Child Sexual Abuse, Child Protection and Child Protection Committees

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How do we respond to CSA

• Child protection has traditionally been family orientated and part of child welfare

• Wider CSE is the preserve of the police and criminal justice systems

• Third sector, survivor campaigning initiatives – campaign/challenge the reasons for abuse

• Is this a good model?

Do children disclose sexual abuse?

• CP registration 2007 - 270 out of 3,148 registrations

• 2011 - 302 out of 3,884 registrations - 8% of the total

• Research NSPCC Lorraine Radford 2011

• 24.1% of young adults experienced sexual abuse

• 11.3% experienced contact sexual abuse

• 34% did not tell anyone about it

• Childline - 4th highest issue and 46% said they had not told anyone before contacting Childline

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Why not disclose?

• Lack of flexibility in the system?• Fear of losing control?• No flexibility in the system?• Lack of confidentiality?• Fear of not being believed – tentative disclosing?

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What young people tell us

• Safe Space Advisory Group• Non-disclosure due to:

– Issues of secrecy and fear– They had found ways of coping and knew that they could not

control any investigation– The importance of how their experience would be heard and not

knowing who to contact– They might have disclosed to known teachers but knew it would

be reported and dealt with by senior staff – sometimes being publicly taken out of class makes it worse

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What young people tell us

• Richard Woolfson – Renfrewshire • None of the 11 YP knew what to expect when the

investigation began• Overall, the participants gave the impression of

being frightened by the implications of the CP investigation

• Common level of dissatisfaction with the process did not necessarily result in dissatisfaction with the outcome

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What young people tell us

• Don’t make assumptions ..... – Children’s Commissioner

• Children presented a mixed picture – some helpful and some very unhelpful experiences of involvement with child protection services

• Some children clear that the formal CP system had added more stress to the family

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Joined up working CPCs and partners

• Mapping exercise and Workplan• Partnerships need to aim to influence one

another• GIRFEC provides opportunities for partnership

working and leads to more preventable work and early intervention

• WithScotland complex issues of CSA

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The Role of CPCs

• New guidance in 2005 – The CPC is the strategic overarching body for CP Chief Officer role and accountability established

• CP1 and CP2 – raised standards and resulted in consistency

• 2010 – National CP Guidance for Scotland

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Public Awareness and Community Engagement

• Listen more assume less too – the views of children and young people in East Lothian 2010

• The views of Children and Young people in North Lanarkshire 2011

• Stirling CPC – Public Awareness of CP issues• Comment on CSA scenario• “You would proceed with caution first of all and get your

facts right before you did anything else”• Falkirk CPC – Cafe Conversations• Perth CPC recent small events with community groups

and large events10

New initiatives in CSA

• Public Awareness website• Visual Recording of interviews• CSE - research due to be published • Development of new training and development framework

for CP• Legislation/action plans on grooming children, forced

marriage, child trafficking, internet safety• National Guidance - Underage Sexual Activity• Safeguarding Children in Scotland who may have been

trafficked

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Research

• Don’t Make Assumptions? Office of the Children’s Commissioner (for England)

• http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/content/publications/content_486

• Young People’s views of the CP system in Scotland Dr Richard Woolfson British Journal of Social Work 2012 (40) 7 2069-2085

• The views of children and young people in North Lanarkshire 2011 North Lanarkshire Partnership

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