Solutions, Not Scapegoats

Responding to High Profile Cases of Sexual Exploitation

Justine Orme

Health Adviser

Brighton

Rochdale victims failed by the system

Councils in denial over extent of child sexual exploitation

Failures in Rotherham led to sexual abuse of 1,400 children

Sexual Exploitation - An Evolving Picture

Usefulness of risk factors

Widespread abuse of ‘older’ victims

Profiles of perpetrators

Healthy relationships

Learning from Rotherham

Poor understanding of exploitation

Victim-blaming

Quality of referrals

Safeguarding focus on under 16s

Missed opportunities for early intervention

No care pathways/reporting mechanisms

Key risk factors

Conversational style

Embed questions into consultation

Update on every visit

What is sex?

Professional judgement

Perception of consent

Claude Nicol under 18 visits

13 yr 14 yr 15 yr 16 yr 17 yr0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Age at Attendance

Professional Assessment of Risk

152

38

14

Low

Medium

High

14 High Risk Patients

7 already had multi-agency involvement

5 already had an allocated social worker

7 had a documented plan for f/u

3 required onward referral

Consistent use of proforma

Better documentation of follow-up plan

Clear care pathway

Sharing soft intelligence

Challenging the support response

How can we do better?