"They target vulnerability not just age". Perspectives on the response of one statutory service to the sexual exploitation of adults.

What are the experiences of adult victim/survivors of sexual exploitation,
including their understanding of the term 'sexual exploitation' (SE) and how it
relates to them? How helpful is this label?
How is the statutory Safeguarding process experienced by both social work
practitioners and adult survivors of SE?
How is vulnerability constructed within the Care Act (2014) and has this
contributed to a narrative of victimhood?
How is 'relationship-based social work practice' experienced by both adult social
workers and survivors of SE?
How might survivors envisage a 'different way' of being supported or making
change in their lives?
This study includes two phases; the first an auto-ethnographic account of my colleagues
and I in our roles as specialist adult social workers within a multidisciplinary team
established to address sexual exploitation of children and adults across an urban local
authority district. The second will utilise Participation Action Research (PAR) by means
of Arts-Based Methodologies/research (ABR) to explore the lived experiences of adult
survivors of SE.
Through a process of 'interactive interviewing' (Ellis, 2004), the experiences of my
former colleagues will be weaved into my own auto-ethnographic observations and
reflections on practice with survivors in an effort to collaboratively 'share' experiences to
generate richer accounts (Ellis, 2004). In a process similar to reflective practice
discussions, data will be gathered via multiple interviews conducted bi-monthly over six
months. Sessions will provide the opportunity to discuss practice/research questions in
a 'context of emerging and well-established relationships among participants and
interviewers' (Adams, 2008).
Both strands of the research will examine the perceptions of safeguarding practice of
adult social workers and explore the applicability and limitations of existing models of
CSE. As current practice guidance for CSE focuses on developing authentic trusting
relationships to achieve long-term safeguarding goals (Shuker et al. 2013), I will explore
this assumption and the practicalities of achieving this aim within the constraints of a
formal care management model. Brown's (2015; 2019) work on vulnerability and a
dissection of its socially constructed nature will be considered, particularly in relation to
the Care Act (2014) with its new emphasis on 'prevention' of abuse.

PAR and ABR are effective in involving marginalised groups (Coemans et al., 2015), in
this instance through their ability to capture difficult to verbalise experiences. As well as
the potential to address power imbalance within the research process, the broader aim
of enacting social change is fostered, utilising the ability of the arts to '...tap into
emotions and may jar us into seeing or thinking differently' (Yorks & Kasl, 2006p12) and
which might more deeply connect with a wider audience.
Various methods will be considered including poetry, crafting and collage 'art journaling'
(compiling images, text or drawings) relating to a theme and a group format is
envisaged. It will be important to communicate from the start that not all survivors will
want to explicitly discuss or express their feelings on past exploitation and that the
opportunity to assert their voice is still valued. It will also be important to be open about
the aims of the research as viewed by myself, and to the possibility that the group might
democratically seek to move in a different direction.
This research aims to redress the balance by adding adult voices of survivors to the
literature. By enlisting practitioners and survivors as 'co-researchers', this research
seeks to 'position [both groups] as authorities of their own experiences and further
developing their awareness of systemic issues to move them to social action' (Martin et
al., 2019 p6).