Chapter 6 – Supplementary guidance on safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children |
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UPDATE:
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Contents
Children affected by gang activity
Fabricated or induced illness (FII)
Investigating complex (organised or multiple) abuse
Forced marriage and honour-based violence
Allegations of abuse made against a person who works with children
Child abuse linked to belief in ‘spirit possession’
Introduction |
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| 6.1 | This chapter summarises supplementary guidance to Working Together to Safeguard Children and other guidance relevant to safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare. The supplementary guidance follows the processes set out in Chapter 5 on how to respond to concerns about the welfare of a child or children, but is developed in more detail to reflect the specialist nature of the particular issues covered. |
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| 6.2 | Children and young people who are sexually exploited are the victims of child sexual abuse, and their needs require careful assessment. They are likely to be in need of welfare services and – in many cases – protection under the Children Act 1989. This group may include children who have been sexually abused through the misuse of technology, coerced into sexual activity by criminal gangs or the victims of trafficking. Every Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) should assume that sexual exploitation occurs within its area unless there is clear evidence to the contrary, and should put in place systems to monitor prevalence and responses. The DCSF published guidance in June 2009 on Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation. |
| 6.3 | The guidance states that LSCBs should ensure that specific local procedures are in place covering the sexual exploitation of children and young people. The procedures should be a subset of the LSCB procedures for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and be consistent with local youth offending protocols. The identification of a child who is being sexually exploited, or at risk of being sexually exploited, should always trigger the agreed local procedures to ensure the child’s safety and welfare and to enable the police to gather evidence about abusers and coercers. |
| 6.4 | The strong links that have been identified between different forms of sexual exploitation, running away from home, gang activity, child trafficking and substance misuse should be borne in mind in the development of procedures. These should include identifying signs of sexual exploitation, routes for referring concerns, advice on working with other professionals to disrupt sexual exploitation and support victims, gathering and preserving evidence about perpetrators, as well as how to deal with more complex issues such as those relating to the increasing use of the internet in sexual exploitation. |
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| 6.5 | Children and young people who become involved in gangs are at risk of violent crime and as a result of this involvement are deemed vulnerable. Agencies and professionals have a responsibility to safeguard these children and young people and to prevent further harm both to the young person and other potential victims. Risks associated with gang activity include access to weapons (including firearms), retaliatory violence and territorial violence with other gangs. Other risks include increased likelihood of involvement in knife crime, sexual violence and substance misuse. The recently published guidance on Safeguarding Children and Young People who may be affected by Gang Activity is intended to assist agencies and professionals ensure the safeguarding process effectively responds to children and young people at risk of gang related violence. The guidance promotes an approach whereby agencies should work together to: |
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| 6.6 | Concerns may be raised when it is considered that the health or development of a child is likely to be significantly impaired or further impaired by a parent or caregiver who has fabricated or induced illness. These concerns may arise when: |
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| There may be a number of explanations for these circumstances and each requires careful consideration and review. A full developmental history and an appropriate developmental assessment should be carried out. Consultation with peers, named or designated professionals or colleagues in other agencies will be an important part of the process of making sense of the underlying reason for these signs and symptoms. The characteristics of fabricated or induced illness are that there is a lack of the usual corroboration of findings with symptoms or signs, or, in circumstances of proven organic illness, lack of the usual response to proven effective treatments. It is this puzzling discrepancy which alerts the medical clinician to possible harm being suffered by the child. | |
| 6.7 | There are three main ways of fabricating or inducing illness in a child. These are not mutually exclusive and include: |
