From one girl to ‘three girls’: the importance of separating agency from blame (and harm from wrongfulness) in narratives of childhood sexual abuse and exploitation

In May 2012, nine men from Rochdale were convicted and jailed for grooming girls with alcohol, drugs and gifts before forcing them to have sex with multiple men. Following the case in Rochdale similar cases of grooming and sexual abuse/exploitation of young girls came to light in various towns and cities across the UK. In 2017, the BBC aired the drama Three Girls which featured the story of three of the victims whose abusers were ultimately jailed in May 2012, including one whose story of abuse was not listened to and whose abusers were ultimately not charged with abusing her (although they were charged with abusing other young girls). In this paper, I draw parallels between the experiences of these three girls and another victim of childhood sexual abuse (interviewed as part of an ESRC funded research project) to show how the central features of this story (childhood sexual innocence and victims’ lack of agency) are deeply problematic not only for victims and child protection services, but also for how teachers and other education professionals understand children and young people’s sexuality and CSA (a term I use to include child sexual exploitation or CSE) and ultimately how they respond to victims.     

Children and young people's views on institutional safety: It's not just because we're little

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has set in motion a number of systemic and organizational approaches to identify and respond to child sexual abuse. These include increased child abuse awareness, developing and enhancing child-safe organizational cultures and policies and more thorough screening and supervision of staff in child and youth serving organizations. Although these advances should be applauded, many of the concerns that children and young people have raised about interpersonal safety have not been fully addressed. There is therefore a risk that children’s physical, relational, generational, and organizational powerlessness are reinforced through child-safe practices that restrict their meaningful participation, ignore their agency and capacity and fail to respond to their felt safety needs or wishes. This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project conducted with 121 Australian children and young people and presents their perspectives on issues of vulnerability and the ways that they would like adults and institutions to respond to their safety concerns. The value of adult-child alliances, of formal mechanisms that are child-friendly and accessible and having external agencies monitor and review institutional strategies to preventing harm are discussed.     

Online child sexual exploitation and abuse: A community diagnosis using the social norms theory

This study focused on the drivers of online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) among Filipino children and youth, with emphasis on community norms. An ethnographic qualitative study was conducted in two communities in MetroManila that are considered “hotspots” for child sexual abuse. One hundred and forty-four (144) males and females from various age groups served as key informants. Political officials, Internet shop managers, professionals and police officers were also interviewed. Non-participant observations and mapping were used to provide context regarding OCSEA in the communities.The results revealed that OCSEA was committed online by heterosexual and same sex attracted men in their 40s–50s. The usual victims were girls aged 13–17 years, although boys were also noted. The victims came from poor families and were out-of-school. The various forms of online activities leading to OCSEA included sexual chatting, showing of child sex photos and live videos as well as sextortion. The online transactions were usually initiated by the peer group and some enablers. In general, online sexual activities were perceived as “normal” among young people, although regarded as “disgusting”. Online sex activities had become a source of “easy money” for the child and family. They were perceived as not harmful because of anonymity and the absence of any actual physical contact. People in the community tolerate these online practices and do not report the incidence to authorities. The effects on children and youth were predominantly social and psychological, albeit perceived as economically beneficial. Some preventive and mitigating actions were recommended to curb the incidence of OCSEA in the communities.     

Online pornography – Should schools be teaching young people about the risks? An exploration of the views of young people and teaching professionals

The Internet has made sexually explicit media more accessible to young people. Online pornography is diverse, can be very graphic, and a large amount is available free of charge with restrictions varying by country. Many young people are accessing online pornography, intentionally or unintentionally, and there are fears that this could impact on their sexual development and future relationships. Current research into the effects of viewing pornography on attitudes and behaviours of young people is patchy and often contradictory. Via an anonymous survey of 218 young people and focus group discussions with 23 teaching professionals in outer London schools, this study examines whether young people and teaching professionals consider pornography use to have harmful effects, and if they feel schools should be incorporating teaching about online pornography in their educational programmes. Findings reveal that young people and teachers perceive there to be many negative effects of viewing pornography, particularly at a young age. Young people and teachers agree that schools should teach about the risks associated with online pornography viewing. Recommendations for schools about how to facilitate discussion of issues surrounding pornography use as part of the wider sex education programme are made, including the involvement of parents.     

