Surveys have found that the likelihood of being sexually abused does not vary by ethnic group, yet children of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage are far less likely to come to the attention of statutory services than White British children. For example, while 26% of children attending English state schools and nurseries in 2022/23 were of African, Caribbean or Asian heritage, only 10% of children seen by sexual assault referral centres, and 13% of victims of child sexual abuse offences recorded by the police in the same year, were of these ethnic backgrounds. 

In July 2024, the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse published Child sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children: A knowledge review. Written by Dr Sukhwant Dhaliwal, the review summarised learning from 79 relevant research publications spanning 37 years, and consulted academics, practitioners and experts-by-experience to come up with recommendations for future research and practice developments that improve responses to African, Caribbean and Asian children and adult survivors of sexual abuse.

One of the concerning findings from this review related to the poor service responses that minority ethnic children and adult survivors were found to receive from statutory agencies. Professionals’ approaches appeared to differ according to victim-survivors’ ethnic heritage. It was found that Black girls were more likely to be engaged through punitive projects around gangs and serious youth violence that criminalised their behaviour; and less likely to be seen as children, with a tendency to perceive them as strong and resilient, and therefore not deserving of victim status or protection. Research with Black mothers seeking support for their children noted that they struggled to navigate unsupportive environments: the scrutiny was on them, rather than on the perpetrator of the abuse. These experiences reinforced the mothers’ views of how agencies would respond and their reluctance to report any abuse to the statutory services.

Research with Asian girls and young women described how professionals feared being accused of cultural insensitivity and racism, and were found to prioritise concerns about family and cultural dynamics over the safeguarding of children. Both safeguarding and criminal justice responses were found to over-emphasise the impact of any enquiry or investigation on the community cohesion. On the other hand, research highlighted that professionals frequently did not appreciate the significance of ‘honour’ and ‘shame’ for Asian girls and young women, including the very real threat of violence that prevents them from disclosing abuse, which was not addressed as an added child protection issue in the wake of a disclosure. Professionals were also found to reframe and record Asian young women’s experiences of sexual violence as cultural issues – such as forced marriage or honour-based violence – rather than sexual abuse. 

Regardless of the ethnic background of children and adult survivors, services were also found to ignore any material concerns that can lead families to remain silent about the abuse due to economic reliance on the person who has harmed the child or insecure immigration status. There was also inadequate attention given to language barriers. Research described reliance on family members or community intermediaries for interpreting, which constituted a breach of confidentiality for victim-survivors, could potentially place the victim-survivors at risk of further harm, and risked interpreters not fully and accurately translating what had been said. 
In light of these findings, it is not surprising to find low reporting rates of child sexual abuse of African, Caribbean and Asian children in statutory data. Academics, practitioners and experts-by-experience who took part in this research expressed concern that despite a long history of such research findings, these had not translated into a qualitative change or a shift in service provision. The stakeholders called for the expansion of specialist services specifically for minority ethnic children and adult survivors that respond to child sexual abuse. They also recommended that the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse establish a research and practice network that would enable future collaboration on research and practice development projects among stakeholders. 

The research and practice network has now been established.  All facilitators and invitees are people of colour or from racialised minorities, to foster a space of comfort so that concerns and hopes can be expressed openly.  

Please contact shauna.breen@csacentre.org.uk. to receive more information about the network.

Kairika Karsna, Principal Research and Evaluation Officer
Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse