Newcastle
Safeguarding
Adults Board
Newcastle Multi-agency
Sexual Exploitation Strategy
2015-2018
July 2015
1. Background
Work on developing a joint strategy addressing sexual exploitation has been
commissioned by the Missing/Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Group
(known as M-SET) which is a sub working group of Newcastle Safeguarding
Children Board (NSCB)1. M-SET terms of reference have been reviewed to
include representation from across adult’s services in order to promote effective
joined up working and communication.
Given our local experience and learning, the strategy covers the sexual
exploitation of all age groups and is jointly owned and overseen by the
Newcastle Safeguarding Adult Board (NSAB) and Newcastle Safeguarding
Children Board (NSCB). An important part of addressing sexual exploitation is
to ensure that there is a clear and consistent multi-agency approach. It is
therefore vitally important that all key partners (including public, independent,
community and voluntary sector organisations) working with children, young
people and adults and the wider public, understand and can clearly articulate
what sexual exploitation is, how it differs from other forms of sexual abuse and
how to respond to concerns.
2. What is sexual exploitation?
Sexual exploitation is not a new phenomenon, but it has been given much
greater prominence in recent years following some very high profile cases
across the country. In Newcastle, an investigation in to the systematic abuse of
vulnerable girls and adults has identified significant numbers of victims. An
important lesson from the investigation has been that the victims are a mixture
of young girls and vulnerable women – not just children. For this reason we
refer to the term sexual exploitation –and not just child sexual exploitation
(CSE) throughout this document.
1
M-SET’s purpose is to improve outcomes for children and young people at risk due to going
missing, including from education; sexual exploitation and trafficking by ensuring agencies in
the city work together consistently and collaboratively used shared knowledge, protocols and
guidance.
2
There are several definitions being used nationally, each developed by different
organisations including the Department for Education and Association of Chief
Police Officers. These definitions are useful for professionals – but tend to be
too complex for young people and members of the public. For the purpose of
consistent and clear communication with the public it is recommended that the
definition developed by the Children’s Society is used by all organisations in
Newcastle:
“Someone taking advantage of you sexually, for their own benefit. Through
threats, bribes, violence, humiliation, or by telling you that they love you, they
will have the power to get you to do sexual things for their own or other people’s
benefit or enjoyment (including: touching or kissing private parts, sex or taking
sexual photos.)”
There is not one type of victim or offender of sexual exploitation. It can take
many forms in many settings.
3. What is the scale of sexual exploitation?
Recent high profile cases across the country have raised awareness of the
extent of CSE. The Independent Inquiry into CSE in Rotherham estimated that
1400 children had been sexually exploited over the 16 year period covered by
the Inquiry. Ann Coffey’s report into CSE across Greater Manchester identified
260 ‘live’ investigations into CSE in June 2014, with 14,712 recorded episodes
of children missing from home and care between January and September 2014.
The Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s two year Inquiry into CSE found
that a total of 2,409 children were known to be victims of CSE by gangs and
groups between August 2010 and October 2011; the equivalent of every pupil
in three medium sized secondary schools. It is generally agreed that these
figures are an under-estimate. With each new inquiry that is published, we are
becoming more aware about the extent of CSE and the scale of this horrific
form of abuse in our communities.
There is limited information nationally about the sexual exploitation of adults,
with the focus tending to be on CSE. It is clear however that sexual exploitation
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does not stop when an individual reaches their 18th birthday and in some cases
does not start until an individual has reached adulthood.
Transition from
childhood to adulthood can be seen as a particularly risky period in relation to
sexual exploitation.
The Casey Report of the Inspection of Rotherham Borough Council in 2014
highlighted that “abuse and violence continues to affect victims into adulthood”
and that there were “serious concerns about the group of young people during
their transition to adulthood”.
