Creating Safer Organisations: Practical Steps to Prevent the Abuse of Children by Those Working With Them

An accessible resource to help those in organisational settings ensure that they have taken all possible steps to safeguard the children and young people they are responsible for. Draws on up to date research with people who have committed sexual offences against children in organisational settings, and new developments in interviewing approaches Details recent cases to illustrate points about institutional failures in protecting children Highlights the fact that those who sexually offend against children are a diverse and heterogeneous population, and the approaches taken to protect children must address the range of possible risks Makes a firm commitment to the importance of multi-agency and inter-disciplinary collaboration and is relevant in both community and residential settings Offers clear and practical messages and measures for organisations to act on

Table of Contents:
About the Contributors xi Preface xv Creating Safer Organisations – An Overview 1 Marcus Erooga 1 Understanding and Responding to People Who Sexually Abuse Children Whilst Employed In Positions of Trust: An Overview of the Relevant Literature – Part One: Offenders 7 Marcus Erooga People Who Sexually Abuse Children in Organisational Positions of Trust – a definition 7 How Prevalent are Sexual Offences Committed Against Children in Professional or Workplace Settings? 8 Characteristics and Behaviour of People Who Sexually Abuse Children in Organisational Positions of Trust 8 Findings From a Study of Residents in a Specialist Treatment Setting Who had Sexually Abused Children Whilst in Organisational Positions of Trust 9 Grooming 11 Use of the Internet 14 Motivations to Sexually Abuse 15 Thought Processes and Cognitive Distortions 18 Female Sexual Abusers 20 Conclusions 22 2 Understanding and Responding to People Who Sexually Abuse Children Whilst Employed In Positions of Trust: An Overview of the Relevant Literature – Part Two: Organisations 27 Marcus Erooga Characteristics of ‘Vulnerable Organisations’ – the Importance of the Organisational Environment in Preventing Abuse 27 Corruption of Care 28 Models of Authority 33 Characteristics of Sexual Abuse in Specific Organisational Settings 34 Motivations to Abuse 38 Developing Preventative Strategies 39 3 Policy and Legislation – Changing Responses to an Emerging Problem 44 Kerry Cleary and Marcus Erooga General Organisational Legal Responsibilities 45 Child care Focussed Policy and Legislation 45 Department for Children, Schools and Families List 99 47 Protection of Children Act (PoCA) List 48 Disqualification Orders and Regulated Positions (replaced by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, 2006) 48 Sex Offender Register Notification Arrangements 49 Criminal Records Checks 49 Shortcomings of These Arrangements 50 The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, 2006 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) 50 The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 53 Strengths and Limitations of Legislation and Regulation 54 What Do Developments in Legislation and Regulation Indicate About Desirable Cultures for Organisational Safeguarding by Government Organisations and Individuals? 58 A Model 59 How Should Legislation and Regulation Support the Development of Safer Organisational Cultures? 60 4 Sexual Abuse of Children By People In Organisations: What Offenders Can Teach Us About Protection 63 Marcus Erooga, Debra Allnock and Paula Telford Introduction 63 Methodology 64 The Sample 65 Findings 68 Organisational Facilitating Factors 68 Individual Facilitating Factors 73 Discussion 79 Situational Crime Prevention as a Response 81 Conclusion and Recommendations 82 5 Manipulation Styles of Abusers Who Work With Children 85 Joe Sullivan and Ethel Quayle Introduction 85 Demographic Profile and Offending Patterns of Professional Perpetrators 86 Psychometric Comparisons with Intra- and Extra-Familial Child Abusers 86 Rationale for a Qualitative Methodology 87 Motivation to Sexually Offend 87 Victim Selection, Grooming and Abuse 89 Manipulation Styles 90 Conclusions 95 Multi Disciplinary Issues 97 Future Directions 97 6 Organisational Issues and New Technologies 99 Ethel Quayle An Evolving Issue 99 Technology In the Workplace 100 Abusive Images 102 Sexting 104 Grooming 104 Stalking 105 Adult Pornography 105 Misuse of Social Media 105 The Individual and Organisational Abuse 106 Situational Factors and Technology Mediated Organisational Abuse 108 Guidelines on Child Protection Policies and Procedure In Relation to Technology 113 Conclusion 116 7 Safer Recruitment – Guidance for Organisations 122 Kerry Cleary Introduction 122 Doing the Basic Things Well 123 Importance of Values and Emotional Intelligence 124 Safer Recruitment Within a Safeguarding Culture 126 A Model of Safer Recruitment – PICK 127 P – Plan 127 I – Identify 130 C–Check 134 K is for Keep 136 The Basics Are Necessary But Not Sufficient 137 Appendix 1 Safer Recruitment Checklist 138 8 Prevention Is Better Than Cure: The Value of Situational Prevention In Organisations 140 Keith L. Kaufman, Hayley Tews, Jessica M. Schuett, and Benjamin R. Kaufman A Foundation for Prevention in Organisations and Institutions 141 Rational Choice Theory 141 Routine Activity Theory 143 Defensible Space Theory 144 Applying the Situational Prevention Model to Child Sexual Abuse 146 A Structured Approach to Applying the Situational Prevention Model with Community Organisations and Institutions 150 The Situational Prevention Model Approach to Assessing Local Organisational Settings 151 Identifying Common Risks Across National Organisations and Institutions 161 Situational Prevention Model Children’s Hospital Consultation – a Case Study 163 The Boys & Girls Club Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Self-Assessment Initiative 164 Conclusions 166 9 Avoiding and Managing Allegations Against Staff 170 Jo Green Introduction 170 The Incidence of Allegations 171 Behaviour That Gives Rise to Allegations 173 Procedural Fairness Within a Precautionary Approach 174 Characteristics of a Safe Organisation 186 Index 188