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| 6.8 | In 2008 the Government published statutory guidance Safeguarding children in whom illness is fabricated or induced. This replaces the 2002 edition. This guidance provides a national framework within which agencies and professionals at a local level – individually and jointly – draw up and agree their own more detailed ways of working together where illness may be being fabricated or induced in a child by a caregiver who has parenting responsibilities for him or her. It is addressed to those who work in health, education, schools, probation, social care, the police and all others whose work brings them into contact with children and families. It is relevant to those working in the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors. It is intended that LSCBs’ procedures should incorporate this guidance and its references to covert video surveillance, rather than having separate guidance on fabricated or induced illness in children. Within local procedures, the section on the use of covert video surveillance should make reference to the good practice advice for police officers which is available to them from the National Police Improvement Agency’s Specialist Operations Centre. |
| 6.9 | To support the use of this statutory guidance the Government published Incredibly Caring in 2009. This training resource (in the form of a DVD) has been designed to assist both practitioners and managers promote the best outcomes for children where fabricated or induced illness is suspected; work sensitively with parents and carers in the child’s best interests; and better exercise their professional judgement. |
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| 6.10 | This abuse may be defined as abuse involving one or more abusers and a number of children. The abusers concerned may be acting in concert to abuse children, sometimes acting in isolation, or may be using an institutional framework or position of authority to recruit children for abuse. |
| 6.11 | Complex abuse occurs both as part of a network of abuse across a family or community, and within institutions such as residential homes or schools. Such abuse is profoundly traumatic for the children who become involved. Its investigation is time-consuming and demanding work, requiring specialist skills from both police and social work staff. Some investigations become extremely complex because of the number of places and people involved, and the timescale over which abuse is alleged to have occurred. The complexity is heightened where, as in historical cases, the alleged victims are no longer living in the setting where the incidents occurred or where the alleged perpetrators are also no longer linked to the setting or employment role. |
| 6.12 | Each investigation of organised or multiple abuse will be different, according to the characteristics of each situation and the scale and complexity of the investigation. Although there has been much reporting in recent years about complex abuse in residential settings, complex abuse can occur in day care, in families and in other provisions such as youth services, sports clubs and voluntary groups. Cases of children being abused through the misuse of technology is also a new form of abuse which agencies are having to address. |
| 6.13 | Each complex abuse case requires thorough planning, good inter-agency working and attention to the welfare needs of the child victims or adult survivors involved. The guidance Complex Child Abuse Investigations: Inter-agency issues (Home Office and Department of Health, 2002) seeks to help agencies confronted with difficult investigations by sharing the accumulated learning from Serious Case Reviews. It sets out the overarching policy and practice framework to inform and shape the detailed strategic plans that agencies will need to develop when confronted with a complex child abuse case. It does not, however, provide detailed operational guidance on all aspects of such investigations. This guidance is equally relevant to investigating organised or multiple abuse within an institution. In addition, Appendix A of this guidance identifies the issues which should be addressed in all major investigations, and which should be reflected in local procedures. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have also recently issued revised guidance on Investigating Child Abuse and Safeguarding Children. |
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| 6.14 | Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a collective term for procedures which include the removal of part or all of the external female genitalia for cultural or other nontherapeutic reasons. The practice is medically unnecessary, extremely painful and has serious health consequences, both at the time when the mutilation is carried out and in later life. The procedure is typically performed on girls aged between four and thirteen, but in some cases FGM is performed on new born infants or on young women before marriage or pregnancy. A number of girls die as a direct result of the procedure from blood loss or infection, either following the procedure or subsequently in childbirth. |
| 6.15 | FGM has been a criminal offence in the UK since the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 was passed. The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 replaced the 1985 Act and made it an offence for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to carry out FGM abroad, or to aid, abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad, even in countries where the practice is legal. Further information about the Act can be found in Home Office Circular 10/2004103. |
| 6.16 | FGM is much more common than most people realise, both worldwide and in the UK. It is reportedly practised in 28 African countries and in parts of the Middle and Far East but is increasingly found in Western Europe and other developed countries, primarily amongst immigrant and refugee communities. There are substantial populations from countries where FGM is endemic in London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Sheffield and Cardiff but it is likely that communities in which FGM is practised reside throughout the UK. It has been estimated that up to 24,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of FGM in the UK (Dorkenoo et al, 2007. Available from FORWARD UK.). |
