VIEW, Issue five, 2012


Website: viewdigital.org


Page 11


hild sex exploitation T


n the wake of the convictions of several men in England over the sexual xploitation of children and young women, Brian Pelan spoke to Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin, Children’s Services Manager at Barnardo’s Northern reland, about the extent of the problem here


y across Northern Ireland”. Her shocking statement followed the jailing nine men who ran a child sexual exploitation g in the greater Manchester area. I met with Ms Montgomery-Devlin recently find out more details about the scale of the blem in Northern Ireland. Tucked away up a leafy lane in east Belfast, qui met with me in her office, part of a nardo’s complex, and outlined some grim statis- about the issue of child sex exploitation, which charity is actively challenging. “We are often asked the question is this hap- ning in Northern Ireland?” said Jacqui. “And I metimes forget that our services have been in stence for almost 12 years. We exist to work h children and young people who are being sex- y exploited, at risk of exploitation, going missing m home and care homes. “So, is it happening here? Yes, because our


vices here are in existence to work with those ng people. We have two practitioners who have


We need to have more prevention nd awareness rogrammes offered o these young eople, as well as heir parents’


caseloads. We have 36 children and young peo- on the waiting list, from across all five health sts. A mixture of those on the waiting list are h their families or are in care homes. At one ge, we were just funded to work with children are. But we have more funding now and that al- ws us to work with children outside of the care tem as well. “A lot of young people end up in care be-


HE manager of Barnardo’s Safe Choices NI, Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin, said in a recent statement to the media that sexual ex- ploitation is happening in “every town and


Raising awareness: Jacqui Montgomery-Devlin, Children’s Sevices Manager, Barnardo’s Safe Choices Northern Ireland


programmes offered to these young people, as well as their parents.


recognise what is happening to them as sexual ex- ploitation. They don’t often see themselves as vic- tims. It’s up to the adults working with them or who they are living with to notice or identify what is happening and to try and get them some help. We want to go into schools as well. There has been a recent opening in that area. Last week I had a meeting with a teacher who is responsible for pastoral care in one school. He wants us to talk to his pupils, aged 16 and over. “As part of the research titled ‘Not A World


“The majority of these young people do not


rie says that sexual exploitation happens in every town and city in the UK. “We need child protection to be part of the


cific guidance for social services about child sex exploitation and how you deal with it, in the way that Wales, England and Scotland have. Jacqui believes the decision to set up the


Safeguarding Board in Northern Ireland shortly, which will be chaired by Hugh Connor, is a wel- come development.


se they are being sexually exploited and all the ociated risks and vulnerabilities that go with t. If we can start working with them in the early ges when they are at risk of sexual exploitation can perhaps prevent them going into care. The ority of those on the waiting list are known to ial services in some way. “A lot of the time we are dealing with very maged individuals. For the last few years, we have en trying to say, particularly to social workers, to and get referrals in on young people sooner her than later, because once they are en- nched in to that kind of lifestyle – I’m not saying y are to blame in any way – but once those per- rators have got them entrenched, it can be very cult to get them out. “It’s better if can get in contact with them lier. We need more prevention and awareness


Away’, we looked at children and young people who were in the care system and those known to social workers. A 2010 ‘Young Life And Times’ sur- vey was used to determine the prevalence of sexu- ally exploitative experiences among the general youth population in Northern Ireland. A total of 786 16-year-olds completed the survey (two-thirds female, one-third male). “One in nine said they had experienced sex- ual exploitation or had been groomed or targeted in some way. The majority of them said this hap- pened under the age of consent. The majority of them also hadn't told anybody.” “Funding is an issue in how we tackle this


problem. The fact is that we now have 36 young people on our waiting list. That waiting list only started during the research. We have two practi- tioners for the whole of Northern Ireland, we are going to recruit two and a half more – but that’s with Barnardo’s voluntary funds. “We also receive funding from Comic Relief and the Heath and Social Care Board.


own,” she said – “it’s a partnership approach. “A lot of the kids who we are working with


“No one agency can tackle this on their


have had so much trauma in their life as a child. At the start a lot of these kids in care go missing every day. If we get them to a stage where it’s once a week or once a month that is a success. The focus also needs to be on the perpetrators who remain at large and invisible. “Two of the young people that we are just


finishing working with now are ending on a really positive note


“One was with us for nearly three years, the other about 18 months. They don’t seem to be at risk now. They are functioning in a more healthier and positive way. “That is real success given their backgrounds


“Barnardo’s chief executive Anne Marie Car-


Policing Plan here as a priority so that targets are set and resources made available. “In Northern Ireland, we don't have any spe-


and what they have been through. “One young person said to one of our work-


ers some time ago: ‘Me being raped is like you mak- ing a cup of tea.’ She was trying to indicate to us that it was a regular occurrence in her life.”


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