Advancing the assessment of child sexual exploitation: a rapid evidence review and preliminary validation of the CASEE structured professional judgement tool

Children and adolescents make up the greatest proportion of sexual assault victims reported to law enforcement, and victims are overwhelmingly female. Nearly all known perpetrators of contact sexual abuse or assault are male, and only a very small percentage of perpetrators of sexual violence against children are strangers. Perpetrators of child sexual abuse or assault are usually family members or acquaintances of the child or family. However, incidence, prevalence, and recurrence of child sexual victimization vary depending on the definition of sexual victimization, population being studied, and source of data. In the United States, two federally sponsored surveillance efforts compile and report data on incidence of child maltreatment: the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), which compiles data annually on the incidence of CSA from Child Protective Services (CPS), and the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS), which compiles data every decade from CPS and other “sentinel” agencies such as public schools, medical facilities, and law enforcement agencies. Because of the differing ways these surveillance efforts capture and count cases of CSA, true incidence numbers are difficult to determine; it is generally acknowledged that official reports to CPS, law enforcement, and known mandated reporters represent a fraction of childhood sexual victimization. In addition to the more familiar forms of CSA, such as unwanted touching and forced or coerced sex, commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) of children is also a serious problem. CSE includes the recruiting, transporting, or maintaining of a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including prostitution, exchange of sexual acts for something of value, pornography, or performances at sexual venues. Child advocates are also increasingly becoming more aware of how Internet access and technology has helped facilitate online sexual grooming, sexual harassment, and CSE of children around the world.

This narrative review of theory introduces the basis for a new assessment tool; the CASEE (Child Adolescent Sexual Exploitation Evaluation, Ireland, Lewis & Ireland, 2023), which is then illustrated using a case study approach. The CASEE considers the vulnerability and protective factors for children and young people where concerns of child sexual exploitation (CSE) have been raised. Such concerns can include known exposure to CSE, suspected or a potential risk of exposure. The CASEE considers various vulnerability and protective factor items, developed from research involving the CASEE authors, and in response to additional research in the field. A child/young person is rated for the presenting evidence of several vulnerability factors that could present as a heightened risk of exposure to CSE, alongside protective factors that can buffer against these concerns. A key component of the CASEE is completion of an individualised formulation of understanding as to what can exacerbate vulnerabilities, alongside consideration of risk scenarios for how vulnerability can present. The aim is to understand vulnerabilities around the time of CSE concerns, and how protective factors can be maximised to safeguard the child/young person. The plans for validation of the CASEE are outlined.

ABSTRACTThis study includes a vertical analysis of the legal framework regarding the sexual abuse and exploitation of children on the internet. It starts with the examination of the international legal instruments for then continuing with the legislation of Kosovo by evaluating its compliance with these international legal standards in the fight against online sexual exploitation of children while trying to draw recommendations for future development. Finally, the paper includes an empirical part based on interviews with law enforcement. Detecting sexual exploitation of children on the internet is not as easy as detecting offline sexual exploitation. There are no available statistics on the scale of online child sexual abuse in Kosovo, but it is well-known among law-enforcement agents that a large gap exists between the number of reported cases and the actual cases. This discrepancy happens for various reasons and factors which will be further explained in this paper through the analyses of the interviews conducted with the prosecutors and investigators of Kosovo in charge of the investigation of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation cases.

New Horizons for the Journal: Familiar Landscapes in Child Protection

Comparative healthcare use by adolescents screening positive for sexual exploitation

The CASEE is an empirically and theoretically developed structured professional judgement tool that can assist professionals in the assessment of vulnerability and protective factors in children aged 11 to 17 years, in relation to Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). Specifically the CASEE can be used with children who are at risk of CSE, those suspected of being at risk of CSE and those exposed to CSE. Based in theory and drawing extensively on published literature, the CASEE comprises 18 vulnerability items and eight protective factor items. Each item contains a description offering brief context and theory, outlining its association with CSE, followed by scoring details for each. This is followed by a formulation template and scenario planning to assist in the management of concerns. The manual contains all the materials needed to use the tool. The manual is published in English and is intended to be used by those with a foundation and maintained knowledge of the CSE literature, those with experience of working with young people who fit the age range of the CASEE, and those with a foundational knowledge of interviewing, assessing and/or working with this population. In the absence of this, there is an expectation that they receive supervision from someone meeting this criteria. If the CASEE is being used for non-clinical/non-practice etc purposes (e.g., such as research) then requirements may be less. Training in the CASEE is recommended and can be sourced by contacting TIOFP www.tiofp.com email: tiofp@tiofp.com. Each manual costs £70.00 (GPB) and cannot be copied or distributed without written permission from the authors/TIOFP. Purchased copies will be forwarded to the address listed on the payment form. Bulk and individual orders can be made by contacting tiofp@tiofp.com in the first instance.

