NIASW response to Marshall report:child sexual exploitation is a serious public health problem

Responding to publication of the Marshall report into child sexual exploitation in Northern Ireland Carolyn Ewart, Manager of the Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers, said:

“Child sexual exploitation is a blight on society that destroys lives and we welcome the spotlight put on this in Northern Ireland by the Marshall report.

“We must start looking at the sexual exploitation of children as a serious public health problem in the same way we do with smoking, mental illness, drug misuse and obesity.

“Social workers can play a pivotal role in addressing it, but only in partnership with other agencies, including schools and the judiciary.

“The child protection system is not currently geared up to deal with the complexity of child sexual exploitation. It needs reforming so there is greater focus on ‘child safety’ not just ‘child protection’. That means freeing up social workers to work more closely with families and young people.

“Social workers have the skills to do the kind of relationship-based work that is needed to help keep children safe, but they are hampered by process-driven and overly-bureaucratic systems, high caseloads and time constraints.

“If we are serious about stopping child sexual exploitation we must ensure social workers have the time and space to do their job, backed by adequate resource and support from other professionals. Otherwise our good intentions will amount to little more than empty words.”