The Government has set up a national group to tackle sexual violence against children and vulnerable people. The national group is a panel of experts brought together by the Home Office to co-ordinate and implement the learning from recent inquiries into historic sexual abuse and current sexual violence prevention issues.
The national group will work to improve cross Government delivery, identify problems and solutions and act swiftly to resolve them. It has already identified 9 key areas for action and is prioritising action to prevent abuse happening in the first place, protecting children online, make sure the police can identify and deal with problems and ensure victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system.
Both the historical cases into child abuse and recent cases of organised child sexual exploitation raise a number of important issues for the Government, social services, the police, the criminal justice system and others. Membership of the National Group includes key partners such as the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), government departments and, very importantly, experts such as Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Barnados, Rape Crisis and the NSPCC.
The newly formed national group will build on the already strong foundations across Government, but it will also address the learning emerging from reviews of historical child sexual abuse cases. The Department is leading the workstream on institutions and will be holding workshops and discussions with key stakeholders to see what more can be done to safeguard people in all health and care institutions from the risk of sexual assault or abuse.
Securing Excellence in commissioning sexual assault services for people who experience sexual violence
NHS England published Securing Excellence in commissioning sexual assault services for people who experience sexual violence on 13 June 2013. This publication aims to support commissioners in delivering a consistent, high quality approach to the delivery of services that secure the best outcomes for victims of sexual assault and rape.
For more information click here
Information supplied by: Monique Akosa, Violence and Social Exclusion Team.
13 comments
Comment by Sandy Beamson posted on
Does the National Group, in all their expertise, include parents and carers of young people who have been the victim of sexual violence?
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Thanks Sandy, the national group is Government-led. Membership includes officials from the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), government departments and importantly experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Barnados, Rape Crisis and the NSPCC. These groups work closely with parents and carers of young people who have been victims of sexual violence, so there will be representation of their views made to the national group.
Comment by Fleur Strong posted on
Child sexual exploitation (CSE) will have a traumatic and negative impact on the family unit as a whole and the individuals within. Family intimidation by the perpetrators (via the child, siblings or directly) is common and can include actual assault, graffiti, threats to rape mothers, and kill parents, siblings and pets. Fear is an overriding factor prevalent throughout the exploitation for both child and family – fear of being blamed, fear of the impact of disclosure, fear of the consequences.
An effective support model for CSE affected families incorporates the facts that:
• supported, engaged and informed parent/s will be better equipped to safeguard their child and work in partnership with practitioners.
• it is the parents and the family who supply the majority of day to day and long term support in assisting a child to exit safely from exploitation and grooming.
• parent/s and the family unit will be detrimentally affected by the external exploitation and need support.
The national charity, Parents Against Child Sexual Exploitation (Pace) - http://www.paceuk.info - has 17 years experience of working alongside and supporting affected parents and carers. Their Parents Support Workers who are co-located in CSE multi-agency teams as well as their Policy team have identified that the impact of CSE and grooming on parents and families is still not fully recognised and parents are often disempowered and can be seen as 'part of the problem' by statutory agencies - as highlighted by the mothers' Victim Impact Statements and judge's comment at the Oxford Operation Bullfinch trial in June.
Research shows that as at least 75% (OCC Report Nov 2012) of sexually exploited children live at home when the abuse starts. Parents are key in supplying evidence to the police on perpetrators, supporting a child through disclosure and possible criminal trials and safeguarding. They are also a key target audience for preventing CSE as highlighted by West Yorkshire Police's current 'Know the Signs' CSE campaign. (Well worth looking at on their website.)
Would it not be advantageous to have a professional organisation like Pace whose primary expertise is working alongside affecetd parents and families as well as those whose expertise is affected children sitting on the National Group? Or a parent like Angela Sinfield who works with CAASE and can offer first hand experince? Would this not give a much stronger holistic picture of the impact of CSE on families and society which will help develop stronger Government policies?
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Thanks Fleur, the views of victims of sexual violence and their families are extremely important to the national group. To reflect this, the membership of the national group includes, experts from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), Barnados, Rape Crisis and the NSPCC. These groups work closely with parents and carers of young people who have been victims of sexual violence, so there will be representation of their views made to the national group.
Comment by Kate Phipps posted on
Great to receive this update, are issues at the end of life represented on the panel
Kate Phipps
CEO
John Taylor Hospice CIC
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Thanks Kate, the focus of the national group is to tackle the issue of sexual violence against children and vulnerable people, which includes those with mental and physical impairments. End of life issues is not within the scope of the group.
Comment by Gillian Douglass posted on
Great to hear this.
Comment by Cath Roff posted on
Does the group have a formal terms of reference and if so is that publicly available?
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Thanks Cath, please follow this link to view the document we issued on 24 July which sets out what the group is doing.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225011/Sexual_Violence_against_Children_and_Vulnerable_People.pdf
Comment by Angela Olsen posted on
Does the group include people with learning disabilities who have experienced sexual violence, or have access to any experts in this area?
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Thanks Angela, The national group met with representatives from MENCAP, and the Royal College of Nursing. These representatives have knowledge of the needs of people with learning disabilities. We will continue to work with these groups to ensure issues of concern are addressed for this vulnerable group.
Comment by Julia Jepps posted on
Hello; is there a published list of group members anywhere please. I have tried to find one without success. Thank you.
Comment by Monique Akosa- Violence and Social Exclusion Team posted on
Hi Julia, please have a look at this document which sets out what the group is doing.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225011/Sexual_Violence_against_Children_and_Vulnerable_People.pdf