Written evidence submitted by the Children’s Commissioner for England

 

About the Office of the Children’s Commissioner

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) is a national public sector organisation led by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dr Maggie Atkinson. We promote and protect children’s rights in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and, as appropriate, other human rights legislation and conventions.

We do this by listening to what children and young people say about things that affect them and encouraging adults making decisions to take their views and interests into account.

We publish evidence, including that which we collect directly from children and young people, bringing matters that affect their rights to the attention of Parliament, the media, children and young people themselves, and society at large. We also provide advice on children’s rights to policy-makers, practitioners and others.

The post of Children’s Commissioner for England was established by the Children Act 2004. The Act makes us responsible for working on behalf of all children in England and in particular, those whose voices are least likely to be heard. It says we must speak for wider groups of children on the issues that are not-devolved to regional Governments.  These include immigration, for the whole of the UK, and youth justice, for England and Wales.

The Children and Families Act 2014 changed the Children’s Commissioner’s remit and role. It provided the legal mandate for the Commissioner and those who work in support of her remit at the OCC to promote and protect children’s rights. In particular, we are expected to focus on the rights of children within the new section 8A of the Children Act 2004, or other groups of children whom we consider are at particular risk of having their rights infringed. This includes those who are in or leaving care or living away from home, and those receiving social care services. The Bill also allows us to provide advice and assistance to and to represent these children.


Our vision
A society where children and young people’s rights are realised, where their views shape decisions made about their lives and they respect the rights of others.

Our mission 
We will promote and protect the rights of children in England. We will do this by involving children and young people in our work and ensuring their voices are heard. We will use our statutory powers to undertake inquiries, and our position to engage, advise and influence those making decisions that affect children and young people.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

The UK Government ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1991.[1] This is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty, setting out what all children and young people need to be happy and healthy. While the Convention is not incorporated into national law, it still has the status of a binding international treaty. By agreeing to the UNCRC the Government has committed itself to promoting and protecting children’s rights by all means available to it.

The legislation governing the operation of the Office of the Children’s Commissioner requires us to have regard to the Convention in all our activities. Following an independent review of our office in 2010 we are working to promote and protect children’s rights in the spirit of the recommendations made in the Dunford report and accepted by the Secretary of State.

In relation to this inquiry, the articles of the Convention which are most relevant to this area of policy are:

 

Article 34:               Governments should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. This provision in the Convention is augmented by the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

             

The response below has therefore been drafted with this article in mind. We do not propose to respond separately to every inquiry question. Rather, we will respond where we feel the UNCRC gives us a locus to do so, and where our existing evidence base gives us a perspective.

 

                                                                     

 

 

 

 

Submission to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into gangs and youth crime

 

 