| 6.17 | Suspicions may arise in a number of ways that a child is being prepared for FGM to take place abroad. These include knowing that the family belongs to a community in which FGM is practised and are making preparations for the child to take a holiday, arranging vaccinations or planning absence from school, and the child may talk about a ‘special procedure’ taking place. Indicators that FGM may have already occurred include prolonged absence from school with noticeable behaviour change on return and long periods away from classes or other normal activities, possibly with bladder or menstrual problems. Midwives and doctors may become aware that FGM has been practised on an older woman and this may prompt concern for female children in the same family. |
| 6.18 | A local authority may exercise its powers under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 if it has reason to believe that a child is likely to suffer or has suffered FGM. However, despite the very severe health consequences, parents and others who have this done to their daughters do not intend it as an act of abuse. They genuinely believe that it is in the girl’s best interests to conform with their prevailing custom. So, where a child has been identified as at risk of significant harm, it may not be appropriate to consider removing the child from an otherwise loving family environment. Where a child appears to be in immediate danger of mutilation, consideration should be given to getting a prohibited steps order. If a child has already undergone FGM, particular attention should be paid to the potential risk of harm to other female children in the same family. |
| 6.19 | In local areas where there are communities who traditionally practice and positively promote FGM, consideration should be given to incorporating more detailed guidance on responding to concerns about FGM into existing procedures to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. LSCB policy should focus on a preventive strategy involving community education and be alert to the fact that the practice may also take place in this country. Further information in support of these guidelines can be found in Local Authority Social Services Letter LASSL (2004)4. |
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| 6.20 | The terms ‘honour crime’, ‘izzat’ or ‘honour-based violence’ embrace a variety of crimes of violence (mainly but not exclusively against women), including assault, imprisonment and murder where the person is being punished by their family or community. They are being punished for actually, or allegedly, undermining what the family or community believes to be the correct code of behaviour. In transgressing against this correct code of behaviour, the person shows that they have not been properly controlled to conform by their family and this is to the ‘shame’ or ‘dishonour’ of the family. |
| 6.21 | Forced marriage and honour-based violence are human rights abuses and fall within the Government’s definition of domestic violence. Forced marriage is defined as a marriage conducted without the full consent of both parties and where duress is a factor. There is a clear distinction between forced marriage and an arranged marriage. In arranged marriages, the families may take a leading role in arranging the marriage, but the choice whether or not to accept remains with the prospective spouses. In a forced marriage, one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage. The young person could be facing physical, psychological, sexual, financial or emotional abuse to pressure them into accepting the marriage. |
| 6.22 | Forced marriage affects victims from many communities. The majority of cases reported to date in the UK involve South Asian families, but there have been cases involving families from across Europe, East Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Some forced marriages take place in the UK with no overseas element, while others involve a partner coming from overseas or a British national being sent abroad. |
| 6.23 | If there are concerns that a child (male or female) is in danger of a forced marriage, in addition to safeguarding procedures set out in this publication, the Forced Marriage Unit should be contacted. The Forced Marriage Unit (a joint Home Office/ Foreign and Commonwealth Office Unit) was launched in January 2005. It is responsible for developing Government policy on forced marriage, for raising awareness and for casework. It runs a public helpline (The helpline number is 0207 008 0151) that provides confidential advice and support to victims, and to practitioners handling cases of forced marriage. Caseworkers in the Unit have extensive experience of the cultural, social and emotional issues surrounding forced marriage. They can also directly assist to help British nationals facing forced marriage abroad by helping them to a place of safety and helping them to return to the UK. |
| 6.24 | Although there is no specific criminal offence in England and Wales of ’forcing someone to marry’, criminal offences may nevertheless be committed. Perpetrators – usually parents or family members – could be prosecuted for offences including threatening behaviour, assault, kidnap, abduction, theft (of passport), threats to kill, imprisonment and murder. Sexual intercourse without consent is rape, regardless of whether this occurs within a marriage or not. A woman who is forced into marriage is likely to be raped and may be raped until she becomes pregnant. |
