Safeguarding and exploitation - complex, contextual and holistic approaches: Strategic Briefing (2019)

Purpose of this briefing

At a time of limited resources, and increasing demands (ADCS, 2018), local areas are tasked with addressing multiple forms of exploitation and attending to the causes (rather than solely the consequences) of abuse. Framed in relation to current research evidence, national policy frameworks and developments in local area practice, this briefing outlines opportunities and challenges in supporting a workforce to:

• Engage with the complexity of exploitation and the unique challenges it presents to traditional safeguarding practices and processes.
• Work within holistic structures/ set of practices which sufficiently address multiple (and sometimes interconnecting) forms of exploitation.
• Recognise the vulnerability of young people who display challenging, harmful, criminal and/or abusive behaviours as a consequence (or part) of the exploitation they experience.

This briefing can be used to inform the development of holistic, complex and contextual safeguarding systems that are equipped to address and prevent exploitation in all its forms. The briefing:

• Provides an integrated account of the different forms of exploitation experienced by children and young people (including young adults) in relation to how they are defined, experienced and addressed.
• Documents the strategic challenges posed by national policy frameworks (or lack thereof) associated to exploitation – as well as the legacy of siloed local structures or ineffective pathways for safeguarding adolescents.
• Provides a set of considerations for designing an effective response to exploitation with reference to practice examples.
• Identifies factors that enable a workforce to adopt an integrated approach to exploitation.