Who Needs to be Involved in Safeguarding Sexually Exploited Young People?

• NCJ Number: 216543
• Journal: Child Abuse Review Volume: 15 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2006 Pages: 326-340
• Author(s): Jenny Pearce
• Date Published: September 2006
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article examines whether there are understandings of sexual exploitation that do not fit so comfortably within the child protection framework and whether a professional’s attempt to support a sexually exploited young person disables them from being an active agent involved in their own change.

Abstract

When a young person’s progressive stage of transition from child to adult is interrupted by manipulative adults’ intent on using the young person’s anxiety to create deeper rifts between the child and their support structures, the already difficult transition is made harder to manage. They require continual support within a welfare framework that is sensitive to their rebellion, not a punitive response. In addition, the child protection procedures need to be informed by policies and practices guiding those professionals working with victims of domestic violence. This latter approach accepts that the young person may not be able to be rescued, that they may repeatedly return to an abusive relationship. Yet, with supported housing, self-help support groups and an open-door approach to service may help the young person make more informed decisions about their own future. The young person’s different behaviors need to be seen as part of a long continuum within which a range of different non-punitive support services play a part. Sexual exploitation must be recognized and understood by a full range of services for children and young people. The current professional discourses of sexual exploitation see young people as victims of child sexual abuse. In the United Kingdom, sexually exploited young people are supported through intervention coordinated by Local Authority Safeguarding Children Boards. This article explores whether the dominant perception of sexually exploited young people as victims of abuse may firstly, allow some service providers “off the hook,” suggesting that central responsibility comes from child protection agencies and secondly, perpetuate a potentially limiting perception of young people as passive victims, inhibiting them from challenging the many forms of exploitation. References