| 6.25 | Hundreds of people in the UK (particularly girls and young women), some as young as nine, are forced into marriage each year. Some are taken overseas to marry whilst others may be married in the UK. Suspicions that a young person may be forced into marriage may arise in a number of ways. These include a family history of older siblings leaving education early and marrying early; depressive behaviour including self-harming and attempted suicide; unreasonable restrictions such as being kept at home by their parents (’house arrest’) or being unable to complete their education; and a person always being accompanied including to school and doctors’ appointments. A young person may also talk about an upcoming family holiday that they are worried about, fears that they will be taken out of education and kept abroad, or directly disclose that they are worried they will be forced to marry. |
| 6.26 | There may be only one opportunity to speak to a potential victim of forced marriage, so an appropriate initial response is vital. Without the right information being taken down (for example, a traceable address overseas), a victim may never be seen again. It is important to gather as much information as possible about the victim immediately, but this should be done on their own, in a private place where the conversation cannot be overheard. Victims should be reminded of their rights – they have the right to choose who they marry, when and where, and the right to make decisions about their lives. |
| 6.27 | Many victims are terrified that their families will find out that they have asked for help. Do not inform the victim’s family, friends or members of the community that the victim has sought help as this is likely to increase the risk to the victim significantly. Forced marriage is closely linked to honour-based violence and honour killings. All those involved will want to bear in mind that mediation as a response to forced marriage can be extremely dangerous. There have been cases of victims being murdered by their families during mediation. Mediation can also place someone at risk of further emotional and physical abuse. |
| 6.28 | All those with a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children should have regard to the statutory guidance The Right to Choose: Multi-agency statutory guidance for dealing with forced marriage. This statutory guidance sets out the responsibilities of Chief Executives, directors and senior managers. It covers issues such as staff training, developing inter-agency policies and procedures, raising awareness and developing prevention programmes through outreach work. |
| 6.29 | In addition, all practitioners working with children should have access to Multiagency practice guidelines: Handling cases of Forced Marriage, published in 2009. These guidelines provide advice and support to front line practitioners. |
| 6.30 | Anyone threatened with forced marriage or forced to marry against their will can apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order. Third parties, such as relatives, friends, voluntary workers and police officers, can also apply for a protection order with the leave of the court. Fifteen county courts deal with applications and make orders to prevent forced marriages. Local authorities can now seek a protection order for vulnerable adults and children without leave of the court. Guidance published by the Ministry of Justice explains how local authorities can apply for protection orders and provides information for other agencies. |
| 6.31 | Where a case of forced marriage has resulted in the serious harm of a child or young person, practitioners should also consider undertaking a Serious Case Review. |
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| 6.32 | Children can be subjected to abuse by those who work with them in any setting. All allegations of abuse or maltreatment of children by a professional, staff member, foster carer, or volunteer must therefore be taken seriously and treated in accordance with consistent procedures. LSCBs have responsibility for ensuring there are effective inter-agency procedures in place for dealing with allegations against people who work with children, and monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of those procedures – see Chapter 3. |
| 6.33 | In evaluating the effectiveness of local procedures LSCBs should have regard to the need to complete cases expeditiously. Data about allegations made against education staff show that it is reasonable to expect that 80% of cases should be resolved within one month, 90% within three months and that all but the most exceptional cases should be completed within 12 months, although it is unlikely that cases that require a criminal prosecution or a complex police investigation can be completed in less than three months. |
| 6.34 | All organisations which provide services for children, or provide staff or volunteers to work with or care for children, should operate a procedure for handling such allegations which is consistent with the guidance in Appendix 5. |
| 6.35 | LSCB member organisations should have a named senior officer who has overall responsibility for: |
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| County level and unitary local authorities should also designate officers (the Local Authority Designated Officer, or LADO) to be involved in the management and oversight of individual cases – providing advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations, liaising with the police and other agencies and monitoring the progress of cases to ensure that they are dealt with as quickly as possible consistent with a thorough and fair process. | |
