Day Two  21st April 2021

 After a quick round-up of the sessions held yesterday, we started the day with  

A Keynote Presentation – The Forgotten Child Victims of Online Sex Crime by Lucy (Parent)

In 2015 the father of Lucy’s 2 young children was convicted for Downloading Indecent Images of Children (IIOC). He received a 3-year Community Order and 5-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order thus remained part of society throughout the Judicial Process. This experience has had a profound effect on her life. She perceives that it has invariably shaped her children’s childhood, with the negative ramifications unavoidably lasting a lifetime. 

Lucy was invited in October 2020 to be a Subject Matter Expert on the newly formed Indirect Victims of IIOC Strategic Group, jointly chaired by NWG, Marie Collins Foundation and Lucy Faithful Foundation. With representatives from all key agencies involved in Child Protection the main goal of this Group is to assess current policy, practice & procedure to drive the change required to better safeguard children of suspects/offenders. 

Some of the key messages from her session were: 

• Improve our engagement before, during and after when we go to knock on the door to arrest a member of the family. 

• Consider the implications for the family regarding the media and court judgements. 
• The impact of supporting a child alone and the negative impact of community judgement. 

The day then presented another range of specific interest groups for delegates to attend. 

Project Goldcrest – the use of SAFE (self-administered forensic evidence) boxes delivered by Essex Police. 

Some of the key messages were: 

• 26 young people supported to date. 

• Allowing young people to have a choice and control of how they provide forensic evidence and information anonymously about what is happening to them without attending the SARC or speaking directly with the Police. 
• Empowering the victim to have control over their own forensics. 
• Use of a SAFE Box – (Self Administration Forensic Evidence) 
• Videos available in support of using the box. 
• Looking to expand the service. 

“The New Normal – opportunities to work alongside parents as safeguarding partners” delivered by Maria NWG Network 

Some of the key messages were: 

• Parents want to connect and set up parents support forums is a way of enabling this. 
• When planning our work with families post-pandemic, we need to ensure we include the lived experience of children and their families. 
• There is an appetite for reaching families and communities online to raise awareness of exploitation and where to go for support. 

Meet the NWG team 

Some of the Key Messages were: 

• The benefits of becoming a free or paid member. 

• The range of support NWG offers. 
• How the team can support strategic and operational development. 
• Value of joining social media – Follow NWG on social media. 
• Facebook @TheNWGNetwork 
• Twitter @NatWorGroup 

• Instagram – nwgnetwork 
• LinkedIn – Sheila Taylor MBE 

Sign up for Network membership at  NWG Network

CSE Exploitation Prevention Work delivered by Avon and Somerset Police

Some of the key messages were: 

• The importance of prevention and early intervention work. 

• This is a partnership issue and parents are so important. 
• Trusted relationships with communities are key. Need to be honest and transparent.  
• Demonstrating the impact of early intervention – how do we show it works?  

Cesiumdelivered by Trilateral

Some of the Key Messages were: 

• Cesium is a product that allows more effective data gathering and analysis across multiple agencies in identifying those at risk of CSE. 
• It allows a review of each young person based on information and level of risk. 

• It uses relationship tracking and a risk matrix. 
• Uses a mapping function to understand when they went missing and where to. 
•  Brings together multiple sources of information into a user-friendly package. 
• Being tested in Lincolnshire with Lincs police and involving NWG in its development. 

Safeguarding in Sport – Safe to Play delivered by Kev, NWG Network

Some of the key messages were: 

• Educating parents about recognising how abuse happens in sport is essential, this is also a recommendation from the Sheldon Enquiry into abuse in football. 
• Parents need to do their due diligence on a sports club or other activity before they allow their children to attend. 
• Parents need to talk to their children about abuse and have an honest conversation about disclosing if they are not happy at the sports clubs. 
• Sports clubs need an open and transparent culture towards both parents and children with clear expectations of coach conduct and behaviour as well as what’s expected of children and their families.