Bradford Council has been tackling problems with child sexual exploitation (CSE) head-on for some years and is now identifying and helping a growing number of victims. More recently the council, working with partners, has turned its attention to criminal exploitation. This case study is an example of how councils are tackling youth violence.
The challenge
Over the last decade there has been increasing awareness about the risk of CSE. Often vulnerable young people are targeted, such as those in care and children with learning disabilities. The process involves a stage of grooming when a child receives gifts, but violence or the threat of violence often follows.
In recent years there have been several high-profile court cases where organised gangs have been prosecuted for abusing large numbers of children. But tackling and preventing abuse requires a coordinated effort day-in, day-out.
The solution
Like many large cites, Bradford has experienced issues and so a CSE Hub was set up in 2012. It brought together senior children’s services staff, social workers, police, nurses and voluntary sector representatives.
It meets daily and to discuss and assess cases referred to it with each classified as being high, medium or low risk. Once a young person has been identified, the hub can help arrange support.
The hub works with a number of voluntary sector providers to help ensure young people are matched with the support they need. This includes the Turnaround project in Bradford run by Barnado’s and the Children’s Society’s Hand in Hand scheme in Keighley. There is also a scheme run by local charity Mesmac dedicated to boys and young men and a project called Pace that works with parents, teaching them how to safeguard their children.
Children’s Services Strategic Commissioning Manager Mary Brittle said: “What is important is that the support that is provided is tailored to the young person. The people running the projects are really familiar with the local areas, are in touch with what is happening and are having a positive impact on the young people they work with.”
Bradford Council has also sought to do some proactive prevention work. This has included work with the GW Theatre Company, which has run awareness-raising productions in schools. One of the most successful was Somebody’s Sister, Somebody’s Daughter about street grooming and sexual exploitation, aimed at pupils over the age of 14.
The impact
The prevention work has had a big impact. Evaluation of the Somebody’s Sister, Somebody’s Daughter production showed it increased understanding of sexual exploitation by 45 per cent and more than 30 young people made disclosures or sought help after seeing the play.
Following the success of that work, Bradford become one of six councils to co-fund the development of Mister Shapeshifter, which was aimed at nine to 11-year-olds. There have been over 60 performances in Bradford’s primary schools so far, reaching 4,000 children.
Results show that 82 per cent of children who have seen the play said it helped
them to understand more about abuse and exploitation. The emphasis on raising awareness and seeking to identify cases has resulted in an increasing number of referrals into the hub. There are now over 1,100 a year, up from 430 in 2014/15.
Assistant Director for Performance, Commissioning and Partnerships Jenny Cryer said: “We see that as a good sign. It shows we are reaching more people – and by doing that we can make a difference.
“But over time we have begun to see it is not just about sexual exploitation. We understand better the ways in which some children
are victims of exploitation through being groomed by organised criminal networks and coerced into involvement with criminal activity, including drugs and violent crime
Lessons learned
In recognition of the growing threat of criminal exploitation and its strong-track record, Bradford Council was successful in its application for the Home Office’s Trust Relationship Fund.
A total of £1 million has been awarded. A steering group – under the Bradford Safeguarding Children Board – has been created to oversee this work. Similar to the CSE Hub, there will be one-to-one work and group work, but also awareness raising workshops in schools and the community for both children and parents.
Voluntary sector providers have been recruited to do the work, joining together as a consortium, but flexibility has been built within the contract to allow other groups to be recruited if a gap in provision is identified.
The age range of children being targeted is younger than it was previously. The new work is aimed at children aged 10 to 14. The average age of the children supported through the CSE Hub is 15.
Ms Cryer said: “We want to identify children at a younger age to prevent exploitation earlier. I think one of the things we have learnt is the need for flexibility. We are now offering support late into the evenings and on weekends, while having a consortium gives us that flexibility to be responsive.”
How the approach is being sustained
The one-to-one work has already started. The plan is to provide support to over 100 young people through the one-to-one work over the next 18 months. Meanwhile, the group work and awareness-raising workshops will get under way in 2019. The awareness-raising is being targeted at east Bradford to start with.
“The Trusted Relationships Fund will help us reach more people. We know we have children who are victims of exploitation and we want to find new ways to provide support to them and to work across our partnerships and our communities to tackle this,” Ms Cryer added.
Contact
Jenny Cryer
Assistant Director for Performance, Commissioning and Partnerships
City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council
[email protected]