| 6.36 | Police forces should also identify officers to fill similar roles. There should be a senior officer to have strategic oversight of the arrangements, liaise with the LSCBs in the force area and ensure compliance, and others, perhaps unit managers, who will be responsible for liaising with the LADO(s), taking part in the strategy discussion (see Chapter 5), subsequently reviewing the progress of those cases in which there is a police investigation, and sharing information on completion of the investigation or any prosecution. |
| 6.37 | The scope of inter-agency procedures in this area is not limited to allegations involving significant harm or the risk of significant harm to a child. The guidance in Appendix 5 should be followed in respect of any allegation that a person who works with children has: |
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| in connection with the person’s employment or voluntary activity. If concerns arise about the person’s behaviour in regard to his/her own children, the police and/or children’s social care need to consider informing the person’s employer in order to assess whether there may be implications for children with whom the person has contact at work. | |
| 6.38 | The child or children concerned should receive appropriate support. They, and their parents or carers, should be helped to understand the process, told the result of any enquiry or disciplinary process (In deciding what information to disclose, careful consideration should be given to duties under the Data Protection Act 1998, the law of confidence and, where relevant, the Human Rights Act 1998.), and where necessary helped to understand the outcomes reached. The provision of information and advice must take place in a manner that does not impede the proper exercise of enquiry, disciplinary and investigative processes. |
| 6.39 | Staff, foster carers, volunteers and other individuals about whom there are concerns should be treated fairly and honestly, and should also be provided with support throughout the investigation process as should others who are also involved. They should be helped to understand the concerns expressed and the processes being operated, and be clearly informed of the outcome of any investigation and the implications for disciplinary or related processes. However, the police, and other relevant agencies, should always be consulted before informing a person who is the subject of allegations which may possibly require a criminal investigation. |
| 6.40 | There have been a number of widely reported cases of historical abuse, usually of an organised or multiple nature (see paragraph 6.12). Such cases have generally come to light after adults have reported abuse that they had experienced when children, while living away from home in settings provided by local authorities, the voluntary sector or independent providers. When such allegations are made, they should be responded to in the same way as contemporary concerns. In those cases it is also important to find out whether the person accused is still working with children and, if so, to inform the person’s current employer or voluntary organisation. |
| 6.41 | Those undertaking investigations should be alert to any sign or pattern which suggests that the abuse is more widespread or organised than it appears at first sight, or that it involves other perpetrators or institutions. It is important not to assume that initial signs will necessarily be related directly to abuse, and to consider occasions where boundaries have been blurred, inappropriate behaviour has taken place, and matters such as fraud, deception or pornography have been involved. |
| 6.42 | If an allegation is substantiated, the managers or commissioners of the relevant service should think widely about the lessons of the case and how they should be acted upon. This should include whether there are features of the organisation which may have contributed to the abuse occurring, or failed to prevent the abuse occurring. In some circumstances, a Serious Case Review may be appropriate (see Chapter 8). |
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| 6.43 | In July 2009, the Government published Safeguarding Disabled Children – Practice Guidance. This guidance provides a framework within which LSCBs, agencies and professionals at local level – individually and jointly – draw up and agree detailed ways of working together to safeguard disabled children. |
| 6.44 | The available UK evidence on the extent of abuse among disabled children suggests that disabled children are at increased risk of abuse, and that the presence of multiple disabilities appears to increase the risk of both abuse and neglect (see Standards 5, 7 and 8 of the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services). Disabled children may be especially vulnerable to abuse for a number of reasons: |
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| Looked after disabled children are not only vulnerable to the same factors that exist for all children living away from home, but are particularly susceptible to possible abuse because of their additional dependency on residential and hospital staff for day to day physical care needs. | |
| 6.45 | Safeguards for disabled children are essentially the same as for non-disabled children. Particular attention should be paid to promoting a high level of awareness of the risks of harm and high standards of practice, and strengthening the capacity of children and families to help themselves. Measures should include: |
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| 6.46 | Where there are concerns about the welfare of a disabled child, they should be acted upon in accordance with the guidance in Chapter 5, in the same way as with any other child. Expertise in both safeguarding and promoting the welfare of child and disability has to be brought together to ensure that disabled children receive the same levels of protection from harm as other children (see Safeguarding Disabled Children – Practice Guidance (2009)). |
