Forgotten and failed

Transcription

1 Forgotten and failed Sexual exploitation is one of the most complex forms of child abuse, not least because many of the children and young people involved do not initially recognise or acknowledge that they are being abused. Much progress has been made in recognising that children who are often referred to as being abused through prostitution are children in need; but the sexual exploitation of children takes different forms, and many of the children involved are not visibly on the streets but are nevertheless at great risk and subject to grave abuse. Just over two years ago, in June 2005 Barnardo s published the results of two years research into the sexual exploitation of children in London (Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people in London) i which indicated that over a thousand of the capital s children were at risk of exploitation. The report made a number of recommendations including: The Metropolitan Police should identify a lead team to take responsibility for co-ordinating police work on sexual exploitation. This team should be adequately resourced to work proactively across the whole of London to protect children and prosecute abusers. Local authorities should consider providing funding for specialist services to target children at risk of sexual exploitation, either in individual boroughs or in conjunction with neighbouring boroughs. Local authorities should support lead officers in taking a proactive role in making protocols work. In boroughs where there are high levels of risk, this should be through making the lead officer role a full time post. At the launch of this research the Metropolitan Police indicated that they would put in place, if not a team then a lead police officer in each borough with specific responsibility for children who had been sexually exploited. So what has happened since 2005 to protect those at risk of or sexually exploited in London? This report draws on the experiences of two Barnardo s projects 1

2 working with children (aged 12 to 19) in seven London boroughs to see how well London is doing in protecting them and pursuing those who exploit them. What is sexual exploitation? The sexual exploitation of children, both boys and girls takes different forms, from children being involved in sexually exploitative relationships and receiving money, drugs or accommodation in return for sex with one or more men, to being exploited in more formal prostitution. In all cases, those exploiting the children have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, physical strength, or economic or other resources, such as access to drugs. While some element of coercion or intimidation is common, the involvement in exploitative relationships is more significantly characterized by choices borne out of the social emotional and economic vulnerability of the child. What protections from sexual exploitation are currently in place? The right for children to be protected from sexual exploitation and to get help to escape and recover from exploitation is enshrined in both international conventions and domestic legislation. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 34 State parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, State parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bi lateral and multi lateral measures to prevent: The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in unlawful sexual activities. The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual activities. The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Article 39 State parties shall take all appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of a child victim of any form of neglect, exploitation or abuse. Domestic legislation Children Act 1989 In 2000 the government published separate guidance on the duties of local authorities to safeguard and treat children subject to sexual exploitation. Domestic legislation Sexual Offences Act 2003 Following intensive lobbying by Barnardo s and other organisations, the Government introduced new offences in relation to the sexual exploitation of 2

3 children and young people. Specifically, three new offences were created: Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography Trafficking for sexual exploitation Grooming for sexual exploitation. Specific London Provision The sad case of Victoria Climbie, while not one of sexual exploitation highlighted the need for much better liaison and closer working relationships between agencies, including the police and children s services in order to safeguard children from all forms of abuse and exploitation. In response to this and in line with Barnardo s recommendation in Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people in London ; in June 2006 the London Safeguarding Children Board launched new procedures and protocols on safeguarding children from sexual exploitation Barnardo s practice experience and research shows what is needed to assist children to escape and recover from sexual exploitation and achieve the reintegration that is so important. It is clear that what works is a continuum of care: Prevention general educative work in schools to enable children to develop appropriate relationships and help them be less vulnerable to exploitation Early identification targeting those children at most risk of exploitation and working with them to minimise the risk of vulnerability escalating into exploitation Protection specialist services working with all agencies to provide intensive support. Access enabling exploited children to access mainstream services such as health and education Safe accommodation to assist children to escape from exploitation and provide a secure and supportive place to aid the recovery process. Prosecution proactive police work to pursue and prosecute perpetrators and gather intelligence on exploitation. Our 16 specialist projects across the UK operate this continuum of care model and research ii indicates that this approach substantially reduces the risk to children and enables them to move on from exploitative relationships. Who are the young people exploited? While any child may be vulnerable to exploitation, research iii has identified the characteristics of those most likely to be at risk: A disrupted family life including being in care A history of abuse and disadvantage including witnessing domestic violence Problematic or poor relationships with parents 3

