Routes into sexual exploitation: personal perspectives about going missing, agency and

victimhood 

‘At the time I just thought it was normal’  Dr Jane Dodsworth

 

Centre for Research on Children and Families

School of Social Work,

University of East Anglia

 

Funded by BASPCAN

Context:

‘If you start your problems don’t stop…it just ends up being a way of life.’

Increased awareness and concern about the extent of child sexual exploitation (CSE) across the UK.

Many young people involved in CSE have childhood histories of adversity.

Increasing understanding of vulnerability to CSE for those who have experience of the care system and/or of going missing from care or home (Smeaton 2012, Sharpe 2012).

The sense made of childhood and later experiences impacts on how young people perceive themselves, their sense of victimhood or agency, the directions their pathways take and their receptiveness to safeguarding services.

Background to the study: “How did it make me feel the first time? It doesn’t make me feel.”

Young people involved in CSE particularly those with a history of care &/or of going missing are often disempowered from having any agency over decisions affecting their lives (APPG 2012, Pearce 2011)

Older young people often don’t ‘fit’ or are ‘invisible’ to the services provided (Pearce 2011) as was often evident in recent reports on Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and other areas. (Jay 2014, Coffrey 2014, Bedford 2015)

We need to know more about the circumstances of going missing & involvement in CSE from the perspectives of those involved. How do they make sense of their experiences? How do their perceptions of risk & protective factors influence their sense of whether they are victims of their circumstances or have agency in the choices they make? How do their perceptions influence outcomes & how can this inform practice for the better?

Aims of the study:

“ I don’t think I was aware of what I was giving away to people”

To gain an understanding of the experiences and perspectives of young people who became involved in CSE, particularly those who have run away from care/ home and are involved in substance misuse.

To identify whether it is possible to determine risk and protective factors in terms of young people’s perceptions of agency and victimhood.

To inform LSCBs’ understanding about service provision for working with young people at risk of CSE which has meaning to the young people involved.

Research questions:

“I had to grow up pretty quickly. I was scared most of the time”

Are there identifiable risk and protective factors in the pathways of young people who go missing from care/home and become involved in CSE?

How does going missing from care/home impact on a sense of victimhood or agency in involvement in CSE?

What can be learnt from the expertise of those directly involved in CSE about what type of service provision works or could work?

The Study(Funded by the 2012 BASPCAN Annual Research Award)

“I‘ve got an incredible need to be wanted by someone, but I’ve never had time on my own to learn to love myself’”

A qualitative grounded theory approach was used to examine the pathways of participants

-to ensure that analysis was derived inductively from the data

In-depth, semi-structured interviews which charted a chronological route through participants’ childhood,

-and for some, adult experiences.

Sample:“They thought I was running away from confrontation, but I was running away from everything”

Recruitment via LAs & specialist agencies in 4 areas of the UK

15 participants (1 male & 14 females) All 15 had run away from home or care

12 participants were white/British, 2 mixed heritage/British & 1 Asian/British

Ages ranged from 16-57

Age of first experience of CSE ranged from 13 to 23.

7 still involved, 8 have exited

9 remain substance users.

2 participants became involved in CSE via the internet.

Methodological issues and limitations

“I obviously had no one to look after me”

LAs approached committed to the research, but access difficult at front line level:

- court proceedings,

-young people forgetting/changing their minds,

-professionals ‘gate-keeping’ to safeguard vulnerable young people

So some participants were older than anticipated

- However, this proved to be an enriching part of the analysis in terms of

identifying differences and similarities over time

The accounts are subjective and retrospective which could be problematic

- However, it was the subjective experiences and truths that the study aimed to

address so this was not a limitation

Key Findings:“The older I got the more exploited I felt and the more exploited I became”

Several ‘push’ &/or ‘pull’ factors (Hayes and Trafford 1997), interconnected and overlapped with incidents of going missing.

The meaning participants gave to these experiences in terms of their agency or victimhood, appeared to precipitate them along different pathways.

-For some this entrenched them further in CSE

-But for others it enabled them to see alternatives as possible for them.

A further defining characteristic, as Sharpe (2012) & Smeaton (2012) also observed, is that going missing, depending on when, and how frequently, it took place

-was both a ‘push and a pull’ factor.

Key in determining outcomes

-participants’ sense of victimhood & consequent vulnerability, or their sense of

agency & demonstration of resilience at different points in their lives

-And whether & when they received appropriate support.

Participants’ pathways

Early childhood history of neglect/sexual/physical/emotional abuse,

rejection, loss and abandonment (push)

Early childhood history of over strict over controlling, often low warmth parenting

(push)

Feeling different/adrift ‘slipped through the net’,

Identity confusion, isolated/ self-harming/

substance use (push)

Need for affection/ approval

(push/pull)

Rebellion/ peer pressure or copying peers

(pull)Going Missing

To/from(push/pull)

Child Sexual Exploitation

Availability of secure base relationship

support

Exit because, with support, alternatives

are seen as possible & deserved

Remain involved but gain support to consider

alternatives to involvement in selling sex

Need for recognition of the risks and the availability of appropriate support

:

Four broad themes developed from analysis of the data

“I was scared of my parents and always sad. I wish I’d never been born into that family”

“I just think what is meant to be is meant to be. It all happens for a reason”

 

Although not mutually exclusive, these four themes reflect how the meaning given to experiences of abuse, rejection, loss, rebellion and issues of identity confusion determined pathway outcomes:

The impact of ‘push/pull’ factors on pathways taken

The impact of going missing on pathways taken

The impact of perceptions of agency/resilience and victimhood/vulnerability

on pathways taken

4. Participants’ perceptions of how services can help

1.The impact of ‘push/pull’ factors on pathways taken

“We were locked in our rooms and neglected but we didn’t see anything wrong with it. I just accepted it really, that’s the way it is. You never fully heal”

11 participants experienced childhood abuse, neglect and loss.