| 6.47 | Where a disabled child has communication impairments or learning disabilities, special attention should be paid to communication needs, and to ascertain the child’s perception of events, and his or her wishes and feelings. In every area, children’s social care and the police should be aware of non-verbal communication systems, when they might be useful and how to access them, and should know how to contact suitable interpreters or facilitators. Agencies should not make assumptions about the inability of a disabled child to give credible evidence, or to withstand the rigours of the court process. Each child should be assessed carefully, and helped and supported to participate in the criminal justice process when this is in the child’s best interest and the interests of justice. |
| 6.48 | In criminal proceedings under the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 witnesses aged under 17 (to be raised to under 18 by the end of 2010) may be eligible for special measures assistance when giving evidence in court. There is a presumption that child witnesses should give their evidence by video recorded statement (if taken) and live link, which allows a witness to give evidence during a trial from outside the courtroom through a televised link to the courtroom. The other special measures available to vulnerable witnesses include clearing the public gallery in sexual offence cases and those involving intimidation, screens to shield the witness from seeing the defendant, and assistance with communication through an intermediary or communication aid. Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on vulnerable and intimidated witnesses including children gives detailed guidance on planning and conducting interviews with children and vulnerable adults and includes a section on interviewing disabled children and also those that are very young or psychologically disturbed. |
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| 6.49 | The belief in ’possession’ and ’witchcraft’ is relatively widespread. It is not confined to particular countries, cultures or religions, nor is it confined to new immigrant communities in this country. |
| 6.50 | The number of identified cases of child abuse linked to accusations of ’possession’ are small, but the nature of the child abuse can be particularly disturbing and the children involved can suffer damage to their physical and mental health, capacity to learn, ability to form relationships and self-esteem. |
| 6.51 | There are a number of common factors which put a child at risk of harm, including rationalising misfortune by attributing it to spiritual forces and when a carer views a child as being ’different’, attributes this difference to the child being ’possessed’ or involved in ’witchcraft’, and attempts to exorcise him or her. A child could be viewed as ’different’ for a variety of reasons such as: disobedience; independence; bedwetting; nightmares; illness; or disability. The attempt to ’exorcise’ may involve severe beating, burning, starvation, cutting or stabbing, and/or isolation, and usually occurs in the household where the child lives. |
| 6.52 | Agencies should look for these indicators, be able to identify children at risk of this type of abuse and intervene to prevent it. They should apply basic safeguarding children principles including: sharing information across agencies; being childfocused at all times; and keeping an open mind when talking to parents and carers. They should follow the guidance set out elsewhere in Working Together in their work with all children and families, ensure they liaise closely with colleagues and make connections with key people in the community, especially when working with new immigrant communities, so that they can ascertain the different dimensions of a family’s cultural beliefs and how this might impact upon child abuse. |
| 6.53 | Good practice guidance for agencies, Safeguarding Children from Abuse Linked to a Belief in Spirit Possession, was published in May 2007. |
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| 6.54 | Trafficking in people involves a collection of crimes, spanning a variety of countries and involving an increasing number of victims – resulting in considerable suffering for those trafficked. It includes the exploitation of children through force, coercion, threat and the use of deception and human rights abuses such as debt bondage, deprivation of liberty and lack of control over one’s labour. It includes the movement of people across borders and also the movement and exploitation within borders. The persons who are trafficked have very little choice in what happens to them and usually suffer abuse due to the threats and use of violence against them and/or their family. |
| 6.55 | The UK is a transit and destination country for trafficked children and young people. Children are trafficked for various reasons, including sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, labour, benefit fraud and involvement in criminal activity such as pickpocketing, theft and working in cannabis farms. There are a number of cases, too, of minors being exploited in the sex industry. Although there is no evidence of other forms of exploitation such as ‘organ donation, or ‘harvesting’, all agencies should remain vigilant. |
