How should social workers respond to Child Sexual Exploitation?
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is defined as the “abuse of young people not only for sexual satisfaction but for personal gain” (Lindon, 2012, p.48). A child is classed as anyone who is under the age of 18 (Department for Education, 2015). CSE is classed as being a form of sexual abuse (Pearce, 2013). According to Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF, 2009) two approaches are identified as being essential in protecting children from sexual exploitation, a proactive approach and a child-centred approach. This essay will look at the different ways social workers can respond using these approaches to protect children who are being, or at risk of being, sexual exploited.
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Also needed for an effective response is the need to be child-centred, by communicating with children effectively, by listening, understanding and being understood by them, while considering the variety of communication methods children use. Child-centred responses to CSE must also consider the need ongoing support from services, with the child playing a central part in determining the length, how any therapeutic services are run, and when or if services should be needed …show more content…
Barnado’s [Online] Available from: http://www.barnardos.org.uk/cse-young-boys-summary-report.pdf [Accessed: 25th October 2016]
NSPCC. (2013) Child sexual exploitation: learning from case reviews. [Online] Available from: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-protection-system/case-reviews/learning/child-sexual-exploitation/ . [Accessed: 20th October 2016]
JAGO, S., AROCHA, L., BRODIE, I., MELROSE, M., PEARCE, J., & WARRINGTON, C. (2011) What’s going on to Safeguard Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation? University of Bedfordshire [Online] Available from: https://www.beds.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/121873/wgoreport2011-121011.pdf [Accessed: 25th October 2016]
PEARCE, J. (2013) ‘What's Going On’ to Safeguard Children and Young People from Child Sexual Exploitation: A Review of Local Safeguarding Children Boards’ Work to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation. Child Abuse Review. [Online] 23 (3). p 159-170. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezproxy.staffs.ac.uk/doi/10.1002/car.2269/full . [Accessed: 25th October
Kotrla, K., & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex Trafficking of Minors in the U.S.: Implications for Policy, Prevention and Research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 2 (Iss. 1), article 5.
Successes and Failures of Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was heralded as a response to shifting social attitudes, encompassing the broad libertarian approach towards sexual behaviour that has become increasingly dominant since the Act that preceded it whilst attempting to account for the myriad of more widespread sexual deviancies and abusive practices that were otherwise poorly regulated by existing statute. It was designed as a regularisation of the law on sexual offences giving a modern and consistent perspective upon the particular offences; one that would allow the courts to proceed on a fairer and less discriminatory basis, both in its prosecution of offenders and it in treatment of victims. Few statutes can have been subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as this Act, emerging from a climate of public concern over the adequate protection of their children and the proliferation of paedophilia. The abnormally low conviction rate for rape as well as socio-criminal phenomena like 'date-rape' or the effect of immigration on acceptable sexual practices were yet more facets of a many-handed debate about how the law should respond to a changing world. Understanding these issues is central to finding the coherent thread upon which different changes in the Act attempt to hang.
...children, young people and their families can be both complex and difficult. Social work practice is one of the most challenging as it involves work with a diverse range of both professionals and service users. However, there is more that one single reason for this. As all professionals, agencies and parents continue to work together in various different cases, a variety of skills are required including: communication, preparation, intervention skills, assessment of significant harm, research of current legislation and decision making skills, all of which contribute to the complexities and difficulties of social work. It could be argued that these difficulties are highlighted most in many public cases of child abuse; moreover these cases can be seen to be changing social work practice, affecting the difficulties and complexities of working within this profession.
The boy involved in the case has undergone a tremendous amount of trauma and hardship for his age so any social worker involved in his case should handle it with the utmost sensitivity. The standard of cultural awareness and social diversity means the social worker should help provide a safe environment for the boy and make him feel welcome and offers acceptance. This standard seems to be the most important especially considering the ethical responsibility to a client which is always to put their interests before your own.
Kopp and Miltenberger sent surveys to 97 Child Protective Service workers in North Dakota, in which 23 surveys were returned. Participants were informed that the scenarios were designed for use in assessing the sexual abuse prevention skills of 10 year old children. The participants were advised to rate the scenarios based on validity and social acceptability.
