Constructs of safety for children in care affected by sexual exploitation

Links between child sexual exploitation (CSE) and the care system have been acknowledged for many years. Media coverage of a series of cases of ‘child prostitution’ involving local authority care in the 1970s triggered widespread recognition of the issue for the first time (Barrett and Brown, 2002). More recently these concerns were reignited in the media by the case of a victim of the Rochdale ‘grooming ring’ who had been placed a long distance from her home in a very expensive single occupancy unit, from which she regularly went missing and was abused. Despite prevention and identification being key themes of government guidance on sexual exploitation (DCSF, 2009) the Rochdale case suggests there remains a clear need for early intervention, and training for carers and professionals to recognise the signs of exploitation. In the absence of such intervention risk often escalates to the point where young people in care are moved between placements for their own safety and to disrupt an exploitative relationship. Whilst the objective of physical safety is crucial, this chapter argues that it should be achieved alongside both relational and psychological security. Where such holistic approaches are not taken, chronic insecurity is more likely, which can then become a risk factor for sexual exploitation in itself.