Crimes of child sexual exploitation in England - A socio-legal project promoting effective approaches to investigation and prosecution.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Kent
Department Name: Kent Law School
Abstract
The 2012 national inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) in gangs and groups by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England reported 2409 'confirmed victims' of child sexual exploitation in either gangs or groups during the 14-month period from August 2010 to October 2011 and further 16,500 children as at risk of CSE between April 2010 and March 2011 (Berelowitz et al, 2012: 53). The high profile investigations, such as Operation Retriever (Derby), Operation Span (Rochdale), Operation Bullfinch (Oxford), Operation Chalice (Telford), Operation Central (Rotherham) Operation Sanctuary (Newcastle) since 2009 have resulted in prosecutions, however the number of prosecutions are not proportionate to the number of cases being reported to safeguarding agencies.
This project builds on the learning developed through research carried out for the fellow's PhD exploring attrition in cases involving crimes of CSE. Attrition refers to the process where cases get dropped at various stages of the criminal justice system (CJS). The fellow's thesis developed a nuanced understanding of how attrition occurs in these cases particularly during investigation and prosecution charging stages and highlighted areas within policy and practice that require critical reflection. The thesis highlighted that the forms in which sexual exploitation and children victimised through sexual exploitation are understood, and the tools used for assessing children's risk and their support needs play a significant role in constituting the conditions in which attrition occurs. The thesis drew attention to the ways in which disruption of perpetrators through civil injunctions has come to be recognised as an effective solution to the problem of attrition and the ways in which policy and practitioner discourses have contributed to undermining the value of prosecutions as a strategy for tackling crimes of CSE and subsequently lead to the de-prioritisation of prosecutions. It further highlighted the role of law in constituting the conditions for attrition i.e. through setting the boundaries and prohibitions that limit the recognition of children's experiences as abuse. The thesis addressed a significant gap in literature examining the process of attrition in cases involving crimes of child sexual exploitation. This postdoctoral fellowship aims to disseminate the findings from PhD thesis and thus makes a significant contribution to the development of policy and practice relevant to CSE.
This fellowship aims to take the learning developed through fellow's doctoral thesis to a wider audience through publication of research findings and through engaging with key stakeholders. Firstly, it will work to develop a user-friendly guide for practitioners who are working in the area of CSE such as police officers involved in specialist teams, child and public protection units, child abuse units; social care workers; health and education teams; young people and family support workers within the voluntary sector; as well as those involved in supporting victims and witnesses. Secondly, it will publicise shorter pieces targeted at service providers, policy makers and general public through relevant media channels, presentations at practitioners forums (such as those facilitated by the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children), journal articles, conferences and seminars. Finally, this project also aims to develop a research bid for examining the role of victims in the post-trial process as well as the ways in which parole boards and probation services can address the needs of victims in the management of those convicted of CSE crimes. Overall, this postdoctoral fellowship aims to take academic learning developed through analysis of policy and empirical data to a wider audience to further effect practice relating to CSE. This project thus bridges a significant gap between academic research and practice in the investigation and prosecution of crimes of CSE.
This project builds on the learning developed through research carried out for the fellow's PhD exploring attrition in cases involving crimes of CSE. Attrition refers to the process where cases get dropped at various stages of the criminal justice system (CJS). The fellow's thesis developed a nuanced understanding of how attrition occurs in these cases particularly during investigation and prosecution charging stages and highlighted areas within policy and practice that require critical reflection. The thesis highlighted that the forms in which sexual exploitation and children victimised through sexual exploitation are understood, and the tools used for assessing children's risk and their support needs play a significant role in constituting the conditions in which attrition occurs. The thesis drew attention to the ways in which disruption of perpetrators through civil injunctions has come to be recognised as an effective solution to the problem of attrition and the ways in which policy and practitioner discourses have contributed to undermining the value of prosecutions as a strategy for tackling crimes of CSE and subsequently lead to the de-prioritisation of prosecutions. It further highlighted the role of law in constituting the conditions for attrition i.e. through setting the boundaries and prohibitions that limit the recognition of children's experiences as abuse. The thesis addressed a significant gap in literature examining the process of attrition in cases involving crimes of child sexual exploitation. This postdoctoral fellowship aims to disseminate the findings from PhD thesis and thus makes a significant contribution to the development of policy and practice relevant to CSE.