4 Disengagement from education A history of going missing from home or care Drug and alcohol misuse Poor health and well being including mental and emotional health. In 2006 Barnardo s London services worked with 180 girls and boys at risk of or sexually exploited who demonstrated many of these characteristics including: Over 65% were not living at home, including those in care Over 80% were not in education, training or employment Just over 70% had a parent with a mental health or substance misuse problem Almost half had witnessed domestic violence. The following two stories typify the cases Barnardo s works with in London; these are true accounts although some detail has been changed to protect the two girls concerned. Jody s Story Born to parents with mental health and drug problems, Jody was a neglected child from the very beginning. Her parents had no idea how to cope with a growing family and their children were on the child protection register from birth. Jody s early life was volatile and her parents relationship violent. She was neglected and isolated; worst of all her early memories were of fighting and arguments. At the age of six Jody was sexually abused by a family friend, a man who worked his way into her parents confidence. The abuser targeted Jody because she was a vulnerable, neglected child. She had nowhere to turn and was unable to bring the man to justice. Unprotected, she was easy prey for the unscrupulous men who target children. I started to run away from my family and being with friends was the best way to do that. I started to get involved with the wrong crowd, in the end I started to be friendly with people who were being exploited but I was too young to do anything about it, says Jody. In her short life, all Jody had known was neglect and abuse. By the age of 11 she had suffered enough and began running away regularly and living on the streets. Her behaviour was difficult and angry; to the outside world she appeared a disruptive teenager. The adults in her life had all let her down; they had either rejected her or abused her. Jody had low self-esteem and felt worthless. Although she was placed in care, Jody continued to go missing and was vulnerable to abusive men. Before long an older man, who had a history of 4

5 violence and drugs, had befriended her. Adrian treated her just like all the other the males in her life with violence and abuse. It was all she knew and all she expected. At first it was okay; you know he gave me loads of presents and of attention. I felt special. But then he got me involved with other men and they took me away to places I didn t know, places that were dangerous it was frightening. They gave me drink and drugs, I didn t know what to do, Jody continues. Seriously drawn into a world of drugs and prostitution, Adrian took Jody away and held her in a flat for several days. She was drugged and sexually assaulted by different men. Later, Jody broke down and told a care worker what had happened. The police were informed, but after initial investigations the enquiry was closed. Jody was too scared to push charges she was just 12. A few months later, Jody fell pregnant with Adrian s baby and later gave birth to a son. It was an event that could have changed her life but her happiness was to be short lived. Within weeks, Jody s baby had been taken into care, her lifestyle was too chaotic and she had struggled to accept help. Jody was plunged into further despair and anger. Soon after, I ran away again. No one was really looking after me so it didn t matter. I didn t care anymore. Everything in my life went wrong. Everyone was doing something bad. I started to look at what had happened to me and my friends some were missing, others were getting hurt, hurt bad. There didn t seem any point, Jody says. Vulnerable, with no self-worth, Jody was easy prey for abusing men. Before long the word had got around and she was being picked up in expensive, flash cars, taken to places she didn t know, given drink and drugs then sexually exploited. Often she could hardly remember what had happened, more often she didn t want to remember. Jody could see no way of escape, if she went along with it at least she wouldn t get beaten. The men who abused her seemed almost immune to the law. There had been times when she d tried to tell the police what was going on, times when she s tried to stop them - but no one had really followed through. By this time Jody was deeply involved with the dealers, deeply involved in a dangerous world. She was sexually exploited by night and used to stash the drugs by day. The dealers were in a winning situation if the drugs were traced, the young girl would face prosecution. Girls like Jody often have little or no protection from these hardened criminals, they are frightened and isolated who would believe the word of a 14-year-old drug user? And, that was exactly what happened. Jody was linked to drug taking and arrested. The dealer responsible was well known and dangerous. Jody was terrified to speak up and tell the truth. It was safer to face the legal consequences. 5

6 They (the police) can t protect me, no one can. I m terrified, I can t eat or sleep, I don t know what s going to happen, says Jody. I don t know what the next day is going to bring I can t think ahead. At least if I keep my mouth shut, I m safe. Barnardo s has been supporting Jody and despite her vulnerability, she is trying to make a new life and has even made contact with her mother. But now, the very laws that were designed to protect vulnerable children like Jody have failed her and she faces an uncertain future. Currently, the dealers and abusers who used Jody have not been arrested or brought to justice. Lorna s Story Lorna was just 12-years-old when she met Barry, 26 years her senior. Living at home with her mother and older sister, who had mental health problems, Lorna felt isolated and lonely. Her Dad was not at home and her mother worked full time and struggled to attend to her older daughter s health problems. Lorna was often left unsupervised, she was upset by the break up of her parent s marriage and felt her emotional needs were not being considered. Barry changed all that. Lorna met him when she was asked to baby-sit for his young daughters. What Lorna did not know at the time was that Barry had already showed an interest in young girls. However, for a lonely 12-year-old, Barry seemed like the answer to her prayers. He d let her drink and smoke in his flat, she felt grown up, wanted. He gave her little presents and tokens of affection, but most of all he gave her what she craved most attention. Before long, Lorna was obsessed. She could talk about nothing but Barry and scrawled his name in schoolbooks. She even began alienating her friends and spent every possible moment at his flat. I felt he was the only one who was there for me, he treated me like an adult, he let me smoke and drink vodka at the flat, Lorna says. And he was fit I thought my mates were just jealous. He was always giving me presents and saying how great I looked. It was the best. But Barry s interest in Lorna was not just platonic, the clever grooming process he was employing was a trait commonly seen by Barnardo s project workers supporting sexually exploited children and before long the fairytale romance began to take a sinister turn. By the time Lorna was 13, she was talking about her boyfriend Barry and her mother became suspicious that the young girl was 6

