BOLTON SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION SUMMIT 9 APRIL 2014

1. BOLTON SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARDCHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION SUMMIT9 APRIL 2014 Welcome

2. Agenda and Aims • CSE - Understanding the Issue • What’s Bolton Been Doing? • Project Phoenix – Greater Manchester response to CSE • Learning from Others – Themes from CSE Reviews • A Parents Perspective • Voice of the Child – What Victims Tell Us • Next Steps • Close and Evaluation

3. CSE what are we talking about ? Sexual exploitation of children and young people under 18 involves exploitative situations, contexts and relationships where young people (or a third person or persons) receive ‘something’ (e.g. food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money) as a result of them performing, and/or another or others performing on them, sexual activities. National Working Group for Sexually Exploited Children and Young People (NWG) 2008

6. Reduce The Likelihood Of Young People Becoming Victims • Dedicated web page and resources • Launched posters and publicity mid-March aimed at young people to encourage them to seek help • Multi-agency Guidance for CSE

8. How do we benefit from a dedicated team ? • Improved information on and disruption of : • Predatory adults • Bolton ‘hot spots’ • Better partnership working : Licensing, Police, Voluntary Sector Housing, Community Safety, Health, Youth Services… • Rapid, coordinated response to intelligence • Shared culture of victim support and understanding of the dynamics of CSE. • Improved processes and systems

9. How do you tackle CSE?

10. How do you tackle CSE?Understanding the Problem

11. Recognised ‘Grooming’ Models • On Street – Older males invite into car, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs provided- known hotspots , Deane, Daubhill, Halliwell • Boyfriend - Young person groomed to believe older male boyfriend, therefore allegiances with the abuser • Party - Young people encouraged to bring friends to ‘chill’, older males invited • Internet / Mobile - Tel no's of young people ‘shared’, vulnerable young people contacted by Facebook • Lone Offender – Usually able to recognise and target vulnerable young people. Often go on to groom friends of original victim. • Group Offender - Often groom other young people to recruit, may initiate contact by on street grooming, via parks, taxi’s , take-aways, then taken to hotels - in Bolton, Manchester

12. Returning from MFH Well kempt / no address Truanting at risky address Unknown / risky others Calls / text from unknowns Clothing unknown source Older, sexual, Collected / dropped off by unknown / risky adults Friends of others Known exploited Seen in risky areas Indicators to raise your Concern New mobile phones Goods unknown source Adults loitering School / home Older boyfriend / friends Evidence of swopping Intimacy for accom / goods Other YP report risk

13. Technology & CSE • Massive growth of exploitation via social networking sites i.e. Facebook, Bebo… • ‘Sexting ’involves teenagers ( and in some cases even younger children) sending sexually explicit pictures of themselves to boyfriends and or others, using a mobile phone. • Given the often short lived nature of teenage relationships, these pictures can be used against others by circulating or posting them on messaging sites sometimes accompanied by a telephone number. • This can be used as a form of bullying and clearly once pictures are in the web they remain around forever. • Recent research suggests that over a third of 11 to 18 year olds have received sexually explicit material on their phones. Not all of these pictures will have links to ‘sexting’ but some will.

14. How Can You Assist? • Identification of HOT SPOT Areas • Identification of potential offenders • Identification of potential victims • General Intelligence around known Hot Spots / Offenders / Victims. • Taking positive action, inform the Phoenix-Exit Team. • Becoming understanding and approachable • Believing our victims • Don’t make assumptions – Clarify – Ask Questions, believe no-one!

15. LEARNING FROM OTHERS Themes from Child Sexual Exploitation Reviews

16. Victim views • Power of the perpetrator- All the victims described in detail the control the perpetrators had over every element of their lives including the threat and use of violence – reason a number did not tell parents or engage with services earlier. They were told they had committed the crime • Isolation- feeling trapped, felt when they did tell nothing changed and the abuse continued

17. Risk factors • ALL the children in the reviews displayed some of the known risk factors • Abuse of drugs and alcohol • Missing from home • Disengaged from education • Sexual health concerns • Challenging or offending behaviour

18. Key issues • Many young people were engaged in what they considered CONSENSUAL sexual activity despite the fact that many DID not want sex with perpetrators but coerced into sexual activity • 16 and 17 year olds were often viewed as being more in control of their own choices and not in need of safeguarding responses • Professionals readily reassured by parents of ability to keep their children safe. Despite the risk being posed outside of the family and parents frequently unaware of or unable to prevent what was happening