Flirting,dating, and breaking up within new media environments

Although romantic and sexual relationships are an important aspect of young people's lives, research on how young people negotiate their love/sex relationships is lacking. New media environments provide a new context within which young people negotiate their love/sex relationships; however, what is negotiated is often not all that different from what was negotiated before the advent of new media technologies. Using an online discussion board and individual in-person interviews, this paper explores how young Australians, aged 18–25 years, engage with dominant gendered discourses to negotiate their love/sex relationships within the context of new media environments. Previous research suggests that young people make use of new media technologies to flirt with one another, to initiate new relationships, to maintain their relationships, and to fight and end their relationships. This paper focuses on young people's practices of mediated flirting, surveillance, and breaking up. It considers the creative and agentic ways young people use new media technologies in the negotiation of their love/sex relationships.     

Nine years after child sexual abuse

OBJECTIVE: During 1988-1990, 103 children presented to Child Protection Units (CPU) at two children's hospitals in Sydney, Australia. Nine years later, the psychological adjustment of these young people (mean age=19.1 years, SD=3.4 years; range=14-25 years) was compared with that of non-abused young people of similar age and gender to assess group differences and examine potential risk factors. METHOD: At intake, data on the nature of the index sexual abuse, demographics and the family environment were collected by clinicians. A comparison group, of similar age and gender, was selected from schools in the catchment area of the CPUs. Six years after presentation for the abuse, records of the statutory child protection authority were checked to determine any further notifications for abuse and/or neglect. Nine years after intake, 49 of the abused young people and 68 of the non-abused young people and/or their parents were interviewed and assessed. RESULTS: The sexually abused young people performed more poorly than non-abused young people on psychometric tests of depression (p=.001), self-esteem (p<.001), anxiety (p<.001), behavior (Child Behavior Checklist: p=.01; Youth Self Report: p=.01; Young Adult Self Report: p<.001), and despair (p=.001). They were also more likely to have a history of bingeing (p=.002), self-inducing vomiting (p=.02), smoking cigarettes (p=.01), and using amphetamines (p=.002), ecstasy (p=.002) and cocaine (p=.004). Potential risk factors were in two groups, family and child. Family factors: family functioning, parental drug/alcohol problems, mother's sexual abuse history, mother's depression and socio-economic status. Child factors: despair and hopefulness, number of negative life events, ratings of their father's care, previous notifications for child sexual abuse and placements in out-of-home care by the statutory child protection authority. In the presence of other risk factors, child sexual abuse was a significant predictor of self-esteem, behavior and bingeing. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than focusing only on the individual's child sexual abuse, treatment may also need to address the family's functioning and the individual's feelings of despair.     

Imagining the Audience: language,creativity and communication in youth media production

This article provides an analytical case study of the production of two films made by young people as part of the VideoCulture project, and of the ways in which they were interpreted. The case study raises key issues to do with the question of audience, which has been a major theme in debates around the place of production in media education. The article suggests that awareness of audience may enable young people to ‘decentre’, and hence to develop a more reflective analysis of their own work. However, it also points to the social differences in the media ‘languages’ that young people use, and the contrasting models of creativity which they imply. Discussion of these issues suggests that media education should avoid the more individualistic approach to creative production which is made possible by digital technology     

Young people’s views of the constraints on sex education in Bangkok,Thailand

This article explores how Thai culture, gender and age influence sex education in Thailand, and how online sources and social media have emerged as an alternative source of sex education among young people. Qualitative data was gathered by means of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions from 99 young people aged 15–24 years of various genders and sexualities living in Bangkok. Age and gender/sexuality have a powerful influence on how students perceive sex education in Thailand. Younger people of all genders/sexualities were interested in the changes occurring in puberty and defining their gender/sexual identity, while older informants were more interested in sexual health issues including prevention and self-assessment. With respect to sexual relationships, different genders/sexualities showed varying interests, some were interested in the emotional aspects, while others were more interested in the physical dimensions of sex. Overall, Thai culture constrains the success of sex education by limiting learning opportunities and discussion, and by the provision of inauthentic knowledge to students. Online sources and the social media offer possible solutions to these inadequacies in sex education.     

