A qualitative study of the practices and experiences of staff in multidisciplinary child sexual exploitation partnerships in three English coastal towns

Polly Radcliffe,Charlotte Tompkins,Alastair Roy,Christine Barter,Matthew Brooks

doi:10.1111/spol.12600

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents findings from a qualitative study of the practices and experiences of people working in multidisciplinary child sexual exploitation (CSE) partnerships in three coastal towns in England. The study is based on focus groups conducted with 36 practitioners from a range of professional groups, including police, social work, substance misuse, education, specialist youth workers, sexual health, and statutory and non‐statutory children's services. The article begins with an overview of the three towns and the structure of their responses to CSE. It goes on to explore a range of factors, which contribute to the local issues around CSE and which affect and direct multiagency working. These include practitioner perspectives on CSE vulnerability, the discrepancy between young peoples' and practitioners' views about “exploitation”, a discussion of how CSE perpetrators initiate and develop contact with young people and the role of incentives—including drugs and alcohol—as part of CSE exploitation. We finish by drawing out some general conclusions.

Highlights

This article explores practitioners' understandings of the contribution of a range of factors that contribute to the local issues around child sexual exploitation (CSE) in three coastal towns in England
Key strategic objectives include: identifying those at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation and those who sexually exploit; prevention of harm for children, young people and vulnerable adults who are at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation; safeguarding and supporting all those identified as being at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation and to investigate, disrupt and prosecute perpetrators of sexual exploitation
In order to explore participants' understandings of the relationship between substance use and CSE, questions were asked about whether and how substances and substance use is involved in CSE, how and whether young people's leisure activities and leisure spaces are involved in CSE, the characteristics of local drug markets, and the strategies in place locally to address CSE

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

This article explores practitioners' understandings of the contribution of a range of factors that contribute to the local issues around child sexual exploitation (CSE) in three coastal towns in England. Multiagency teams in England have been established through local Safeguarding Boards (SCBs) and Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs (MASH; Home Office, 2017) to provide a more coordinated response to children and young people experiencing abuse, including CSE. This strategy provides the framework for different agencies to share information and knowledge to support the development of both preventative targeting of “hot-spots”, as well as providing direct services to CSE victims (Barnardo's, 2012). In the three towns where we conducted focus groups, models of addressing CSE are characterised by partnerships between police and local safeguarding children's boards, working with a range of social care agencies, and all three areas have multi-agency, information sharing fora. Key strategic objectives include: identifying those at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation and those who sexually exploit; prevention of harm for children, young people and vulnerable adults who are at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation; safeguarding and supporting all those identified as being at risk of or experiencing sexual exploitation and to investigate, disrupt and prosecute perpetrators of sexual exploitation

| Aims

| Participants

| Procedure and data analysis

| RESULTS

Findings

| CONCLUSIONS