  1. The Office of the Children’s Commissioner (OCC) for England completed an Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups in December 2013.  In total, this Inquiry engaged with over 800 children and young people; analysed over 1000 pieces of submitted evidence; and gathered evidence from 25 site visits, involving over 100 agencies.  Six reports were produced throughout the Inquiry – (1) an accelerated report for the Secretary of State for Education regarding the sexual exploitation of children in care; (2) on the impact on children and young people of viewing adult pornographic materials; (3) on children and young people’s understanding and attitudes toward consent; (4) on children and young people’s experiences of sexual exploitation in gang affected neighbourhoods; (5) phase one findings on prevalence and nature; and (6) phase two findings on practice.  Overall, this was the most comprehensive assessment to date of the scale and nature of child sexual exploitation by gangs and groups in England and practice responses to this issue, drawing directly upon the experiences and perspectives of children and young people.
  2. In response to the OCC’s Inquiry, 21 (55%) of police forces in England identified that they had criminally active gangs operating in their area.  In total, individual forces reported 323 gangs as being criminally active, though only 16 have been associated with child sexual exploitation (CSE).  This represents a significant under-counting of the true incidence of gang-related CSE in England, as policing activity against gangs appears to focus on disrupting and tackling the more traditional forms of criminality associated with gangs (e.g. drugs, gun crime, etc.), whilst failing to put in place measures to identify and tackle sexual exploitation. 
  3. Of particular relevance to gang-related sexual exploitation, the OCC commissioned the University of Bedfordshire to undertake research on sexual exploitation in gangs and gang affected neighbourhoods (Beckett et al. 2013).  From six research sites across England, individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with 188 young people, and focus groups were undertaken with 76 professionals.  The young people who participated in the research interviews were aged 13 to 28 years, with half under the age of 18 and 21% under 16 years.  There was an approximately equal gender split and a range of ethnicities were represented, reflecting the demography of the different research sites.  The OCC’s submission draws heavily upon the findings of this research project.
  4. Gang-associated sexual violence and exploitation is influenced by behavioural norms within the wider gang environment and wider patterns of child sexual exploitation and violence. Evidence suggests that the objectification and perceived inferiority of young women exacerbates their risk of victimisation within the gang environment.  Boys and young men who participated in the research stated that girls were “commodities”, and generally portrayed them as being of a lower status.
  5. Young women experience many forms of harm in the gang environment, including domestic abuse, physical violence and sexual violence.  Violence is used to enforce a male dominated gang hierarchy, controlling the behaviour of girls and young women, and exacerbating their vulnerability to sexual violence.  Where girls and young women were perceived to have behaved in a manner contrary to the expectations of the gang, through involvement with another gang, for example, violence was reported by research participants as a tactic for punishing the girl and controlling their behaviour.
  6. Young women involved in gang-related criminality are vulnerable to violence and abuse – they are often used by male gang members to carry illicit goods, and are therefore coerced into engaging in criminality.  Some research participants felt that young women engaged in this behaviour entirely of their own volition.  However, the majority of participants in the research noted that although girls and young women may occupy positions within the structure of the gang, their role is generally determined by young men.
  7. One of the most striking findings from the OCC Inquiry has been attitudes to and understanding of consent.  This issue was explored in detail with participants in the research on children and young people in gang affected neighbourhoods.  Understanding of consent was very limited amongst many research participants.  It was primarily understood in terms of a straightforward ‘yes’ or ‘no’.  There was little recognition of the broader context in which consent is granted or withheld.  Factors such as coercion or fear and the way in which they impact upon a young person’s ability to give consent were poorly understood.  ‘Persuasion’ was often referenced by participants, though it was rarely understood to be problematic.  Girls and young women who participated in the research also demonstrated a lack of understanding.
  8. In the gang environment, young women who engage in casual sexual relationships are ‘tainted’ in the eyes of young men. In contrast, boys and young men are commended for this behaviour.  This dichotomy between ‘proper girls’, who do not engage in casual sexual relationships, and ‘skets’, who are perceived to have a reputation for sexual behaviour, is problematic.  Girls who are perceived to have engaged in sexual behaviour are relegated to a lower status, and to have forfeited their right to sexual self-determination.  Alarmingly, it was the view of participants in the research commissioned by the OCC that some girls had no right to assent or decline sexual interaction.  Some research participants assumed that if a young woman has consented to have sex with one member of a gang she has, by default, consented to engage in sexual activity with all members of the gang. 
  9. Overall, these issues – gender inequality, violence towards young women, a problematic understanding of consent and a failure to respect the right of some young women to withhold it – demonstrate that the risks to young women of sexual exploitation are greatly exacerbated in a gang environment.
  10. Research identified a range of particular forms of sexual exploitation or sexual violence against young women within the gang environment.
  11. Firstly, starting a sexual relationship with a young woman (usually a family member of a rival) in order to ‘disrespect’ that young man.  Research participants recounted incidents whereby a young woman was sexually assaulted as a result of her association with a rival gang member.  In this regard, it is evident that victims of gang-related sexual exploitation may not be directly involved in gangs themselves.  Siblings and other family members of gang members may also be targeted for exploitation as a means of ‘sending a message’ to a gang member.
  12.                                                                                                                                 Second, just under a third of participants in the research who identified examples of gang-associated sexual exploitation identified cases of young women being used to lure rival gang members to a location where they would be attacked, or expressing interest in or actually engaging in sexual activity with a rival gang member as a means of obtaining information.
  13. Third, gang initiation processes involving young women, either seeking to be part of the gang themselves or as part of the process of male initiation, may also involve sexual violence.
  14. Victims of gang-related sexual exploitation face a number of barriers to accessing help.  Only 1 in 12 interviewees felt that young people would be likely to report, or talk about, experiences of sexual violence or exploitation.  Those who believed that a victim would be prepared to talk about their experiences rarely indicated that this would take the form of a formal disclosure, with two thirds stating that the individual a young person would most likely talk to would be a peer.
  15. There are a number of reasons underlying the reluctance to disclose gang-related sexual exploitation.  These include (i) judgement by others in their peer group; (ii) fear of retaliation by perpetrators and other gang associates; (iii) a lack of faith in the ability of police and other services to adequately protect them; and (iv) a resignation to sexual exploitation as a typical experience of girls and young women in a gang-affected neighbourhood.  It is evident that police forces and other agencies must gain the trust of girls and young women in gang affected neighbourhoods to encourage reporting and disclosure.
  16. The research found that gang initiatives (both statutory and voluntary) were often failing to adequately recognise and address the needs of young women who are associated with gangs.  Similarly, cases of gang-associated sexual violence and exploitation are not consistently identified by specialist sexual exploitation services. 
  17. A girl who participated in the research stated that people should “get used to it”.  The OCC believes that no child or young person should grow up in an environment where sexual exploitation is a normal adolescent experience.  It is the responsibility of national government, police forces, local authorities and non-statutory services to ensure that interventions are in place to prevent this type of sexual exploitation.

 

  1. The OCC has recommended that all police forces should work with partner agencies, including third sector specialist organisations, to log information on the girls and young women linked to gang members, and then risk-assess these young people for sexual exploitation.  Police forces must have particular regard to the risk of sexual exploitation faced by gang associated girls and young women.  Since the OCC made this recommendation in 2012, there has been very limited progress – only two (5%) forces have sought to do this, with an additional eight seeking to do some partial/smaller scale activity (Berelowitz 2013).
  2. Based on a detailed understanding of CSE and evidence for effective practice, gathered during the OCC’s two year Inquiry into CSE by gangs and groups, the OCC has developed a framework for child protection responses to this issue, entitled See Me Hear Me (Berelowitz 2013).  The See Me Hear Me framework outlines the principles, functions and processes necessary for delivering a child-centred response to sexual exploitation.  It is an end-to-end framework, from prevention through to intervention and recovery.  The OCC will pilot and evaluate See Me Hear Me over the next 18 months.
  3. References:

[1] You can view the full text of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights website at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm. A summary version, produced by UNICEF, is available at: http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf