Does the Sexual Exploitation of Boys Differ from that of Girls? A Large-Scale Comparative Analysis

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Recent years have seen increased political, practitioner and public interest in child sexual exploitation (CSE). Yet, research and responses have focused overwhelmingly on female victims to date. The nature and needs of their male counterparts have been largely overlooked. In this novel study, we analysed data from over 9,000 unique cases of sexually exploited or ‘at risk’ children in the UK –one third of whom were male. We assessed diverse variables, including characteristics of individual children, the abuse process and official responses. Our results reveal both statistically significant differences between boys and girls and crosscutting commonalities. They show an overlap between CSE and other serious social concerns – such as youth offending, disabilities and missing people. CSE is a complex social issue and more work is needed to disentangle some of the relationships observed, for example distinguishing between risk factors, indicators and correlates alone. Nonetheless, the study represents an important step towards better understanding the sexual exploitation of boys. Taken as a whole, the findings suggest that victim gender could usefully be integrated into the design and delivery of CSE research, policy and practice in future. We thank the Nuffield Foundation for the funding and Barnardo’s for their data-provision and support.

Authors

• Ella Cockbain, University College London

• Matthew Ashby, University College London

• Helen Brayley, University College London