Sense about sex: media,sex advice,education and learning

The media are widely acknowledged as important in sex and relationship education, but they are usually associated with ‘bad’ effects on young people in contrast to the ‘good’ knowledge represented by more informational and educational formats. In this paper we look at sex advice giving in newspapers, magazines and television in the UK, in sex advice books and in online spaces for sexual learning. We examine some of the limitations of the information provided, consider the challenges for sex advice in the contemporary context, and outline some of the opportunities for academics, researchers, therapists, sex educators and activists to contribute productively to sex advice giving and sexual learning more generally.     

Child sexual abuse and exploitation—A global glimpse

The view of what constitutes child abuse and neglect is dependent on the laws, cultural context, local thresholds and the availability. Since 1982, the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) has conducted surveillance of child maltreatment and child protection every two years, published in World Perspectives on Child Abuse. It is hoped that up to date information will inform the development of laws, policies and programs to better address child abuse and neglect. This article is based on data on child sexual abuse and exploitation from 73 countries gathered online in 2015-16 for the 12 edition of World Perspectives. Respondents were key informants who were knowledgeable professionals in the child protection field. They were encouraged to consult with colleagues so as to provide accurate information. Countries were grouped into different regions of the world and into income level categories. The findings focus on definitions of abuse and neglect, laws, policies and programs to address and prevent maltreatment and barriers to prevention. It is evident that there is considerable variability across regions and country income categories, and that programs and services need to be considerably strengthened, even in high income countries.     

Educational program on evaluation of alleged sexual abuse victims

Increased awareness of the problem of child sexual abuse has resulted in increasing numbers of children presenting to professionals for the evaluation of possible sexual victimization. A multidisciplinary project to develop professionals' knowledge and skills in the identification and evaluation of possible victims is described. The program focused on the child as a victim and emphasized developmental perspectives with regard to identification, interviewing children, the medical examination, and children in the legal system. Fifty-one medical and social work professionals from ten Indiana counties attended the program and responded to questionnaires about their experience and knowledge. Of 40 (78%) respondents, 63% had had no previous training in the medical evaluation for child sexual abuse. Child protective workers referred alleged victims primarily to the child's regular physician (37%) or emergency room (31%) for medical examination. Knowledge about child sexual abuse improved significantly at two weeks postsymposium (p = .001) and remained improved at six months postsymposium (p less than .02). These original participants have subsequently organized similar multidisciplinary programs in their local communities for medical, social, law enforcement, and legal professionals; thus, they have been "seeds" for further educational and cooperative efforts throughout the state.     

Recognising and responding to radicalisation at the ‘frontline’: Assessing the capability of school teachers to recognise and respond to radicalisation

Governments across the west have put teachers at the forefront of efforts to tackle radicalisation of young people based on their proximity to potentially vulnerable students. This has proven controversial, as critics claim that this securitises teachers’ work and that they cannot be expected to accurately identify and respond to extremism. Despite investment in P/CVE teacher training, research to assess teachers’ competence to identify signs of radicalisation and to respond in an appropriate manner is scarce. This article presents findings from a survey experiment with 2,173 teachers in Great Britain and Denmark. It shows that British and Danish teachers largely recognise radicalisation cues and respond to student radicalisation in similar ways. However, our data shows that British teachers are more likely than Danish teachers to react formally (e.g. report to authorities), and that British teachers feel more confident in reacting to signs of radicalisation. The results enhance our understanding of the effects of radicalisation prevention in schools. Furthermore, they challenge arguments within the extant literature by suggesting that what leads to concerns of radicalisation is not entirely subjective or completely context dependent.     