Whilst research into adult sexual exploitation is limited, there has been a
number of peer research projects carried out into sex work in the North East,
dating back to 2007 which make reference to sexual exploitation. Selling Sex
in the North East and Cumbria (2015), research undertaken by the Barefoot
Foundation, estimated that there were 1,468 women and 221 men involved in
“prostitution”2 in the region. Of these, 48% of the women and 37% of men did
so to survive and not out of choice. As is common with our understanding of
sexual exploitation, those involved were often “exchanging sex for small
amounts of money or essential commodities, such as accommodation, and
most experience severe vulnerabilities, for example, to violence, poor health
including risk of death, poor housing or homelessness, low income and
substance abuse. There are varying degrees of control over their involvement,
with some who seem to exercise a high degree of control, to others who are
controlled by another, coerced or otherwise exploited via pimps or partners and
others for whom circumstances mean other options are severely limited”.
It is acknowledged that sexual exploitation is likely to be happening in every
town and city in the United Kingdom but that it is often difficult to identify and
that it is under-reported.
2
It is recognised that the use of terms such as “prostitution”, “sex work” and “lifestyle choice”
can be unhelpful when addressing sexual exploitation as it may minimise the risk and harm
that has occurred or is occurring and pre-determine the subsequent responses from
professionals. Where there is a suggestion that an individual is being groomed, controlled,
exploited or abused in the exchange of sex this will be referred to as sexual exploitation and
will be addressed via the appropriate legal frameworks e.g. safeguarding, criminal
investigation, domestic violence.
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Operation Sanctuary commenced in January 2014 and is a police led
investigation overseen by the police Gold Command across the whole of
Northumbria Police. The Operation specific to Newcastle is Operation Shelter.
The Police Service deals with a wide range of incidents and operations that
are typically resolved by deploying resources available at that time. On
occasions, however the police response to certain incidents or operations
requires a different approach and the establishment of a dedicated command
structure may be required. The formal command structures follow the Gold,
Silver, Bronze (GSB) model. This is referred to as the strategic, tactical and
operational model. In certain situations an incident or operation will result in
the escalation of decision making into a formal command structure within the
police who has clear lines of accountability and responsibility. Depending
on the needs of the situation their structure may or may not include all
elements of GSB.
The GSB structure provides a framework for delivering a strategic, tactical
and operational response to an incident or operation. It also provides an
opportunity to establish the processes that will ensure the flow of information,
and that decisions are communicated effectively and documented as part of
an audit trail. It is essential that everyone involved in the police response
clearly understands what they are required to do. This is particularly
important where a multi-agency response is required. It is therefore common
practice for there to be partner agency representation particularly from Local
Authorities.
Due to the scale and complexity of Operation Sanctuary the full command
structure has been implemented and therefore includes all elements of Gold,
Silver and Bronze. It is the overarching investigation into sexual exploitation
and oversees a number of separate operations one of which is Operation
Shelter.
Operation Shelter has continued as a police led investigation into allegations
of a series of sexual offences predominantly within Newcastle, but also in
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other local authority areas, involving a number of men from a range of
communities and vulnerable female victims, including teenagers and adults.
The victims so far are all vulnerable in some way. Their vulnerability could be
as a result of their age, learning disability, mental illness, substance misuse or
they have been in local authority care.
The National Probation Service works with both the perpetrators of Sexual
Exploitation and the victims. The service works closely with the Police and
other agencies in intelligence gathering and post sentence will continue to
manage the risks posed by perpetrators
The rehabilitation of perpetrators takes place through:
•
Therapeutic treatment of the offender that addresses attitudes and
behaviours
•
Identification of particular characteristics, such as sexual preoccupation
and harbouring of grievances
•
Differential approaches and treatment of males and females based on
assessment
•
Weaning a perpetrator off their dependence on, or identification with,
the group they belonged to
Many perpetrators of SE will have multiple offence related problems. The
pathway into offending for these people appears likely in many cases to be both
sexually motivated and related to an anti-social/hostile orientation. This is a
judgement based on:
1) The emerging picture that most, if not all, of the (mainly) men who
are involved in SE probably do so at least partially because of
problems in the sexual interests domain. This assumption is made
based on consistent victim accounts of children who describe being
sexually abused by the perpetrators prior to or during further
exploitation (Berelowitz, 2013, Smeaton, 2013)
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2) Research also indicates lack of concern about victims, use of fear
and violence to achieve aims, controlling nature of the offence
(Beckett 2011), and issues of power and control and grievance
thinking (Berelowitz, 2013). This suggests a more general anti-social
orientation in addition to needs in the sexual interests domain
Consequently the starting point for the appropriate response to perpetrators is
one of the existing sex offender programmes, where they have been convicted
of a sexual offence or an offence with an underlying sexual motive (nearly all
of them). Most of the needs identified above will be addressed in one of the
existing sex offender programmes.