Salter, Anna C. (2004). Predators: pedophiles, rapists, & other sex offenders: Who they are and how they operate, and how we can protect ourselves and our children. New York, NY: Basic Books.
...use victims tend to be under the age of 8 in today's era. The possibility of a girl being at risk of sexually abusement falls in the category of 1 in every 4 girls while a boy tends to be 1 in every 6. Children in real danger are getting lost in the press of inappropriate cases (Grapes).
A Child Protective Service worker is a career that can be mentally and physically exhausting with emotional upheaval and wonderfully rewarding all at the same time. This paper discusses several “best practices’, their descriptions, and how they are put in use to assist the children who need help and the parents who unwillingly become a part of the Child Welfare system; even though they count on the system to help them better themselves and the lives of their children. Child Protective Service workers require extensive training, vast knowledge, multiple values, and strong ethics to effectively assist this
...sequently arrested and charged with unlawful sex .At the trial, the judge was disparaging of the girl’s position, describing her as ‘a willing participant’ at 12 years of age, ignoring the fact that if the defendant had committed the offence after May 2003 when the new Sexual Offences Act came into force, he would be liable for an immediate charge of raping a child under 13.The defendant was given a two-year conditional discharge, was made to sign the Sex Offenders Register and escaped prison. This case study is evidential that young girls are much more aware of their sexuality and their consent. Many young girls participate in weekend socialising, drinking and using drugs with men, who consequently believe these girls are at the legal age of consenting in both sexual intercourse and drinking alcohol, only when do these young girls go too far is when rape is cried.
Social work is a multifaceted, ever adapting profession, which has had many purposes and identities through the years. It is imperative for the vocation to constantly evolve alongside the social climate and the new ways in which we identify and treat those who are in need of support. Social workers can be required to take on the role of counsellor, advocate, case-worker, partner, assessor of risk and need, and at times (as the government seeks to push social work further and further towards the health and education sectors) a servant of the state. The profession is dramatically subject to affection by societal change, thus demanding social workers have a duty to be up to date with the latest developments in understanding how and why people get to the point of requiring social work intervention, and how best to prevent and cater for it.
I would to begin this paper with an authentic definition of the Social Work field. Social work practices involves facilitating change—in other words, working with others, not doing something to them or for them(Dubois). Most people and social workers would always use the world ‘help’ in some way or form when defining social workers. Which is true but the confusion come in when asked where they work, who they assist and how they differ from other helping professions. Social workers can be sustain abuse therapists, child welfare specialists, and school social workers. We are not limited to just the department of social services. They can work in nursing homes, hospitals, and even in legislation.
Widom, Cathy S. "Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse: Later Criminal Consequences." Trooper (March 1995): 1-8. NCJRS. Web. 15 Mar. 2011.
Gallagher B,Christmann, Christmann K,Fraser, Fraser C, Hodgson B. 2003. International and internet child sexual abuse and exploitation – issues emerging from research . Child and Family Law Quarterly 15: 353-370.
More importantly, “60 percent of children who are sexually abused do not disclose and most are acquaintances but as many as 47 percent are family or extended family” (The Scope of, 2016). The prevalence of child sexual abuse is difficult to determine because it is often not reported; experts agree that the incidence is far greater than what is reported to authorities (Child Sexual Abuse, 2012). Startling statistics represent the depth of the issue. Globally, prevalence rates show that a range of 7-36% of women and 3-29% of men experience sexual abuse in childhood (The Scope of, 2016). “The U.S Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau report child maltreatment 2010 found that 9.2% of victimized children were sexually assaulted” (Child Sexual Abuse,
The work of a social worker is complex and all encompassing. Social workers work in many capacities seeking justice, liberation, and equality. There work is global, as they work to put policies in place to govern practices. To keep up with societal shifts and generational changes there learning is continuous. As new questions rise so does the need for the continuation of research, not only to answer these questions but to implement into