7 being sexually abused. For Lorna, trapped in a web of grooming and by now feeling totally dependent on Barry, the relationship with her mother began to break down. Lorna started spending more and more time staying over at Barry s flat. Exhausted, her mother could no longer cope and virtually gave up on her daughter. The young girl was allowed to move in with Barry and before long the violence began. For the next two years, Lorna spent her life living part time with Barry, part time in residential care. It was suspected that she was being sexually abused and was regularly beaten. However, like most domestic violence cases where the girl is young and vulnerable, it was almost impossible to persuade Lorna to confess any of the detail of her abuse. I thought he loved me. Yeah, he used to get mad but I pushed him to it, I can be really annoying. But he always said sorry, he didn t mean it. He did, he really loved me, Lorna says. Even if I had wanted to stop it, I couldn t. Who d believe me? I had got involved with a bad group of friends and we sometimes got in trouble with the police. No one was going to believe anything I said after that. By the age of 14 Lorna was in trouble with the police and had gone off the rails. She had been put on a supervision order, but still the authorities continued to focus on the young girl s behaviour rather than looking at the man who was by this point, abusing and controlling her. It was at this point that Barnardo s sexual exploitation project became involved. Lorna had finally told the police that she was being sexually and physically abused by Barry an adult 26 years her senior. Indeed, after the police visited Barry s flat they did find some evidence to support her complaint. However, the decision was taken not to pursue the case. Over the next couple of months, Lorna lived between Barry s flat and a residential home. She could not break free from his grip and would constantly go missing from care. Her injuries became more acute and eventually she ended up in hospital. She had been badly beaten. Further examination revealed injuries consistent with her claim of sexual abuse. But like so many other vulnerable young women, Lorna eventually withdrew her allegation. She was isolated and frightened of Barry, the thought of going to court terrified her; Barry had groomed her too well for that. It was eventually Lorna that was accused of damaging Barry s property. It was at this point that Barnardo s and social services seized the opportunity to take action and managed to get the charges against Lorna dropped. However, Barry wasn t about to lose the girl he had taken such time and effort to groom and sent her money for the train fare home. Lorna was happy to travel miles to 7

8 be with the man she loved - her abuser. Eventually, Lorna was placed in a secure unit for her own protection miles out of London, in the North East. Barry was served with a Child Abduction letter, warning him to stay away from Lorna and for the first time in her life the young woman thrived. Free from abuse and neglect, her education flourished. But Lorna s story does not end there. Believing Barry loved her, she absconded again - it later transpired that Barry had been sending her secret messages. Due to an administrative error no report was made to the missing persons unit Lorna had effectively disappeared. It was weeks later, spurned on by enquiries from Barnardo s that the police discovered Lorna at Barry s flat. The frightened 16-year-old was found cowering in the bathroom, she had been badly beaten. Currently, the police have been unable to bring any charges against Barry. Prevention and protection in London Much has changed in the last decade to recognise that sexual exploitation is a form of abuse and that children who are exploited are vulnerable and in need. But are we doing enough to protect and help children in London? Firstly, let s consider what is happening with the new offences introduced by the 2003 Sexual Offences Act; offences specifically designed to prosecute adults who sexually exploit children and young people. Three new offences were introduced, but evidence of the extremely low numbers of prosecutions resulting from these offences suggests that there are barriers to their use or that prosecutions are not being pro actively pursued. Please note that these figures relate to the whole of England and Wales. New Offence Abuse of children through prostitution and pornography Trafficking for sexual Number of offences recorded in 2004/5 and 2005/6 Numbers prosecuted in exploitation Sexual Grooming 425 iv No figures recorded Numbers found guilty in 2005 No figures recorded v 8

