Looking for love: What role do love and protection play in supporting a strength-based approach to assessing and responding to peer relationships in

safeguarding practice with children and young people affected by extrafamilial harm (title continuation)


During adolescence young people begin to enjoy greater independence from family and develop wider social networks, with peer relationships playing a unique and powerful role. Simultaneously, they will be more likely to be exposed to harm that happens outside of the home. The child protection system in the UK is increasingly recognising and responding to such harm and considering the role that peer relationships can play in young people's experience of safety. However, this underexplored area of research and practice sits within a practice and policy landscape which has traditionally framed young people and their peer relationships through a risk focussed lens. This research aims to explore the role of peer relationships as a potential route to protection for young people exposed to harm outside of their home. It will do this by considering the themes of love and protection in supporting a strength-based approach to assessing and responding to peer relationships in safeguarding work. In collaboration with Safer London, an organisation supporting young people affected by exploitation and violence, this research will engage young people in participatory research to foreground their experiences on the role that peer relationships play in creating safety in relation to harm that happens outside the home. This will be dovetailed with case file reviews and interviews with social care practitioners. This research provides an opportunity to reframe how peer relationships are viewed in a safeguarding context and inform developing policy and practice for young people and peer groups.