Differences between residential and non-residential fathers on sexual socialisation of African American youth

This study investigated differences between residential and non-residential fathers on topics discussed during father–child sex communication and factors associated with child sexual socialisation. Young people (N = 159, 53% female) provided self-reports using computer surveys on the role of their fathers on father–child sex communication, general communication, parental monitoring, father social support and topics discussed during father–child sex communication. The analysis revealed differences in topics discussed between young people with residential vs. non-residential fathers. Independent group t-tests revealed significant differences between young people with residential vs. non-residential fathers on social support and parental monitoring for sons and parental monitoring for daughters. Sons and daughters with residential fathers had higher scores on these variables. Discriminant function analyses, chi-square tests and hierarchical linear regression analyses were carried out to determine whether there were meaningful distinctions between young people with residential vs. non-residential fathers. The analysis revealed social support and parental monitoring provided the most meaningful distinction between young people with residential vs. non-residential fathers. These results highlight the importance of non-residential fathers in the sexual socialisation of their young people through parent–child sex communication. Discussion focuses on the need for development of interventions to promote the inclusion of non-residential fathers in the sexual socialisation of African American youth.     

Further abuse of sexually abused children

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of re-abuse in children known to have been sexually abused and to find factors that increase the risk of re-abuse. METHOD: The study group consisted of 183 children with substantiated sexual abuse who presented to two children's hospitals' Child Protection Units in Sydney, Australia during 1988 through 1990. At intake, when the children were aged between 5 years and 15 years, data about the child, the family, and the nature of the index sexual abuse were collected. Six years after presentation for the abuse, records of the Department of Community Services were checked to see if any of the young people had been the subject of substantiated notifications for abuse/neglect before and after intake to the study. Predictors of notifications for abuse/neglect after presentation for the index sexual abuse were identified. RESULTS: Of the sexually abused young people, nearly one in three were the subject of subsequent substantiated notifications to the Department of Community Services for some form of child abuse and neglect or behavior which placed them at risk of harm. Later notifications for abuse/neglect were predicted by notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 4.88, CI: 1.43 to 16.65), severity of the index sexual abuse (p = .03), and the number of changes in the child's primary caregivers before intake (p = .03). Approximately one in six of the sexually abused young people were notified for sexual abuse after intake to the study. One in 10 also had prior notifications for sexual abuse. Sexual abuse notifications after study intake were predicted by caregiver changes before intake (p = .01) and whether or not there were notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 3.40, CI: 1.05 to 11.02). CONCLUSIONS: Revictimization of children appears to be a marker of ongoing family dysfunction. Intervention in child sexual abuse needs to consider a range of risk factors associated with re-abuse and, in particular, should focus on family functioning if further abuse is to be prevented.     

Collaboration between a child telephone helpline and sexual and reproductive health and rights organisations in Senegal: lessons learned

This study identifies lessons learned from a collaboration between a child telephone helpline and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) organisations in Senegal established in the context of an SRHR programme for young people. We assessed how helpline operators are equipped to address sexual health and rights issues with young people, what the relevant skills of operators are, and to what extent referral to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) service providers took place. A documentary review, a vignette study and interviews with six key informants and all seven operators took place. The collaboration led to promising initiatives, such as the provision of SRH training, the exchange of staff, referral to SRH service providers. However, the counselling advice provided by operators was not always in line with the rights-based approach and responses were influenced by underlying norms concerning young people’s sexuality. Additionally, concerns about confidentiality were noted. The collaboration was an innovative attempt to respond to young people’s limited access to SRHR information and services but there is a need for more in-depth training of helpline operator’s skills and the development of a standardised rights-based counselling manual.     

Barriers and facilitators to disclosing sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review

Children and young people often choose not to disclose sexual abuse, thus preventing access to help and allowing perpetrators to continue undetected. A nuanced understanding of the barriers (and facilitators) to disclosure is therefore of great relevance to practitioners and researchers. The literature was systematically searched for studies related to child and adolescent disclosures of sexual abuse. Thirteen studies were reviewed and assessed for methodological quality. Results of the review illustrate the heterogeneous nature of these empirical studies. Findings demonstrate that young people face a number of different barriers such as limited support, perceived negative consequences and feelings of self-blame, shame and guilt, when choosing to disclose. Being asked or prompted, through provision of developmentally appropriate information, about sexual abuse facilitates disclosure. The review highlights the need for robust, longitudinal studies with more sophisticated methodology to replicate findings. The review identifies the need for developmentally appropriate school-based intervention programmes that facilitate children’s disclosure by reducing feelings of responsibility, self-blame, guilt and shame. In addition, prevention programmes should encourage family members, friends and frontline professionals to identify clues of sexual abuse, to explicitly ask children about the possibility of sexual abuse and also to respond supportively should disclosures occur. Facilitating disclosure in this way is key to safeguarding victims and promoting better outcomes for child and adolescent survivors of sexual abuse.     