4. Why do we need to be aware?
Sexual exploitation has a devastating impact on victims and their families - it
should be a concern for everyone. Sexual exploitation is largely a hidden crime,
and raising awareness of this type of abuse is essential to preventing it and
stopping it at an early stage when it does happen.
Partners play a crucial, statutory role in safeguarding victims from sexual
exploitation, however they cannot do this alone;
cooperation is therefore
needed with the wider community to work together to combat this serious crime.
We know sexual exploitation is a difficult and unpleasant subject to discuss, but
having these conversations is crucial to stamping it out.
5. Statutory responsibilities
There are differing statutory responsibilities relating to child sexual exploitation
and adult sexual exploitation. As a result of local experience and learning in
Newcastle, there is a commitment to take a life course approach to
safeguarding people from sexual exploitation, regardless of whether a statutory
duty exists to do so or not.
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Child Sexual Exploitation
The statutory responsibilities of local agencies, including councils, are set out
in the 2009 supplementary guidance on CSE. The 2011 National Action Plan
further clarifies these, and also brings together a range of commitments from
national and local partners. Statutory requirements from these documents
include:
•
Mechanisms should be in place to collect prevalence and monitor cases
of CSE
•
CSE is assumed to be present, and is prioritised if believed to be a
significant issue
•
Preventative activity should be put in place, helping those being
exploited and targeting perpetrators
•
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) should have specific local
procedures to cover CSE (e.g. a strategy).
•
Children and young people should be involved in the drafting of CSE
strategies
•
Assess and identify patterns of exploitation (problem profiling) and
amend Interventions to reflect the local picture
•
Training should include warning signs of CSE, how to report concerns,
how to safeguard and how to prevent
•
Training should also include advice on evidence gathering
•
Awareness-raising activities should be aimed at young people and the
general public, including where to obtain help and how to report
•
LSCB sub-groups should be established to lead on CSE, with close links
to other groups (e.g. trafficking, missing children)
•
LSCBs should ensure there is a lead person in each organisation to
implement guidance
•
Arrangements should be in place for either a dedicated coordinator or
co-located team
•
Arrangements should be in place for cross border working across
neighbouring local authority areas
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•
There should be periodic audits of multi-agency safeguarding
arrangements.
Adult Sexual Exploitation
There are no similar specific statutory responsibilities in relation to adult sexual
exploitation. Whilst the “Sexual Violence against Children and Vulnerable
People National Group Progress Report and Action Plan” makes some
reference to adults as victims, these are not translated into specific actions or
responsibilities.
However, a number of professionals and agencies have more general legal
duties in relation to safeguarding, health and wellbeing which are often of
relevance in sexual exploitation cases. In particular, this includes the statutory
duty to undertake safeguarding enquiries (Section 42, Care Act 2014) where
an adult with care and support needs (whether or not these are being met) is
experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect. The associated statutory guidance
specifically references sexual exploitation as a form of abuse.
6. Strategic aim
“To work in partnership to prevent sexual exploitation; identify and
protect those at risk of sexual exploitation; support victims in their
recovery; and pursue those who perpetrate sexual exploitation and
bring them to justice.”
We know there is a very strong commitment from all key partners to improve
knowledge and understanding; and to develop a consistent and effective
approach to identifying and responding to the problem across the city,
preventing individuals from being sexually exploited and ensuring that
offenders are brought to justice.
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7. Strategic objectives
•
Prevent – A common understanding and approach to recognising and
tackling sexual exploitation.
