The participation of young people in child sexual exploitation services: a scoping review of the literature

Abstract

This is a scoping review of the literature which focuses on the participation of young people in child sexual exploitation services. The review is part of the Alexi Project, which involves an evaluation of the CSEFA Hub and Spoke services in England. The review aims to develop understanding of the concept of participation and the nature of effective participatory practice in the context of child sexual exploitation services. It has taken place between September 2015 and April 2016. The review focuses on the following questions: • How is ‘participation’ of young people in CSE services conceptualised in the research, policy and professional literature? • How explicit is the policy requirement for children and young people’s participation in the processes associated with assessment, planning and review and what evidence exists regarding the implementation and/or effectiveness of these processes? • What evidence exists regarding the nature of the experience of participation, and its impact, from the perspectives of young people, parents and carers, and professionals? • What evidence exists regarding the conditions that need to be in place to make participative working possible and effective for different groups of CSE affected young people? • What evidence exists regarding the replicability of participative models?