Young people’s conversations about environmental and sustainability issues in social media

Young people’s conversations about environmental and sustainability issues in social media and their educational implications are under-researched. Understanding young people’s meaning-making in social media and the experiences they acquire could help teachers to stage pluralistic and participatory approaches to classroom discussions about the environment and sustainability. The aim of the article is to explore the characteristics of meaning-making in young people’s conversations about environmental and sustainability issue in social media, more precisely in an online community. The study takes a public pedagogy and citizenship-as-practice approach and uses Epistemological Move Analysis. The conversation are shown to be argumentative, sophisticated, elaborative and competitive and create an educational situation in which facts about the world and moral and political values and interests are confronted and argued. The findings raise questions about pluralistic and participatory approaches and the staging of classroom conversations in environmental and sustainability education.     

Navigating a bumpy road. Developing sexuality education that supports young people’s sexual agency

The complexity of young people’s strategic negotiation of sexual agency constitutes a challenge for professionals working in the area of sexuality education. This paper explores how comprehensive sexuality education can support young people to develop sexual agency in all its forms: embodied, bonded, narrative and moral. A first step is to base sexuality education on the recognition of the connectedness of young people to different people and to different sexual cultures. This implies that comprehensive sexuality education should provide the tools that can help young people in the process of taking up a position, forming an identity and embodying a sexual self within their own social and cultural context. Moreover, comprehensive sexuality education should not only be aimed at empowering individuals, but should also address different sexual cultures, gender norms and other social norms, to stimulate critical consciousness and collective agency, and thereby create an environment that enables and supports young people’s agency and diminishes inequality and restrictive norms.     

How social media discourses organize communication online: a multi-level discursive analysis of tensions and contradictions in teens’ online experiences

Media reports frequently frame youth as foolish but also uniquely vulnerable when it comes to social media. However, adult framings of teen online activities and teens’ reported experiences regularly differ due to the privileging of adult concerns. In this paper, we take a youth-centered approach to teen online activities exploring the constitutive processes of social media and the micro-, meso-, and macro-level discourses associated with youth social media use. Through in-depth interviews with 55 culturally and socio-economically diverse young people, we examine the contradictions and tensions that organize teens’ experiences online, as well as the discursive resources they draw on to navigate online life. Our research showcases a multi-level discursive analysis that enables scholars to see how discourses intertwine to organize communication online, foregrounding theoretical implications about how young people resist and reify certain discourses about social media, as well as how identity and imagined audiences are maintained online.     

Management of non-consensually shared youth-produced sexual images: A Delphi study with adolescents as experts

There is an increased availability of online child abuse images, a proportion of which is created by young people in coercive and non- coercive relationships (sexting).ObjectivesThis Delphi study with adolescents as "experts" who had taken and shared sexual images, was conducted to identify appropriate responses to sexting where images are shared without consent and identify indicators of distress and ways to facilitate disclosure when the sharing of images causes anxiety or is associated with further victimization.Participants and setting124 adolescents from the United Kingdom completed an online survey. All self-identified as taking and sharing sexual images of themselves. 45 provided full survey responses (73% female; mean age 16.24) and of these 23 completed the second round. Recruitment was through social media and local schools.MethodsAn online two-round Delphi method was completed using a vignettes-based questionnaire. To assess consensus, a defined average percentage agreement (80% cut-off) was used. Qualitative content analysis identified relevant themes in responses to Round 1 which informed the Round 2 items.ResultsIn the first round 60 items were identified that endorsed views of problem identification, facilitation of disclosure, proportionate responding, and problem management. Overall, participants agreed that the clear majority of statements identified in Round 2 were important and thus achieved consensus.ConclusionsThis study represents a novel and inclusive approach through the formation of an expert panel of young people. These views may inform appropriate victim-centered management of cases where images have been shared without permission.