This fellowship aims to take the learning developed through fellow's doctoral thesis to a wider audience through publication of research findings and through engaging with key stakeholders. Firstly, it will work to develop a user-friendly guide for practitioners who are working in the area of CSE such as police officers involved in specialist teams, child and public protection units, child abuse units; social care workers; health and education teams; young people and family support workers within the voluntary sector; as well as those involved in supporting victims and witnesses. Secondly, it will publicise shorter pieces targeted at service providers, policy makers and general public through relevant media channels, presentations at practitioners forums (such as those facilitated by the National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children), journal articles, conferences and seminars. Finally, this project also aims to develop a research bid for examining the role of victims in the post-trial process as well as the ways in which parole boards and probation services can address the needs of victims in the management of those convicted of CSE crimes. Overall, this postdoctoral fellowship aims to take academic learning developed through analysis of policy and empirical data to a wider audience to further effect practice relating to CSE. This project thus bridges a significant gap between academic research and practice in the investigation and prosecution of crimes of CSE.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Aravinda Kosaraju (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
| Description | Some of the recommendations highlighted in the guide for practitioner are listed below: ? Multi-disciplinary teams need knowledgeable staff to ensure consistency in practice across agencies and promote healthy attitudes towards children. ? Developing Integrated Proactivity Partnership (IPP) aimed at driving proactive working around children identified as being at high risk with co-location prioritised strategically and operationally. ? Importance of regular briefings and debriefings as a means to improve practice within co-located (Child Sexual Exploitation) CSE teams. ? Good information sharing practices through developing actionable platforms to share information underpinned by common information sharing portals between organisations. ? Missing and CSE have significant overlaps and the work of the missing people's teams and CSE should be integral to each other. ? Designing a bespoke victim engagement strategy and investigations should aim to be non-disruptive or least disruptive to the lives of children and families. ? Adopt non-standard Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) interviewing approaches as a medium for gathering evidence in chief, gaining information about the context of the child's experience, so that problematic conceptions around consent can be gently challenged and the complexity of children's' experiences can be reflected in the ABE interview. ? Proactive investigation looking at supporting evidence from phones, social media is essential in CSE cases. ? Self-reflective practice amongst all safeguarding practitioners should be encouraged to challenge judgemental attitudes and address the problem of retraction by victims. ? The value of disruption tactics should be carefully considered on a case by case basis. ? Disclosability assessments made under the Criminal procedure and Investigation Act 1996 by investigation officers (IO) or disclosure officers (DO) should clear and robust. ? Charges in CSE cases should reflect the gravity and the complexity of crimes committed against children. ? Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) decision whether it is proportionate to put the young person through the trial, should be made in consultation with the young person and their support workers. ? Practices in cases where decision is made to drop charges, or to categorise cases as 'No further Action (NFA)' should be reviewed, recognising the implications of these decisions on children and young people. ? Guilty pleas should be sought at an early stage. ? Early advice from CPS is essential in complex or voluminous cases, so the lawyers can work closely with the police leading the investigation in the right direction. ? Weight attached to the disclosure of third-party material needs to be viewed around their numbers and an understanding of what CSE is. ? Contextualising the experiences of young people in opening and closing statements of the prosecutor allows for careful consideration of abusive relationships. ? Enabling children to make informed decisions when attending court and giving evidence. ? Counsels should avail the first available opportunity to educate the jury informing about how victims my act, react and what the jury may and may not expect in CSE cases; and consider the use of expert witnesses in educating the juries. ? A robust exit strategy is essential whatever the outcome in CSE trials may be, to minimise the trauma experienced by young people due to the confrontational nature of criminal trials. |
| Exploitation Route | The next step is to focus on bringing the findings into the public domain through publishing the guide and the journal articles. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Education Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Other |
| Description | The findings from my research have been shared with multi-disciplinary practitioners at special interest group work shops and with general public via webinars and podcasts. This has led to useful conversations with local teams and I have been invited to speak with local area specialist teams working in Stoke. My research findings are also making significant contribution to my own teaching of child protection modules and the work of the Centre for Child Protection where innovative simulative training tools are being developed on child sexual exploitation. Furthermore, the findings from this project has significantly contributed to the recent ESRC award where I and my team at the Centre for Child Protection were able to work collaboratively with the local police force to develop a pilot training tool to promote trauma informed approaches to the investigation of child sexual exploitation. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Other |
| Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
| Description | 'May and Bay' - Digital game for children and young people in Thailand and Cambodia |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Contribution to MA Advanced Child Protection modules at the Centre for Child Protection |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | Tackling the challenges to investigating and prosecuting crimes of child sexual exploitation in England - What works? |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| Impact | This session shared research findings from my postdoc exploring effective ways to engage sexually exploited children and effective practice approaches in the investigation and prosecution of offenders accused of child sexual exploitation. |
| Description | Child Sexual Exploitation and Girls: An Interactive Training Tool for Child Protection Professionals |
| Amount | £40,261 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/X003124/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 11/2022 |
