Building Trust with Children and Young People at Risk of Child Sexual Exploitation: The Professional Challenge

Abstract

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Providing support and therapy for victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation

“…'some children had too many professionals involved with them and a lack of co-ordination, together with assessments that did not consider all of the child's needs, meant that support for children was not meaningful to them' (Ofsted, 2016, p.3) Our understanding of how to work effectively with CSE-experienced young people is at an early stage, as Hossain and colleagues argue, 'uncertainty persists regarding the best ways to address [victims and survivors] 'CSE is recognised as adversely affecting children's physical, mental and sexual health, educational achievements, social and economic contributions, and later parenting capacity, and increasing their risk of self-harming, drug and alcohol problems, and anti-social and criminal behaviours' (Lefevre et al, 2017(Lefevre et al, , p. 2457 The authors, drawing from a survey of a wide-range of professionals in the field, further argue that: 'Building the relationship often meant spending time with the children in a more relaxed and informal way, and engaging in mutual activities and talk which are not just about CSE. Interviewees spoke at length about going to cafes, going for walks, just chatting with young people about their everyday lives and 'not be looking at your watch'' (Lefevre et al, 2017(Lefevre et al, , p. 2459 The wider social context of CSE is reflected upon by one young woman in a study by There do not seem to be many studies of the mental health impact of CSE, in particular, but there are international studies which explore the impact on survivors of trafficking, a process that shares many characteristics of CSE. An extensive U.S. study concludes that:…”

‘What is the headspace they are in when they are making those referrals?’Exploring the lifeworlds and experiences of health and social care practitioners undertaking risk work within the Prevent Strategy

“…The literature suggests that practitioners may experience tensions between existing risk work and Prevent Strategy requirements, for example needing to maintain client trust in order to achieve therapeutic goals (cf. Lefevre, Hickle, Luckock, & Ruch, 2017). In the context of Belgium and the Netherlands, Sieckelinck and colleagues (2015) found that teachers tried to find a balance between perceiving pupils with radical views as either solely 'villains' or solely 'victims' (2015, p. 331).…”

Blame and Culpability in Children's Narratives of Child Sexual Abuse

“…Instead, research tends to focus on the perspectives of professionals working with young people who have experienced CSA (Gilligan, ) or the perspectives of adults recounting abuse that they experienced as children (Woodiwiss, ). Approaches to tackling the issue of CSA are in their early stages (Lefevre et al, ) and children's voices are almost entirely missing from debates to shape the future of essential interventions and services (Gilligan, ). This paper addresses this important gap by exploring CSA from the perspective of young victims in order to examine the narratives that are constructed by others on their behalf.…”