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Contextual Safeguarding

Contextual Safeguarding is an approach to understanding, and responding to, young people’s experiences of significant harm beyond their families. It expands the objectives of child protection systems in recognition that young people are vulnerable to abuse in a range of different social contexts and from a range of external threats.

Contextual Safeguarding is relevant to a range of risks that includes:

  • Child Sexual Exploitation – including peer-on-peer exploitation
  • Child Criminal Exploitation – including County Lines
  • Risks associated with gangs
  • Modern Slavery and Trafficking
  • Missing young people
  • Radicalisation (PREVENT)
  • Harmful Sexual Behaviour.

The MSCP has published its Contextual Safeguarding Strategy 2021-23.

Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)

Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse and may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside clothing.

It may include non-contact activities, such as involving children in the production of sexual images, forcing children to look at sexual images or watch sexual activities. Or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including grooming over the internet).

The definition of child sexual exploitation is as follows:

Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.

(Information taken from the Department of Educations Guidance on Child Sexual Exploitation.)

Exploitation toolkits: Advice and support for professionals

You can get practical support and advice around dealing with issues of Exploitation.

The Safeguarding Children and Young People from Sexual Exploitation - The Department for Education published Child Sexual Exploitation: definition and guide fro practitioners in 2017.  

The MSCP has a multi-agency network of exploitation champions who support the development of a safe, responsive and effective service for children who experience or are at risk of exploitation within their agency and make links with multi agency partners.

The exploitation champions support the implementation of this strategy, enhance professionals and public awareness of child exploitation in Medway; implement good practice on the issue of exploitation in Medway agencies and support the professional development of others in relation to exploitation.

Reporting child exploitation - intelligence portal

The electronic Exploitation Information Sharing Form (eINTEL) or child exploitation (CE) intelligence portal is a multi-agency tool for sharing information relating to child exploitation.  It is a way of sharing information that may be important and relevant in order to build intelligence about exploitation, to better target the response to prevent and disrupt it.

Where a child exploitation concern has been identified, the form below is to be used to provide intelligence to the Kent Police in order to get a better understanding of local child exploitation concerns and issues. 

Report a CE information online.

There is a short training video on what the CE intelligence portal is, the types of exploitation that can be referred through the portal and appropriate use and quality submissions.  

There is also training video for the CE intelligence portal delivered by Kent Police.  It takes you through:

  • what types of child exploitation can be submitted through the portal
  • understand what is meant by ‘intelligence’
  • understand what quality intelligence looks like
  • when it is appropriate (or not) to use the portal

The training video is free to access, and you can complete it at your own pace and is available on the MSCP YouTube channel.

View MSCP CE intelligence training video on our YouTube channel.

Reporting a CSE concern as a young person: #SaySomething

The Say Something Team provide listening support to young people enabling them to discuss worries and feelings, get advice and pass on concerns around child sexual exploitation anonymously.

This service is free, 24 hour and confidential. There is no requirement to provide the Team with your name and you are able to call or text 116 000 or email 116000@missingpeople.org.uk.

For further information download our Say Something poster.

Child trafficking

Child trafficking and modern slavery is child abuse. Children are recruited, moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold.

Many children are trafficked into the UK from abroad, but children can also be trafficked from one part of the UK to another and may even be returned the same day. Movement counts as trafficking. For further information on child trafficking see the NSPCC website

National Referral Mechanism (NRM)

The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support. Use the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) form for referring potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery.

If the potential victim is under 18, or may be under 18, a NRM referral must be made. Child victims do not have to consent to be referred into the NRM and must first be safeguarded and then referred into the NRM process.

Helpful documents