a child is in immediate danger, always ring 999.
Strategies for supporting children:
- Building positive relationships with children is vital to identifying sexual exploitation and supporting children through their experiences:
- Foster carers should be supportive, non judgemental and ready to listen to children when and if they need to talk
- Foster carers should look beyond challenging behaviour; if children are aggressive, secretive or going missing ask what might be going on in their lives?
- Share information - When children who are known to be at risk of sexual exploitation go missing, this should be reported promptly to the police and the child's social worker so they can take action to locate them and return them to safety
- Whenever children who have been missing return to the foster home they should be made welcome and offered care and support
- Building good links with the child's education providers will help to ensure that foster carers are notified promptly if a child does not arrive at their education establishment so protective can be taken.
Caring for a child who is being sexually exploited can be a stressful and upsetting experience, and foster carers should be supported in this role by the Agency. A good effective risk assessment in the placement plan is key to safeguarding the child or young person. This needs to be reviewed regularly by the multi-disciplinary team to make sure the plan is current and supportive of child/young person and the foster carers.
For some children, a move to a different foster home may need to be considered to keep the child or young person safe. This should be discussed with the child, their parents / carers, the child's allocated social worker, the foster carers, the supervising social worker and the Independent Reviewing Officer.
For children who are leaving care, the Personal Adviser and/or Adult Social Care worker should be made aware of the concerns so that they can continue to offer support when the young person moves to other accommodation.
3.1 Impact of Victim Blaming Language
Victim blaming language refers to any language that implies, intentionally or unintentionally, that the child is responsible in any way for abuse and crime that they are subjected to, and must be avoided to make sure that they are safeguarded appropriately.
It is important to recognise that a child cannot consent to their own harm. When appropriate language and terminology are used, victims of exploitation and abuse are more likely to feel heard and that their experiences are being recognised.
Language should accurately reflect the behaviours and actions of perpetrators rather than implying responsibility on the part of the child.
As language evolves, phrases that were once commonly accepted may no longer be appropriate. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain an open and reflective attitude to make sure that language evolves in a way that supports and respects all individuals.
4. Children and Young People who go Missing
A significant number of children and young people who are being sexually exploited may go missing from their foster home or school/education provider. Some go missing frequently; and the more often they go missing the more vulnerable they are to being sexually exploited. If a child goes missing, the Missing Children Procedure should be followed.
5. Training Requirements and Support
The Agency should provide good quality training to foster carers undertaking this support so foster carers know how to prevent, recognise and support the child or young person with sexual exploitation. Foster carers and the Agency must understand the important of effective Multi-Agency planning with all partners (children's social care, education and the police) to try and disrupt the abuse as well as ensuring the young person is supported.