For many years Changing Lives has worked for and alongside women who have experienced sexual exploitation. We are grateful for the brave women who have shared their stories and those in positions of power who have listened to these women and taken action as a result.
Sexual exploitation has been featured heavily in the news over the past week but sadly not to highlight some of the incredible work going on around the country to tackle abuse. Instead misinformation and inflammatory attacks have been used against a committed champion of those experiencing multiple forms of gender-based violence. Female politicians in particular are subject to an unacceptable amount of misogynistic abuse and must be able to do their job without the risk of violence. There is an important place within politics for respectful challenge and disagreement and we believe in holding politicians to account for their words and actions, but this must be done with due regard to the dignity and safety of all those involved. We therefore utterly condemn any threats made against Jess Phillips and her family.
All those who work in the sector, whether they agree with all her positions or not, will know that any suggestions that Jess Phillips does not care about those who have experienced grooming and sexual exploitation are absurd. At Changing Lives we have had the privilege of working closely with Jess for a number of years, primarily around sexual exploitation of adult women. This is a form of violence against women and girls that is often misunderstood and overlooked but Jess Phillips has been a prominent voice in Parliament campaigning for improved recognition and response for those whose exploitation continues into or begins in adulthood. Prior to being appointed minister she was Chair of the STAGE Influence Group (now known as the Adult Sexual Exploitation Partnership Influence Group) and has tirelessly spoken up for survivors and pushed for funding for vital services.
As Jess Phillips herself has said, her experiences are “nothing” compared to the experiences of victims of abuse. This is ultimately where our focus should be. It is time for action, not delaying things further while we wait for yet another review. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) made a series of recommendations which are yet to be implemented. The children whose abuse was considered in this inquiry will now be adults, meaning that support will likely have dropped off for them when they turned 18. We urge the government to set out clear plans for what changes they will be implementing so that victims and survivors have the confidence that they are being taken seriously, and we look forward to continuing to work with Jess Phillips and others to push for the best possible response to those who have experienced horrific forms of abuse.
Meanwhile we’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing for years – providing trauma-informed support to those experiencing or at risk of exploitation; working with police and other partners to disrupt perpetrators; developing innovative responses to the growing use of online spaces for exploitation; and raising our voice to ensure that those who have been exploited are not forgotten or ignored.
Sarah Clarke, National Violence Against Women & Girls Lead at Changing Lives said:
“We continue to see an unprecedented demand for our sexual exploitation support services nationally. Over the last 12 months we have seen a significant rise in organised crime groups exploiting females via online platforms. We have also seen an increase in migrant females being targeted.
Through our partnership collaboration with police and other agencies we are working towards creating a best practice model that provides safeguarding interventions for victims and survivors whilst supporting law enforcement to ensure they are able to disrupt and pursue these offenders. We must ensure that the conversation now more than ever is focused on safeguarding victims and preventing sexual exploitation nationally.”
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