19. Key Issues • Lack of understanding of CSE risk factors from most agencies • CSE not a priority for LSCB • Over-reliance on ‘ champions’ or specialist projects • Focus on single or ‘problematic’ behaviours of the young person .i.e. sexual health, challenging behaviour, drugs/alcohol • Sharing of information poor- not joined up

20. Key issues cont’d • Focus on young children following death of Baby P • high workloads and difficult work environment • lack of challenge by managers in relation to assessments • lack of staff training on CSE • A view that extra familial sexual abuse was primarily the role of the police

21. Identifying and assessing child sexual exploitation

22. Identifying and dealing with perpetrators • Disclosure of underage sexual activity or sexual exploitation needs to be taken seriously and dealt with as a crime. Actions taken following disclosure should not depend on the victim's willingness to act as a witness in a criminal trial. • Perpetrators need to be identified quickly and a case built against them by the police. They need to be prosecuted so that victims can feel safe, have trust in the authorities and feel confident that agencies can protect them. • To reduce future exploitation, victim profiles should be compiled and collated. This information can be used to identify local 'hotspot' locations or methods that are used to target potential victims.

23. Interventions • Early help services of paramount importance- to divert young people from CSE • Services need to embed a child-centred approach where children at risk of exploitation • Practitioners need perseverance and patience • Practitioners need to balance the young person's rights with the need to protect

24. Stopping Perpetrators and Securing Justice for CSE Victims and FamiliesTom Duffin www.paceuk.info 0113 240 3040

25. “Child Sexual Exploitation” - > “Stopping Perpetrators” Prevent / Protect / Prosecute “Securing Justice” (moral rightness and fairness) Doing the right thing Listening / hearing / learning Beyond a good outcome at court “Victims and their families” Focus on child Where do you join the journey? Recognise parents as valuable partners

26. Background

28. National Parent Telephone Support Co-located Parent Support Workers Volunteer befriending scheme Parent networking days Bespoke training for practitioners Influence national and local policy

29. Lack of Info / Advice / Support • Impact on family • Actions of perpetrator • Agency responses

30. Partnership Parents

32. University Professor police officer Head Teacher Businessman NHS senior manager Nurse social worker youth worker Counsellor Health Visitor Health Visitor Consultant Neuro-Surgeon Detective Inspector

33. Why involve Parents? • Primary safeguarding role • Expert knowledge • Evidence / Intelligence • Long term health & wellbeing

34. www.paceuk.info/keepthemsafe 0113 240 3040

35. tHE VOICE OF THE CHILD What Victims Tell us

36. Why children don’t tell • No perception of abuse • Loyalty to perpetrator • Denial • Sense of obligation • Fear and shame

37. Grooming -Setting the trap • ‘ actions deliberately aimed at establishing an emotional connection and trust with a child or young person in order to increase the likelihood of them engaging in sexual behaviour or exploitation…may also include threats or bribes, which persuade the child/young person that it would be impossible to ask for help ‘ • NSPCC- Caught in a trap the impact of grooming 2012

38. Surviving trauma • In order to survive traumatic experiences. Behaviour which appears contradictory and difficult to understand may be exhibited by victims. This phenomenon can be result in the victim experiencing positive feelings toward the victimizer, negative feelings toward potential rescuers, and an inability to engage in behaviours that will assist in detachment or release. • Other common responses include victimization, self injurious and self harming behaviours and externalizing the trauma by victimizing others. Lodrick 2007

39. ‘I Thought It Was Normal. I Thought I Was Having Fun. They Opened My Eyes To What Was Happening.’ Putting Me Into Foster Care Is A Big Thanks Because If I Was Living In Bolton Now I Would Be Dead Now Or Something Bad Would Have Happened. I’ve Been Given The Chance To Sort My Head Out, So I’m Dead Happy Now. ’I regret not listening to you all these years but I’ve realised and I’ve had to learn the hard way ‘ I do not know how I would have got through the past two years without your help even though my daughter does not always understand you are all working in her best interests It’s Really Exciting they got to know us. Built that relationship and um… obviously when we felt we could trust them, we bring it out and told them what is going on. It’s better than the fact that “Oh. I just met you. Tell me what is going on”. It was building that relationship that was nice He Will Come And Get Me

40. Moving Forward To be confident in our response to CSE we • Continue to contribute to AGMA Phoenix developments • Continue to learn from national and local data • Evidence improved use of disruption and targeting of specific areas/individuals in Bolton • Have close planning between criminal, child protection, community cohesion professionals

41. Moving Forward We need to : • Make sure we use the updated CSE Guidance • Inspection ready as CSE is key line of enquiry • Evidence effectiveness and impact at local and individual level • Make sure CSE is EVERYONE’S BUSINESS

42. THANK YOU