Immaterial Boys? A Large-Scale Exploration of Gender-Based Differences in Child Sexual Exploitation Service Users

Abstract

Child sexual exploitation is increasingly recognised nationally and internationally as a pressing child protection, crime prevention and public health issue. In the UK, for example, a recent series of highprofile cases has fuelled pressure on policy-makers and practitioners to improve responses. Yet, prevailing discourse, research and interventions around child sexual exploitation have focused overwhelmingly on female victims. This study was designed to help redress fundamental knowledge gaps around boys affected by sexual exploitation. This was achieved through rigorous quantitative analysis of individual-level data for 9,042 users of child sexual exploitation services in the UK. One third of the sample was male and gender was associated with statistically significant differences on many variables. The results of this exploratory study highlight the need for further targeted research and more nuanced and inclusive counter-strategies.

The Perceptions of Australian Workers about Caring for Sexually Exploited Children in Residential Care

“…Further, although most victims of sexual exploitation are girls, boys are also exploited (Sharp‐Jeffs et al ., ). Indeed, the authors of a recent, large‐scale UK study involving 9042 CSE service users found that one‐third of the sample were boys, indicating the need for responses and exit strategies that focus on boys as well as girls (Cockbain et al ., ).…”

The Nature of Child Sexual Abuse among Boys and Girls Attending Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Greater Manchester

“…The largest‐scale study in this area was undertaken by Cockbain et al . () which sought to find differences and commonalities between recorded characteristics of males and females who were affected by child sexual exploitation. Data collected from 2004 to 2013 from Barnardo's national database were analysed, comprising individual‐level data for approximately 3000 boys and 6000 girls.…”

“…Cockbain et al . () found that the referral source (boys were more likely to be referred by criminal justice agencies whereas girls were more likely to be referred by social services) and the reason for referral (boys were more likely to be referred because of having gone missing whereas girls were more likely to be referred because of suspected exploitation concerns) were significant predictors of the service user's gender. Cockbain et al .…”

“…Cockbain et al . () acknowledged the inability to distinguish between male victims and perpetrators as a limitation of their data set. There remained a need for a well‐conducted, large‐scale clinical study in the domain.…”

“…Existing literature reports that boys are typically younger than girls at the time of abuse (Cockbain et al, ; Edelson, ). An epidemiological study in Philadelphia demonstrated differences in the ages of male and female victims of CSA: the distribution of girls ( n = 463) was bimodal with peaks at six and 15 years, while there was a single peak at seven years for boys ( n = 103) (De Jong et al, ).…”