‘Letting you share when you need to share’: navigating the potential and precarity of friends and peers for UK young people after sexual abuse in adolescence
Abstract:This article explores the rarely considered role of friends and peers supporting young people after sexual abuse experienced in adolescence, drawing on participatory research with 32 young people in the UK with lived experience.The article considers ways in which relationships with friends and peers interplay with recovery from abuse. This includes friends and peers as recipients of disclosure, conduits to professional support, sources of emotional support and distraction, and embroiled in often challenging, p… Show more
“…In some situations, friendships denote a caring investment, one in which young people are intrinsically there for each other, not out of a sense of duty or formality but because they like each other; and this in turn can foster trust and informal opportunities for support in times of need. The different quality and context of peer friendships meant that the support provided was also often distinct from that provided by parents, caregivers or professionals, as Warrington et al (2023) writing in a UK context explained: The unique nature of support from friends was described variably but primarily presented as something with potential to feel less emotionally charged, pressured or judgemental.…”
“…We hope reading these articles will deepen understanding and respect for the immense value and importance of these relationships in young people's lives. For as one young man explained in Warrington et al's (2023) study: Like my best friend … He's always there day and night. I can ring him at three o'clock in the morning and he'll answer the phone … He's very understanding, and he seems to say the right stuff.…”
Section: Where Next? Research Policy and Practice Conundrumsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The voluntary and informal nature of friendship means that young people are often left to deal with these issues alone. As authors Warrington et al (2023) from the United Kingdom found in their exploration of friendship and peer support following sexual abuse, the support of friends can be vital for some but the sensitivity and understanding of friends can be variable and unreliable. In contrast, Cody et al (2022) focused on structured peer support for young survivors of sexual violence across Europe and North America, defining peer support as 'support provided by those with similar experiences'.…”
Moreover, during adolescence the significance and influence of young people's peer relationships have been found to intensify in many countries around the world (Blakemore, 2018;Coleman, 2011). Nevertheless, recognising this has failed to ensure that child protection or wider safeguarding systems and interventions take account of young people's friendships or wider peer relationships when supporting those affected by violence and abuse. On the contrary there is evidence that many social work responses disregard peers, while centring family relationships, in their efforts to safeguard young people (
“…In some situations, friendships denote a caring investment, one in which young people are intrinsically there for each other, not out of a sense of duty or formality but because they like each other; and this in turn can foster trust and informal opportunities for support in times of need. The different quality and context of peer friendships meant that the support provided was also often distinct from that provided by parents, caregivers or professionals, as Warrington et al (2023) writing in a UK context explained: The unique nature of support from friends was described variably but primarily presented as something with potential to feel less emotionally charged, pressured or judgemental.…”
“…We hope reading these articles will deepen understanding and respect for the immense value and importance of these relationships in young people's lives. For as one young man explained in Warrington et al's (2023) study: Like my best friend … He's always there day and night. I can ring him at three o'clock in the morning and he'll answer the phone … He's very understanding, and he seems to say the right stuff.…”
Section: Where Next? Research Policy and Practice Conundrumsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The voluntary and informal nature of friendship means that young people are often left to deal with these issues alone. As authors Warrington et al (2023) from the United Kingdom found in their exploration of friendship and peer support following sexual abuse, the support of friends can be vital for some but the sensitivity and understanding of friends can be variable and unreliable. In contrast, Cody et al (2022) focused on structured peer support for young survivors of sexual violence across Europe and North America, defining peer support as 'support provided by those with similar experiences'.…”
Moreover, during adolescence the significance and influence of young people's peer relationships have been found to intensify in many countries around the world (Blakemore, 2018;Coleman, 2011). Nevertheless, recognising this has failed to ensure that child protection or wider safeguarding systems and interventions take account of young people's friendships or wider peer relationships when supporting those affected by violence and abuse. On the contrary there is evidence that many social work responses disregard peers, while centring family relationships, in their efforts to safeguard young people (
“…The drive to include the perspectives of children and young people has been embraced by researchers globally, across disciplines, including health (Birch et al, 2007; Lees et al, 2017), social work (Ellis, 2018; Hickle, 2020; Moore et al, 2018; Warrington et al, 2016), youth justice (Phoenix & Kelly, 2013; Sharpe, 2012; Smithson et al, 2021), politics (Hadfield-Hill & Christensen, 2021) and education (Buchanan et al, 2022; Forde et al, 2018; Mayall, 2002). While these examples evidence the commitment of researchers to capture and share the views and experiences of children, it is also important to acknowledge the positionality of researchers within the wider structure of knowledge.…”
Section: The Ethics Of Research With Vulnerable Childrenmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Though it is hoped that research will generate awareness and potentially improve services for similar and future children, it is true that the primary benefits of research will not usually affect research participants directly, and that the time lag between research publication and impact is known to be protracted. Despite some exceptions (Bovarnick & Cody, 2021; Ellis, 2019; Warrington et al, 2016) these tensions go part way to explain the paucity of children and young people’s views in debates around child sexual abuse and exploitation (Gilligan, 2016). Yet, enabling the participation of young people in a research context offers an important and unique opportunity to ensure that their perspectives are recorded and heard, even when competing voices continue to dominate (Jessiman et al, 2017).…”
Section: The Ethics Of Research With Vulnerable Childrenmentioning
Despite representing a vast and global concern, the narratives of children who experience child sexual exploitation (CSE) and access associated services are marginalised within research. As an outcome, relatively little is known about how children cope with the impact and consequences of their experiences. This paper draws together methodological insights from researchers reflecting upon three distinct pieces of qualitative fieldwork conducted with children and young people considered ‘vulnerable’ to, and ‘at risk of’, CSE. In doing so, we seek to recognise the challenges encountered when conducting research with vulnerable populations and explore the ‘blurry boundaries’ that researchers tread in order to balance competing power dynamics. This paper will discuss potential safeguarding concerns that arise when conducting sensitive research and will share our experiences of supporting young people to take part in research around child sexual exploitation. We will reflect upon the research process to highlight some of the strategies adopted to enable young people to engage in data collection safely. We consider the dynamic ethical practices that take place in the moment of research encounters, alongside the framework of procedural ethics, to conclude that both are fundamental to enable meaningful participation in research.
In this commentary paper, which draws on the authors' own past research and practice experience in the field of child sexual abuse prevention as well as a thorough knowledge of the extant literature, we argue that sibling sexual abuse challenges conventional thinking about child sexual abuse, both in terms of how the general public conceptualises child sexual abuse and in terms of our practice responses to it. Traditional service responses are often inadequate and inappropriate in situations involving sexual abuse between siblings. The question is further raised as to whether traditional service responses are appropriate for other forms of child sexual abuse. We argue that instead of siloed, individualist therapy and criminal or youth justice responses, whole-family responses are required, which draw on the principles of family therapy and restorative justice.
PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENTThis article challenges current practice with families affected by sibling sexual abuse, and other forms of child sexual abuse more broadly It proposes that whole-family responses that draw on the principles of family therapy should be made available to families affected by this issue alongside any individual interventions that may be required. We further recommend that consideration is given to whole-family restorative justice responses as an alternative to traditional criminal or youth justice responses, which have been found to impede family restoration and delay therapeutic support being made available to the child who has been harmed.
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