| 6.56 | Such children enter the UK through various means. Some enter as unaccompanied asylum seekers, or students or as visitors. Children are also brought in by adults who state that they are their dependents, or are met at airports or other ports of entry by an adult who claims to be a relative. It has been suggested that children have been brought in via internet transactions, foster arrangements, and contracts as domestic staff. In some cases girls aged 16 or 17 will have been tricked into a bogus marriage for the purpose of sexual exploitation. If it is suspected that a child is the victim of trafficking, the police or children’s social care should be informed. Agencies should work together to ensure a joined-up response. |
| 6.57 | The DCSF and the Home Office published joint guidance on Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked in December 2007. It sets out a comprehensive strategy to improve the identification and safeguarding of child victims of trafficking. DCSF guidance on sexual exploitation and young runways includes details of how services must work to protect children from trafficking. |
| 6.58 | Early identification is key to protecting these vulnerable children. The child trafficking assessment toolkit has been designed to help front line staff identify children who may have potentially been trafficked as part of a new National Referral Mechanism (NRM). The NRM is a multi-agency framework designed to enable frontline practitioners to work together to identify and support victims of trafficking. Designated expert ‘Competent Authorities’ within the UK Human Trafficking Centre (UKHTC) and the UK Border Agency (UKBA) are responsible for determining, from the evidence gathered, but in particular on the basis of advice from children’s services, whether a child meets the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (‘the Convention’) definition of trafficking. It was launched on 1 April 2009 and will ensure consistency of approach across all relevant agencies. |
| 6.59 | Children do not have to be trafficked across international borders to be exploited in this way. There is evidence that some UK resident children, mainly young girls, are being groomed, coerced and moved around between towns and cities within the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Relevant agencies should remain alert to the possibility that this can happen and work together to address it. |
| 6.60 | The NRM process is a key element of the Convention. The purpose of the Convention is to prevent and combat trafficking, to identify and protect the victims of trafficking and to safeguard their rights; and to promote international cooperation against trafficking. The UK signed the Convention on 23 March 2007. The convention was ratified on 17 December 2008 and it came into force on 1 April 2009. |
| 6.61 | Decisions about who is a victim of trafficking are made by trained specialists in designated ‘Competent Authorities’. The UKHTC hosts one such Competent Authority. The UKHTC Competent Authority deals with cases referred by all external agencies such as the police, local authorities etc where the person is a UK or EEA national, or where there is an immigration issue but the person is not yet known to UKBA. A linked but separate Competent Authority sits in UKBA for situations where trafficking is raised as part of an asylum claim or in the context of another immigration process. |
| 6.62 | An integral part of the NRM is the provision of accommodation and support to victims, and local authorities will continue to take the lead in providing appropriate services for vulnerable children (including trafficked children). Further details of the NRM process, including the trafficking toolkit, can be found on the Home Office crime reduction website. |
| 6.63 | The offence of trafficking for prostitution, introduced in the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, carries a tough maximum penalty of 14 years. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 introduced wide-ranging offences covering trafficking into, out of or within the UK for any form of sexual offence, which also carries a 14 year maximum penalty. It also introduced a range of offences covering the commercial sexual exploitation of a child, protecting children up to 18. These include buying the sexual services of a child (for which the penalty ranges from seven years to life imprisonment depending on the age of the child) and causing or inciting, arranging or facilitating and controlling the commercial sexual exploitation of a child in prostitution or pornography, for which the maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment. An offence of trafficking for exploitation, which covers trafficking for forced labour and the removal of organs, was introduced in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004. These offences will also take into account the UK’s international obligations under the UN Palermo Trafficking Protocol (supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime 2000) and the EU Framework Decision on Trafficking for the Purposes of Sexual and Labour Exploitation. |
| 6.64 | At the local level, LSCBs should be aware of the child trafficking agenda within their local authority and ensure all suspected child victims of trafficking are referred through the NRM using the correct procedure. |
| 6.65 | LSCBs should also identify trafficking co-ordinators who can ensure a co-ordinated campaign of information-sharing to support the safeguarding agenda between local authorities, police and the NRM Competent Authorities to ensure a full picture is provided on child NRM referrals and secure the best safeguarding outcome for the child. |
| 6.66 | For those requiring more information on the nature and scale of child trafficking in the UK, please refer to the Child Trafficking Strategic Threat Assessment 2008/09 produced by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre (this and other related documents is available from the CEOP website.) |
