Children left at risk of abuse as social services turn blind eye to underage sex
CHILDREN are at risk of abuse because underage sex is now seen as a ‘normal part of growing up’, a damning report warns.
Health and social workers are prioritising the prevention of underage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, meaning sex among under16s is unchallenged, the Family Education Trust claims.
It says an ‘expectation’ that all under16s will be sexually active has left them vulnerable to exploitation, because questions are not asked about their partners.
Its research follows scandals in which troubled young girls have been groomed and exploited by older men after being let down by police and social services.
The trust examined seven serious case reviews, including those into the scandals in Bristol and Oxfordshire, and the independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
A common theme in all cases was a failure by professionals to challenge girls about underage sex for, among other things, a fear of being seen as judgmental. That meant warning signs of abuse were missed.
In Rochdale, it was claimed that a ‘preoccupation with reducing teenage pregnancy rates had encouraged a culture in which underage sexual activity went unchallenged and many young people were placed at risk of sexual exploitation’.
An inquiry into the scandal found one girl became pregnant at the age of 14 and told a crisis
‘Excuse to exclude parents’
intervention team the father was 21. No action was taken.
Norman Wells, director of the trust and report author, said: ‘Relaxed attitudes towards underage sex has led to what can only be described as a paralysis in child protection agencies as far apart as Rochdale in the north, Torbay in the south, Thurrock in the east and Liverpool in the west.
‘Even though the normalisation of underage sex has been identified repeatedly in the serious case reviews as a reason for the complacency of child protection agencies, there is no indication of a willingness to address these underlying issues either at the local or the national level.’
Professor David Paton, from Nottingham University Business School, said the 152-page report was ‘utterly damning’.
He added: ‘A clear picture emerges of a culture in which underage sexual activity has come to be viewed as a normal part of growing up and seen as relatively harmless as long as it is consen- sual. An unhealthy emphasis on confidentiality has been used too often as an excuse to exclude parents who might have been in a position to help stop the abuse at an earlier stage.’
The trust wants a ban on contraception and sex advice for under16s and new guidance to give ‘explicit recognition to the role of parents’. A review of Crown Prosecution Service guidance ‘with a view to ensuring that due rigour is restored to the law on the age of consent’ is also needed, it said.
Advice from the CPS currently states that when both parties are under 16, they would not normally be prosecuted for underage sex – unless there are aggravating fac- tors, such as exploitation – so as not to criminalise children.
But Helen Marshall, chief executive of sexual health charity, Brook, said it is ‘extremely concerned’ about the ‘negative arguments made throughout this report linking the two very separate issues of underage sex and child sexual exploitation’. She added: ‘Despite societal assumptions and the complex challenges that young people face, the average age of first sexual activity in the UK is 16.
‘The priority for Brook is not to criminalise healthy behaviour but to continue to identify vulnerable young people through our confidential and accessible services.