Teenagers and their Sexual Partners: What Age Difference Should Raise Concerns of Sexual Exploitation?

Abstract

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is often characterised by a power imbalance between the abuser and the child. Age difference is one of the power imbalances observed. However, there is no clear guidance on what age difference should raise concern. This article provides empirical evidence on age difference observed between: (a) teenagers (13–17‐year‐olds) who have attended a sexual health clinic and their partners; and (b) teenagers who are already known to children's services owing to significant concerns of sexual exploitation and their partners. The findings provide recommendations on age cut‐offs that are more likely to be suggestive of the risk of CSE. The paper concludes that an age difference of four years or more for 13–16‐year‐olds and six years or more for 17‐year‐olds should alert professionals to the possibility of exploitation. Overall, about two per cent of teenagers seen in a general sexual health clinic population had partners meeting these age cut‐offs compared with 31.4 per cent of those for whom there were already significant CSE concerns. These age cut‐offs can support professionals, especially those with little or no experience or knowledge of CSE, to make an informed professional judgement. Key Practitioner Messages A holistic approach to determining a young person's risk of sexual exploitation should include consideration of the age of the partner. Age ‘cut‐offs’ can help professionals decide what age difference should trigger concern and support decision‐making. We recommend age difference ‘cut‐offs’ of four years or more for 13–16‐year‐olds and six years or more for 17‐year‐olds.

Demographic and Psychosocial Factors Associated With Child Sexual Exploitation

“…evaluated each article, scoring them separately using a 9-point critical appraisal assessment tool adapted from Madigan et al 40 (2018), based on previous meta-analytic research. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 Articles were given a score of 0 (no) or 1 (yes) for each criterion and summed to provide a total score of a possible 9. Higher scores correspond with higher methodological quality and lower risk of bias.…”

“…1 , 2 Power imbalance between a perpetrator and young person is often characterized by age differences; however, age cutoffs vary greatly, making CSE difficult to clearly define and identify. 10 , 11 Furthermore, CSE can occur between perpetrators and those exposed to sexual exploitation of the same age, and samples of young people can include emerging adults. Therefore, sexual exploitation vulnerability factors are likely more clinically relevant than singular age cutoffs in detecting and intervening for individuals affected by CSE.…”

Driving Improvements in Child Protection and Safeguarding Practice

“…Our third paper in this issue (Cook and Mott, ) explores the subject of child sexual exploitation (CSE), a topic that we have previously examined in Child Abuse Review (Appleton, ; Laws and Hall, ). Cases of CSE are frequently characterised by a power imbalance between the child/young person and the abuser.…”

“…The study sought to provide empirical data on the age difference observed between teenagers (aged 13–17 years) attending a sexual health clinic and their partners, compared with a second sample of 13–17‐year‐olds and their partners already known to children's social care services as a result of concerns around sexual exploitation. This is an important topic and Cook and Mott () were driven by the fact that there is no clear guidance on what age difference should raise concerns for professionals. The study formed part of an evaluation by a sexual health services department.…”

“…These data were then compared with the electronic case records of all 13–17‐year‐olds who attended a sexual health clinic in southeast Wales during a six‐month period in 2015. Cook and Mott's () findings are important in making recommendations on age cut‐offs that are likely to be suggestive of CSE risk. Following data analysis, for the 1189 clients for whom age differences were calculated, they concluded ‘that an age difference of four years or more for 13–16‐year‐olds and six years or more for 17‐year‐olds should alert professionals to the possibility of exploitation’ (Cook and Mott, .…”