-All 11 went missing from home or care

4 participants recalled some happy early childhood memories

-but also had memories of over-strict controlling or distant parents or step-parents .

Recalled experiences of the care system were no more positive

Participants felt different & isolated from family

Negative ‘push’ factors coupled with a strong sense of victimhood and fatalism pushed some towards more risk taking

For others, a sense of rebellion also pulled them onwards towards taking bigger risks.

1.The impact of ‘push/pull’ factors on pathways taken continued:

“I just took so much drugs it was untrue. I just blotted it out in the end...I didn’t really value sex as an intimate thing. I just thought it was something you made money from”

Alcohol & drug use were significant

-as a way of being coerced into CSE,

-or as a way of blocking out the experience,

-or both.

For all participants a need to seek affection and approval was both a ‘push’ & a ‘pull’ factor.

For some, a lack of childhood affection & approval pushed them towards seeking it,

-often in inappropriate places,

-& becoming groomed for CSE

For some participants the ‘pull’ of the feeling of being wanted was difficult to give up.

To find affection and approval, or to escape abuse & neglect,

-all 15 recalled going missing from home, from care or from exploitative situations.

2. The impact of going missing on pathways taken

“They thought I was running away from confrontation, but I was running away from everything”

Going missing took place in two main directions:

-Going missing from home/care resulting in an increased risk of CSE

-Going missing to escape CSE

Routes were determined not only by ‘push/pull’ factors but by perceptions of victimhood or agency

For some going missing led to CSE and CSE led to going missing compounded by feelings of victimhood.

Others with a greater sense of their own agency were able to see alternatives as possible & exit

3. The impact of perceptions of agency and victimhood on pathways taken

How individuals made sense of their experiences of risk & protection

-impacted on whether they saw themselves as victims & out of control

-or as being able to exercise agency in their lives.

Perceptions of victimhood

“The older I got the more exploited I felt and the more exploited I became”

 For many accumulated risk factors in childhood, often compounded by going missing, led to further risky situations often including CSE.

Perceptions of agency

“Drugs were going to kill me; I started to value myself even though I needed the money for drugs”

Other participants, whilst expressing a sense of victimhood about their early experiences, had begun, with support, to develop a greater degree of self-worth

Perceptions of victimhood/vulnerability and agency /resilience

Perceptions of victimhood/vulnerability

-leading to involvement in CSE

Entrenchment in CSE and often in substance misuse

Exiting and exercising agency in pursuing alternative less risky pathways

Perceptions of agency/resilience

-despite involvement in CSE Continued involvement in selling sex but with a perception of agency about how this happens

Exiting CSE but maintaining victimhood by engaging in other risky behaviour

4. Participants’ perceptions of how services can help “I love the project because they understand me, my personality, everything. They’re like family to

me……a comfort blanket”

All participants saw the need for support services.

All wanted ‘someone to be there’.

What varied were perceptions of what, when & how ‘someone being there’ was most helpful. 

Many wanted someone to ‘be there’ as a replacement ‘family’ they felt they had never had.

Some participants saw the whole organisation as important in supporting them.

For others it was specific workers who had provided support for other issues as well as for CSE which made the difference.

All wanted to be listened to & not judged.

Some wanted to be involved in peer education & support.

Conclusions:“You’ve got to go at their pace, you’ve got to listen, you’ve got to get the bigger picture”

Key to positive outcomes

- is the meaning given to significant experiences, risk & protective factors.

If negative meanings are given to these factors & internalised a sense of victimhood often becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy

Conversely, for those who see these factors as challenges to overcome, & themselves as deserving better, the outcomes are more positive.

What is clear is the central importance of the availability of a wide range of awareness raising and support services

The most effective way forward is;

-early intervention

-relationship-based practice which develops a secure base relationship

-from this those involved in CSE can begin to develop qualities of resilience & believe

alternatives are possible

Recommendations:“After it was found out, I got a lot of support.If only there could have been support before that”

Going missing as an indicator of the risk of CSE must continue to be prioritised & acted upon by safeguarding agencies.

Co-located multi-agency teams & clear information sharing practices are key in identifying & supporting those at risk of CSE.

The voices of young people with experience of CSE must be a central part of multi-agency training and peer education programmes.

Awareness raising and support should also be available for parents & the wider community

What is currently largely missing from service provision are the long-term relationship based therapeutic services.

-this ‘secure base’ provision aims to develop resilience and promote agency for all those

at risk of, involved in, or experiencing the consequences of CSE.

Some positives…….

“I couldn’t have coped with half of the stuff that I had to go through if it wasn’t for these (specialist project), they’ve been a saviour to me. There should be more places like this.”

(‘Clara’)

“The social worker was really kind, she really gave me a childhood & sometimes I didn’t deserve it.” (‘Zee’)

“The project worker was everything that I could possibly need, & still is now. It doesn’t have to be a CSE issue, it can be any issue & she’ll still do everything she can to help me.” (‘Ali’)

“Just listen, just actually listen & take into account what they’re saying, just remember what they actually say to you. Because at the end of the day that’s all we need, for someone to listen to us.” (‘Jillie’)

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