| End | 10/2023 |
| Description | A serious game for a serious issue: Combatting child trafficking and online sexual exploitation via a digital game |
| Organisation | A21 Campaign, Inc |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I am involved in with Prof. Jane Reeves (as the principal investigator) and other project partners (ECPAT International, A21 Thailand, Playerthree and the Centre for Child Protection) to develop a serious digital game for combatting child trafficking and online sexual exploitation. The serious digital game is aimed at promoting children and young people's awareness of online safety and likely harms such as sex trafficking, 'sextortion' and other forms of sharing abusive images of children online. I have worked with Prof. Reeves and other collaborators in developing the bid for this project and delivering the project outcomes such as literature review, content development for digital games, game design, contribution to training pack, and work with consultative groups such as children and practitioners in Thailand and Cambodia. My work constituted 8.9% of the project work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This is a collaborative project with significant contribution from project partners at the every stage of the project. |
| Impact | This is an ongoing project and outcomes of this project are not directly related to UKRI, but only indirectly though the the expertise that the fellow has developed through the fellowship. This project led to the creation of two online digital games called 'May and Bay' which enable children and young people learn about child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) online and in the community. The game is specifically designed to address CSEA within Thailand and Cambodia. The game is currently being rolled out in these two countries and piloted with 2,763 Children and train over 200 trainers in Thai, Khmer or English languages. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | An evidence-based approach to tackling child exploitation -Podcast by the Association of Child Protection Practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This is a podcast produced by the Association for Child Protection Professionals (AoCPP) where Wendy Thorogood, Chair AoCPP talks to the fellow about child sexual exploitation and how professionals can support families to prevent it. The fellow shares her research in this podcast with the aim of sharing the learning from the research carried out as part of the fellowship with a wider community of multi-agency practitioners working to safeguard children from sexual exploitation about way to support children and families and with the general public about sexual grooming of children and where concerned parents/carers can seek support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.childprotectionprofessionals.org.uk/category/podcast/ |
| Description | Investigating and Prosecuting Child Sexual Exploitation - Good Practice Guide |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The postdoctoral research fellow presented the key elements of the good practice guide for practitioners in its draft format at two interactive workshops at the 6th Annual conference of the NWG Network (a charitable organisation formed as a UK network of over 14 500 practitioners working on issues of child exploitation (CE) and trafficking within the UK) held at Nottingham. This was an opportunity to share the draft guide with practitioners working to tackle sexual exploitation of children. These workshops facilitated discussion and feedback from practitioners on the good practice recommendations checking to ensure that the recommendations are robust, operable, and consistent with the day to day experiences of practitioners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.kc-jones.co.uk/nwg2019 |
| Description | Law's Uses and Abuses of Alienation: A case of Sexually Exploited Children |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This is a paper titled 'Law's Uses and Abuses of Alienation: A case of Sexually Exploited Children' presented at the 2019 Critical Law Conference at the University of Perugia in Italy. The participants were mostly academics involved in critical and social legal studies. The presentation led to critical discussion of the perspectives presented and further networks with scholars involved in critical legal studies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.giurisprudenza.unipg.it/files/abstract_list_final.pdf |
| Description | Maximising Impact from Serious Organised Crime Research Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A conference focused on 'Maximising Impact from Serious Organised Crime Research', organised by University of Cambridge's Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research, bringing together academics, policymakers, and practitioners to explore new insights from research which are likely to offer newer ways of examining and tackling serious organised crime. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.paccsresearch.org.uk/news/maximising-impact-from-serious-organised-crime-research-briefi... |
| Description | Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse: Dilemmas and Prospects for Child Safeguarding Practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This webinar examined the nature of Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), prevalence and challenges confronting child protection practitioners. It also considered the Online Harms Bill 2022 introduced within the UK parliament and drew attention to the complexity emerging from an intersection of technology, rights, responsibilities, harms and wellbeing of children and young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUXMim19_3c&t=2144s |
| Description | Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented at the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Conference 2019 at Leeds University as part of the 'Sexual Offences and Offending' stream. The presentation shared the findings of the research with a group of approximately 20 academic and non-academic participants. The presentation resulted in an engaging and critical discussion of the research findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://slsa2019.com/conference/conference-programme/ |
| Description | Tackling the challenges to investigating and prosecuting crimes of child sexual exploitation in England - What works? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A webinar exploring the challenges to investigating and prosecuting crimes of child sexual exploitation in England and Wales aimed at child protection professionals concerned with the safeguarding of children from sexual abuse, particularly practitioners from law enforcement, social care, education, health, prosecution, probation, CSE specialist teams and youth services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23aZYdornwA |
| Description | Violence against women and girls at Dorset Strategic Alliance conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote speech on Violence against women and girls at Dorset Strategic Alliance conference, 05 July 2022 attended by nearly 100 participants who are multi-agency practitioners working with children and young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |