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

Abstract

Child sexual exploitation (CSE) is a problem for children and young people living in out-of-home care (looked after children). As part of a broader action research project aiming to prevent both harmful sexual behaviour carried out by children and young people and CSE in out-of-home care, four focus groups were undertaken with 17 workers at three Victorian residential houses in 2017. The findings reported in this paper were generated through the research question: What do workers perceive as the key challenges in caring for children and young people vulnerable to CSE in out-of-home care? Three major themes were identified: (i) children and young people going missing from home; (ii) children ..