Amid all the reports, serious case reviews, national outrage and soul-searching over cases of child sexual exploitation (CSE), the most important response for professionals must be to learn from past mistakes and gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to tackle the problem and, in doing so, safeguard all children in the future.
That is what CYP Now's conference in Birmingham on 25 March set out to do.
In her overview on understanding the problem, University of Bedfordshire research fellow Carlene Firmin said it was vital for professionals to recognise the "range of models" of CSE. These include organised crime networks, peer-to-peer exploitation and gang-associated exploitation. Crucially, she challenged all professionals to ask "what we mean by safety", particularly in the movement of looked-after children at risk of CSE.
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