Legal Update: Tackling child sexual exploitation

MP Ann Coffey's recent report, Real Voices: Child Sexual Exploitation in Greater Manchester, describes the reality for many vulnerable young people who are at risk, or have been a victim, of child sexual exploitation (CSE). Her inquiry was conducted at the request of the police and crime commissioner for Greater Manchester, and examines changes made to the "attitudes and culture among police and other agencies" since the Rochdale case in 2012. Within the criminal justice system in particular, it is clear that negative attitudes towards non-model victims persist in inhibiting the prosecution and conviction of offenders. The report makes a number of recommendations to further protect children from CSE; activities to engender attitudinal change feature strongly among them.

According to the report, there are presently 260 investigations underway into child exploitation in Greater Manchester (including 174 recorded crimes and 18 cases involving multiple perpetrators), indicating that there are a large number of children experiencing exploitation in the region. From interviewees' accounts, it appears that these figures would be even higher if young people felt more able to report their experiences to the police and other agencies.

Many young people put their reluctance to report exploitation down to fears that they would be "looked down upon", or that the person might not believe them, might be unlikely to do anything at all or that they might "report it" (to other authority figures and/or parents). Herein lies one of the key issues raised by the report: that the real and perceived attitudes of police, social workers, prosecutors and juries are still impacting negatively on our ability to tackle CSE.

Low conviction rates

This is of particular concern within the criminal justice system. Conviction rates are extremely low; from 2006 to 2013, defendants were proceeded against in only 18 per cent of the 12,879 reported cases of sexual offences against children under 16 (including rape, sexual assaults, gross indecency and grooming) and only eight per cent were found guilty. This is attributed (in part) to the lack of support for child witnesses in court and entrenched attitudes within the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and among jurors, which result in victims' testimonies being discredited.

The report found evidence that, "despite new Director of Public Prosecutions guidelines designed to ensure that the justice system supports all children, including those who do not present as 'classic' victims ... this is not always happening in the case of vulnerable witnesses in Greater Manchester". One case was given "no further action" status by the CPS because "the victim is known to tend to wear sexualised clothes when she is out of school, such as cropped tops".

Further examples were given in the report, which demonstrate that stereotypes and preconceptions attached to those who are not "model" victims have caused a number of other case files to be given "no further action" status by the CPS.

Even in cases that do proceed to trial, young witnesses reported their distress at being cross-examined in court: "One of the barristers was not even asking me questions; he was just shouting at me." In cases that rely so often on the credibility of the victim as against the witnesses for the defendant, prosecutors frequently do their utmost to discredit victims - undermining their credibility as witnesses, as well as seeking to attach them with "blame". Increased efforts to encourage attitudinal changes on issues of consent will be key to combating negative attitudes among jurors, prosecutors, and within the CPS itself. New government measures have been announced that will give extra support to victims in court, but these may be slow to implement.

The report makes a number of recommendations for improving the criminal justice system in relation to CSE. However, it is perhaps in the broader recommendations to engage with the public, the voluntary sector, the police and other agencies to challenge and change societal attitudes towards CSE victims through which the justice system will benefit most.