•
Protect – Immediate response to concerns or the first signs and indicators
of sexual exploitation.
•
Pursue – disrupt, arrest and prosecute offenders.
•
Prepare –Providing strong leadership; common definition; effective
systems whilst working together to safeguard children, young people and
adults from sexual exploitation.
8. Key priorities
To support and deliver the strategic aim and objectives the following key areas
of work have been identified.
Communication and awareness
•
Ensure effective communication with the public and professionals
regarding sexual exploitation.
•
Build confidence in people to report concerns of sexual exploitation.
Data and intelligence
•
Establish a baseline of information and data that agencies or organisations
in Newcastle currently hold, or not, in relation to sexual exploitation.
•
Identify thematic findings and characteristics relation to sexual exploitation
activity in Newcastle.
•
Identify thematic areas for improvement for agencies or organisations to
consider in relation to data and intelligence.
Policy and procedures
•
Ensure there is consistent practitioner understanding and practice across
and within agencies.
•
Support practitioners with evidence-based tools, resources and guidance
in relation to sexual exploitation.
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Frontline practice
Ensure the views from frontline practitioners, children, young people, adults,
parents and carers are listened to and inform practice development through:
•
Audit activity to evaluate the consistency and quality of frontline practice.
•
The provision and use existing forums to hear the views of practitioners,
children, young people, adults, parents and carers.
Learning and development
•
Ensure the workforce (including public, independent, and community and
voluntary sector) receives appropriate sexual exploitation learning and
development opportunities relevant to their role.
•
Ensure there
are
sexual
exploitation
learning
and
development
opportunities available, promoted and delivered to children, young people,
adults, parents and carers.
9. Governance and reporting
The M-SET Group is responsible for developing and implementing the SE
strategy and strategic plan.
A report from the Group will go to the two
Safeguarding Boards on a quarterly basis, who will seek assurance that
sufficient progress is being made in line with statutory responsibilities and local
need.
Individual agencies represented on the two Safeguarding Boards need to report
and seek approval on work resulting from this strategy through their internal
governance structures.
Progress on responding to sexual exploitation will also be reported in both
NSCB and NSAB Annual Reports.
10. Links to related strategies/plans
Responding to sexual exploitation is included within the NSCB and NSAB
annual strategic plans. The strategy and associated action plan provides the
specific detail on how this will be achieved.
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The aims, objectives and priorities included within this strategy are closely
related to those included within the following strategies/plans:
•
Newcastle Wellbeing for Life Strategy 2013-2016
•
Safe Newcastle Plan 2014-2017
•
Police and Crime Commissioner Violence Against Women and Girls
Strategy 2013-2018
•
Northumbria Police CSE Strategy November 2014
M-SET will work collaboratively with the above partnerships and agencies to
ensure the implementation of this strategy complements the above
strategies/plans.
11. Review of the Strategy
The Strategy will be reviewed annually
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12. References
Berelowitz, S. et al. (2013). “If only someone had listened” The Office of the
Children’s Commissioner’s Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and
Groups Final Report. London: Office of the Children’s Commissioner.
Bare Foot Research and Evaluation (2015), Selling sex in the North East and
Cumbria
Care Act 2014
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/section/42/enacted
Care and Support Statutory Guidance 2014
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-2014-statutoryguidance-for-implementation
Department
for
Education
www.gov.uk/government/
National
Action
Plan
(2011),
publications/tackling-child-sexual-exploitation-
action-plan
Department for Education (2015), Working Together to Safeguard Children.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/
419595/Working_Together_to_Safeguard_Children.pdf
Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation 2009,
Statutory
Guidance
www.gov.uk/
government/publications/safeguarding-
children-and-young-people-from-sexual-exploitation-supplementary-guidance
The Communities and Local Government Committee, (2014). Child Sexual
Exploitation
in
Rotherham:
Some
Issues
for
Local
Government.
www.publications.parliament
13
Report of Inspection of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, February
2015, Louise Casey CB Sexual Violence against Children and Vulnerable
People National Group Progress Report and Action Plan (2013).
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