9 So it would seem that overall, the new legislation has not succeeded in bringing more perpetrators to justice; so what other measures are in place to protect and prevent sexual exploitation of children in London? Many agencies, including the police and social services recognise the grave vulnerability and risk to children like Jody and Lorna and in some areas progress has been made: The London Safeguard Children Board s protocols on sexual exploitation have been developed and published The Mayor of London recognised at an early stage that exploitation is a key issue for the capital s children. His 2004 Implementation Plan for Children and Young People included a section on the work needed to improve services for sexually exploited children and, in particular highlighted the need for both preventative services in schools and specialist services to assist children escape and recover from exploitation. In North London, a pilot scheme has seen a dedicated police officer attached to the Barnardo s service covering four London boroughs In South London, the Home Office Invest to Save initiative is funding a second police officer to be attached to the Barnardo s service there In North London, a prolific perpetrator who groomed children and supplied them with drugs has been arrested and convicted under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, due to good inter-agency cooperation between police, children s services and Barnardo s The London Councils funded a Barnardo s project to pilot and develop a preventative education programme targeted at pupil referral units, schools and residential children s homes in three London boroughs. This two year piece of work is now completed and in October Barnardo s will be publishing a group work training programme aimed at front line workers so this prevention work can continue and be expanded. But despite the recognition of the serious risk to children and these pockets of good practice, many of the recommendations outlined in Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people in London have not been implemented and there are still serious shortcomings in protecting London s children from sexual exploitation: Our practice experience suggests that the London Children s Safeguarding Board s protocols are only actively used where there is a specialist sexual exploitation service There is no requirement from the London Safeguarding Board or elsewhere, that cases known to services are reviewed under the protocol, although it is Barnardo s practice to do this with the local children s services in the boroughs we operate in There is a requirement that local authorities report child protection cases to the Department for Education and Skills and consequences for those authorities if they do not comply with this requirement. Children who are 9

10 sexually exploited are not included in this requirement, despite the fact that sexual exploitation is recognised as a form of abuse There are only three independent specialist sexual exploitation services in London covering only 8 out of the 32 London boroughs two Barnardo s services and one run by the NSPCC No extra resources have been made available, other than within the three existing services, to either provide services or a lead person with specific responsibility for sexual exploitation Current specialist teams in the metropolitan police dealing with sexual matters such as those dealing with child sexual abuse, rape or missing persons do not have the specialist knowledge or the resources to be proactive in developing a strategy for pursuing the perpetrators of the sexual exploitation of children London has all the complexities and policing priorities associated with a capital city street crime etc. which call heavily on their current resources. Additionally specific targets for offences brought to justice can mean an emphasis on particular types of crime, such as robbery and burglary. Currently sexual exploitation is not a high priority nor does it figure in any of the specific targets The specialist services so necessary for both prevention and supporting children to escape from exploitation are unavailable in most of London. Key messages Barnardo s experience of providing services in London suggests that children who are sexually exploited are amongst the most vulnerable and at risk of any in the capital. Despite widespread support, including that from the police and children s services, for the recommendations we made two years ago; without extra resources and support, many children and young people in London will continue to be at risk. 1. Legislation and resources - it is clear that the new legislation, without awareness raising and resources will be insufficient to protect children and ensure that perpetrators are pursued. Prevention programmes such as that developed by Barnardo s cannot be effective in protecting children unless they are part of a continuum of care which includes the pro active pursuit of perpetrators. Without access to specialist support services, many young people will have no route to escape from exploitation and will be at risk of further abuse, criminality and drug abuse. 2. The criminalisation of victims the sexual exploitation of children and young people in London frequently results in offending by them predominantly drug related crime. So the victims of exploitation are often pursued and punished by the criminal justice system while the perpetrators of the exploitation are not bought to book. 10

11 What does Barnardo s want to see? Every London Borough to have access to a lead police officer with special responsibility for sexual exploitation Mandatory awareness raising and training for front line staff including police officers on sexual exploitation, the impact this has on children and the specific provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 relating to sexual exploitation Resources made available to enable the London Children s Safeguarding Board s protocols to be implemented in all boroughs and a requirement that there is a multi-agency review of all cases under the protocols A requirement that sexual exploitation is included in the report to the Department for Education and Skills, as for all other child protection cases. Sexual exploitation puts children at grave risk, but it does not happen in isolation it is closely related to other crime such as drugs and violence. Preventing and dealing with sexual exploitation and pursuing the perpetrators will help to detect crime, make communities safer and avoid tragedy for individual children. It is not too late to put in place the measures that are needed and show that the capital can really work to protect children across London. Jody and Lorna are just two of the many children, both boys and girls at risk in the capital today; many like them will be at risk of exploitation and have no chance of escape without these measures. i Meeting the needs of sexually exploited young people in London Harper. Z and Scott. S. Barnardo s 2005 ii Reducing the risk: Barnardo s support for sexually exploited young people Scott. S and Skidmore. P. Barnardo s 2006 iii Reducing the risk: Barnardo s support for sexually exploited young people Scott. S and Skidmore. P. Barnardo s 2006 iv and Accessed v Accessed Pam Hibbert, Principal Policy Officer Tel: pam.hibbert@barnardos.org.uk Media Office: Go to: to access Meeting the needs of young people in London and Reducing the risk: Barnardo s support for sexually exploited young people 11