Four Stigmatised young people: from ‘abuse fodder’ to key allies against abuse and exploitation
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Sarah Nelson
Abstract
Asked by a House of Commons select committee in 2012 what lay behind repeated failures in Rochdale to protect young teenagers and pre-teens from sexual exploitation, Sara Rowbotham answered simply and powerfully. She was coordinator of the local NHS crisis intervention team, which had made more than 100 largely fruitless referrals to social services and police between 2004 and 2010.
It was about attitudes towards teenagers. It was absolute disrespect that vulnerable young people did not have a voice. They were overlooked. They were discriminated against. They were treated appallingly by protective services. (Williams, 2012a)
This chapter highlights stigmatised teenagers who have faced child sexual exploitation (CSE) or very young (especially pre-teen) pregnancy. It concentrates here on prejudiced, sexist attitudes to girls and young women and how these attitudes have contributed heavily to contemptuous perceptions of their suffering. This is not to deny that a significant minority of boys and young men have also faced sexual exploitation.1 Many of the changes called for in protection and provision will also be helpful to them, although certain perceptions which they face are different (see Chapter Nine).
This chapter describes sexist vilification, contempt and blame sexually exploited girls have faced from professionals, public and media alike. It challenges theories of so-called ‘political correctness’ as a reason for failing to bring to justice perpetrators from minority ethnic backgrounds. I argue that the most urgent need for professionals in ensuring genuine change is to examine very searchingly of themselves why, in CSE, their clear witness of distress and huge dereliction of care persisted decades after it was made clear through practice, legislation and legislative guidance that the young people were victims of exploitation, and must be treated as such.
Abstract
Asked by a House of Commons select committee in 2012 what lay behind repeated failures in Rochdale to protect young teenagers and pre-teens from sexual exploitation, Sara Rowbotham answered simply and powerfully. She was coordinator of the local NHS crisis intervention team, which had made more than 100 largely fruitless referrals to social services and police between 2004 and 2010.
It was about attitudes towards teenagers. It was absolute disrespect that vulnerable young people did not have a voice. They were overlooked. They were discriminated against. They were treated appallingly by protective services. (Williams, 2012a)
This chapter highlights stigmatised teenagers who have faced child sexual exploitation (CSE) or very young (especially pre-teen) pregnancy. It concentrates here on prejudiced, sexist attitudes to girls and young women and how these attitudes have contributed heavily to contemptuous perceptions of their suffering. This is not to deny that a significant minority of boys and young men have also faced sexual exploitation.1 Many of the changes called for in protection and provision will also be helpful to them, although certain perceptions which they face are different (see Chapter Nine).
This chapter describes sexist vilification, contempt and blame sexually exploited girls have faced from professionals, public and media alike. It challenges theories of so-called ‘political correctness’ as a reason for failing to bring to justice perpetrators from minority ethnic backgrounds. I argue that the most urgent need for professionals in ensuring genuine change is to examine very searchingly of themselves why, in CSE, their clear witness of distress and huge dereliction of care persisted decades after it was made clear through practice, legislation and legislative guidance that the young people were victims of exploitation, and must be treated as such.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements v
- Introduction 1
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Setting the scene: some barriers to progress
- From rediscovery to suppression? Challenges to reducing CSA 21
- Lies and deception in the backlash 59
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Children and young people
- Fact, myth and legacy in notorious child abuse cases: Orkney in context 103
- Stigmatised young people: from ‘abuse fodder’ to key allies against abuse and exploitation 133
- Models for ethical, effective child protection 175
- Community prevention of CSA: a model for practice 213
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Working with adult survivors of sexual abuse
- Physical ill health: addressing the serious impacts of sexual violence 251
- Producing radical change in mental health: implications of the trauma paradigm 287
- Pathways into crime after sexual abuse: the voices of male offenders 319
- Rethinking sex offender programmes for survivor-perpetrators 349
- Conclusion 373
- References 381
- Index 425
- About the authors 441
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements v
- Introduction 1
-
Setting the scene: some barriers to progress
- From rediscovery to suppression? Challenges to reducing CSA 21
- Lies and deception in the backlash 59
-
Children and young people
- Fact, myth and legacy in notorious child abuse cases: Orkney in context 103
- Stigmatised young people: from ‘abuse fodder’ to key allies against abuse and exploitation 133
- Models for ethical, effective child protection 175
- Community prevention of CSA: a model for practice 213
-
Working with adult survivors of sexual abuse
- Physical ill health: addressing the serious impacts of sexual violence 251
- Producing radical change in mental health: implications of the trauma paradigm 287
- Pathways into crime after sexual abuse: the voices of male offenders 319
- Rethinking sex offender programmes for survivor-perpetrators 349
- Conclusion 373
- References 381
- Index 425
- About the authors 441
