Researching child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking

Participation

Angry, Proud: speaking out about the exploitation of boys and young men

A student presenter shares reflections on a co-presentation with Jenny Pearce at a BLAST conference, and on being let down by professionals during exploitation.

Policy

“They don’t talk about it enough”

Commentary welcoming the government’s 2017 announcement on statutory relationships and sex education, addressing worrying levels of sexual violence and harassment in schools.

The International Centre Blog is a space where research on child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking meets the people who act on it. Hosted at the University of Bedfordshire, the blog publishes findings, policy commentary and participatory research written with and for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and young people. Rather than sitting behind academic paywalls, the work is shared openly so that evidence can travel from a study into a safeguarding decision, a curriculum, or a conversation in a community.

Participatory research runs through much of the Centre's work, and the blog reflects that commitment. Young people, survivors and frontline professionals are not treated as subjects of study alone but as contributors, co-researchers and reviewers. Posts frequently describe the challenges of involving people with lived experience in sensitive enquiry, the ethical and safeguarding questions that follow, and the adaptations made so that participation is meaningful, safe and genuinely two-way rather than tokenistic.

Evidence also has to travel across contexts. Research into exploitation, violence and trafficking cannot assume that a framework developed in one country will sit neatly on another. Posts on the blog discuss how interventions should be adapted to local legal, cultural and service settings, and how findings should be read alongside the circumstances of the communities they concern. Context matters: policy that ignores it risks doing harm while appearing evidence-based.

Among the recurring themes is the relationship between research and safeguarding practice in schools and public services. One highlighted piece gathers the views of children and young people on what police safeguarding work needs to get right, centring on respect as the measure of quality. It illustrates how the perspective of those being protected can sharpen professional practice, and it sits alongside broader posts on curriculum development, teacher engagement and the delivery of support in educational settings.

The blog also functions as a channel for methodological reflection. Contributors write about research design, data collection, peer review and the dissemination of findings, asking how studies are constructed, whose voices are included and how conclusions are reached. Sharing methodology openly helps build a shared standard across the field, and allows practitioners and community partners to judge the strength of a finding before it informs decisions about protecting children.

Collaboration sits at the heart of the Centre's model. The blog records partnerships with universities, schools, charitable organisations, community groups and international networks, and it highlights advisory panels and steering groups that help steer research questions toward real needs. Posts often note what each partner brought to a project, which values of participatory engagement shaped the process, and what remains unfinished, making the collaborative dimension of the work visible to readers.

Alongside research outputs, the blog carries news about launches, conference presentations, project milestones and newsletters. These shorter entries keep readers connected to the wider activity of the Centre: new studies beginning, findings being promoted, panels convened and partnerships forming. They also make clear that dissemination is not a single event but a sustained effort, with results shared at conferences, in publications and directly with those who commissioned or will use the work.

Policy commentary forms another strand. Writers take published findings and ask what they mean for national and international policy, particularly around identification, referral and support for children experiencing exploitation or trafficking. Posts are written to be read by people outside the academy, so the language is plain and the implications direct. The aim is to close the distance between a body of evidence and the decisions that determine whether a child is reached and protected.

Finally, the blog invites participation. Readers are encouraged to engage with posts, share findings and contribute to ongoing projects, and the Centre's activities depend on the willingness of practitioners, academics, students and community members to take part. That openness reflects a simple conviction: research on exploitation, violence and trafficking improves when more people can question it, read it and act on it, and when those most affected have a say in what is studied and how findings are used.

General

Spring 2018 IC Newsletter

The Spring 2018 newsletter covers new work, the latest publications and resources, and other opportunities to engage with the Centre’s research.