ABSTRACTAs reflected in the Pacific nation of Solomon Islands (SI), child trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) represent global problems with serious ramifications for community development. While acknowledging the deployment of internationalist, “child rights” interventions combined with top-down legislative provisions, this article revisits the possibility of positive, community-based strategies. Having appraised problematic contexts of the SI economy, society, and culture, it advances a comprehensive theoretical platform to facilitate a practice approach using customary and local measures to foster the status of women and children, counter CSEC, and advance community relations. Explained at both national and local scales, the methodology is presented for review prior to implementation. If successful, it is likely to have wide application in other afflicted societies.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a global public health crisis. CSEC is defined as the use of a child under the age of 18 years in a range of crimes and activities involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of the child for the financial benefit of any person or in exchange for anything of value given or received by any person. CSEC is a problem of epidemic proportions throughout the world including the United States. It is difficult to determine the true number of CSEC victims in the United States. However, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children states that, in 2021, more than 17,200 reports of child sex trafficking were received from all 50 U.S. states and estimates that of the 25,000 children reported missing, one in six were likely victims of sex trafficking. CSEC can result in significant physical and mental health consequences for victims, even death. Studies indicate that CSEC victims are consumers of healthcare. Up to this point, the focus of healthcare related to CSEC has primarily been upon recognizing red flags that should raise CSEC concerns and the identification of victims. Although victim identification is critical, it is time for forensic nurses to understand their role in the prevention of CSEC. This narrative review will discuss the prevention of CSEC using a multitiered healthcare approach.

Background: Carraig Mor Psychiatric Intensive care unit has developed a Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) approach for mental health service users with complex needs. The aim of FACT is to reduce readmissions and increase voluntary engagement with mental health services through increased levels of outpatient care. FACT combines two approaches within one multidisciplinary team: Individual case management: A more intensive flexible approach for patients at times of need. FACT is a versatile and comprehensive model with continuity of care as its cornerstone; as service user’s needs fluctuate they remain under the care of the same team who adapt their approach to meet changing needs (Drukker, Visser, Sytema, & van Os, 2013) Rationale: One of the essential components of the FACT approach is the ability to confidently make decisions around risk. This is often under difficult circumstances and sometimes will involve using incomplete, conflicting and unconfirmed information. Historically, this has led to mental health practitioners becoming risk averse resulting in extended involuntary admissions due to perceived risk. This is especially true in case management where physical or sexual violence has to be considered. These factors can cause decision making to become paralysed. Such fears can become a significant barrier to recovery, denying service users opportunities to reach their full potential. Structured Professional Judgment: The Carraig Mor FACT team utilise a structured professional judgment (SPJ) approach to aid decision making. SPJ provides a transparent structure that gives explicit instructions and recommendations for the process of identifying risk factors and protective factors unique to the individual service users. It further allows the combining and understanding of this information to aid decision making by means of risk formulation and scenario planning. Decision Making: Formulation is the process of making sense of the complex interactions between different sources of information, including from clinical interview, scales and collateral reports, while identifying potential causation. Examples of this approach include the HCR-20 & RSVP. Risk formulation describes how and why people make decisions to engage in violence, and seeks to understand the various factors that influence their decision making. In practice, risk formulation examines protective factors and destabilising factors unique to the individual service user to inform decision making and individual care planning. Scenario planning is a process of developing several possible futures and individual care or safety plans to meet the potential needs of these hypothetical situations. Conclusion: Labelling and stigma are not confined to diagnosis of mental illness; service users with complex presentations which include histories of violence or sexual offending are often perceived to be dangerous outside the context of the violent event. Risk formulation allows mental health practitioners to make decisions based around service user needs without becoming fixated upon previous offending. Furthermore, it allows for the identification and implementation of protective factors which support the service user to continue through the care pathway unimpeded by stigma and to reach their full potential of personal recovery.

This article reviews the legal framework, as well as the current state and prospects for expanding cooperation between the EU member-states in fight against sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Protection of children from sexual exploitation and countering the spread of child pornography is on the agenda of the EU member-states. Conceptual analysis is conducted on the content of fundamental international normative legal acts that regulate the issues of protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitations. Attention is also focused on preventing the spread of child pornography through modern information technologies. The author underlines the need to improve the designated normative legal framework in the sphere of ensuring the information security of the minors on the Internet. The important role of the United Nations in establishing the policy for combating sexual exploitation of minors and sale of pornographic products that involve children is indicated. It is claimed that in modern world, the international cooperation, including the issues of crime prevention, is the foundation of ensuring human rights, freedoms, and security in various spheres of social. The author makes recommendations on the development of the key directions for consolidating the efforts of the EU member-states in fight against sexual exploitation of children and the spread of child pornography.

The article deals with the concept of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children, among that there is child's prostitution, child's pornography, trading in children, child's sex-tourism, early marriage, are described. International documents, that regulate a legislation in relation to crimes, children related to commercial sexual exploitation, are considered. Work of ungovernmental organizations, that conduct active activity in relation to defence and help to the children that suffered from sexual violence, is described. It is noted that the fight against commercial sexual exploitation of children with sexual violence against children should be conducted, in addition to international, national and local levels. The principles of the legal principles and standards that should guide children's strategies and practices, including advocacy for the prevention of violence and measures to protect all children from all forms of violence are described. The economic, social and cultural rights that contain the provision according to which children should be protected from economic and social exploitation are indicated. It has been determined that commercial sexual exploitation of children is a violation of the rights of the child, which is considered as a subject of sex and the subject of trade; and includes sexual abuse of the child or exploitation of the child by an adult, as well as payment in cash or in kind. It has been established that the development of legislation and recognition of the problem of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children at the national and international levels will be an impetus in combating the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It has been stressed that commercial sexual exploitation of children in many countries is particularly dangerous criminal activity, violating the rights of the child.

