Contextual safeguarding and county lines

Abstract

Children and young people who are trafficked to sell drugs are being subjected to a form of extrafamilial harm. Whilst there is no statutory definition of ‘child criminal exploitation’ (CCE), CCE and the trafficking of children to sell drugs on ‘county lines’ are named in Working Together 2018 (HM Government, 2018) as forms of child abuse and as such those affected are entitled to a child protection response. This briefing will: - Map the emergence of ‘county lines’ as a child welfare issue - Introduce the four domains of Contextual Safeguarding - Outline how a Contextual Safeguarding approach to assessment, planning, intervention and outcome measurement could offer an alternative response to young people who are affected by ‘county lines’ - Undertake all of the above from an ecological, child welfare and participatory perspective