Literature on human trafficking suggests the vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and child sexual abuse (CSA) changes by the prevalence of certain risk factors (e.g., runaway), trafficker-used lures (e.g., isolation), and the environmental conditions present at the time of victimization (e.g., foster care). Often, youth in foster care are at high risk for CSEC and CSA victimization associated with runaway instances. This scoping review aims to identify prevention and intervention strategies for CSEC/CSA of youth who run away from foster care. PRISMA scoping review guidelines were followed to review the literature across two search parameters (CSEC; CSA). An electronic review was conducted between August 2022 and January 2023 across four databases: PubMed, SAGE Journals Online, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The CSEC and CSA search parameters comprised three domains (sexual exploitation, foster care, and runaway; sexual abuse, foster care, and runaway, respectively). Literature published between 2012 and 2022 was included regardless of the methodological approach. Literature not concerning youth who run from foster care was excluded. Database searches yielded 206 publications for CSEC and 351 for CSA, reduced to 185 and 212, respectively, after removing duplicates. Seventy-one articles were identified, of which, 64 articles (28 CSEC, 36 CSA) were categorized as prevention strategies and seven (five CSEC, two CSA) as interventions. The intersection and dual victimization of CSEC and CSA of youth who run away from foster care are discussed. This paper also discusses applied behavior analysis principles for developing function-based interventions.

This chapter examines the phenomenon of internet users attempting to report and prevent online child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in the absence of adequate intervention by internet service providers, social media platforms, and government. The chapter discusses the history of online CSE, focusing on regulatory stances over time in which online risks to children have been cast as natural and inevitable by the hegemony of a “cyberlibertarian” ideology. We illustrate the success of this ideology, as well as its profound contradictions and ethical failures, by presenting key examples in which internet users have taken decisive action to prevent online CSE and promote the removal of CSAM. Rejecting simplistic characterizations of “vigilante justice,” we argue instead that the fact that often young internet users report feeling forced to act against online CSE and CSAM undercuts libertarian claims that internet regulation is impossible, unworkable, and unwanted. Recent shifts toward a more progressive ethos of online harm minimization are promising; however, this ethos risks offering a new legitimizing ideology for online business models that will continue to put children at risk of abuse and exploitation. In conclusion, we suggest ways forward toward an internet built in the interests of children, rather than profit.

The commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is a serious violation of rights. It is a phenomenon marked by social inequalities, gender and racism. The aim was to carry out an integrative review of the literature on commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents in Brazil over a 10-year period. The Reporting Items for Systematics Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) was used, with searches in SCIELO, LILACS and CAPES journals, as well as word cloud (via IRAMUTEq software), scientometric and thematic analyses. Of the 33 articles identified, 12 were included. The results indicated a scarcity of studies; low access to publications in journals; a prevalence of papers indexed in high-impact journals; irregular time distribution; a predominance of academic productions in the areas of Psychology and Law and bibliographical research; a lack of regional data; shortcomings in the mechanisms for protecting and assisting victims; limitations in the articulation of existing public policies; and shortcomings in sensitizing professionals and training support networks. The conclusion is that there is a need for interdisciplinary studies and approaches to advance the policy of tackling the commercial sexual exploitation of Brazilian girls.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the prevalence of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and factors connected in a young adult population, through a series of connected studies. Each study considered exposure to poly-victimisation. The series of studies focussed on a number of factors felt to impact vulnerability and protective factors towards CSE. Specifically caregiver bonds, resilience and attachment style, adolescent risk-taking, quality of caregiver bonds, level/type of supportive relationships and positive schemas, as well as the impact of CSE disclosure and links to attachment style and maladaptive schemas.Design/methodology/approachThese studies looked at a young adult population, mainly women. Study one (n = 263), study two (n = 138) and study three (n = 211), predominantly collected via a series of online measures.FindingsFindings demonstrated that around half of children under 16 years had been approached sexually by an adult, with approximately one in four children subsequently exploited. Various results were noted, such as experiencing a primary caregiver as lacking in warmth and affection was associated with those reporting CSE, with further exposure to poly-victimisation contributing to a less functional coping style and insecure attachments. CSE was not associated with higher levels of adolescent risk-taking, poor bonds with the primary caregiver, fewer important childhood relationships and positive schemas.Practical implicationsThis paper notes the importance of addressing the functions of behaviours for victims, to reduce re-victimisation risk. It noted the importance of applying theory when working with this population. It introduced the protect and vulnerability model against CSE and has practical applications for professionals working with victims of CSE. This paper argues the importance of individualised assessments for children who are deemed to be “at-risk” of CSE.Originality/valueFindings were combined to propose the protection against the CSE model and the application of this to intervention and future research is acknowledged.