Teeswide Adult Exploitation Strategy 2024-2027

1. Introduction

A Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) was carried out and presented to the Teeswide Adult Safeguarding Board (TSAB) on 24th April 2022 in relation to Molly. The Independent Reviewer of Molly’s report highlighted that nationally there is very little research, policy, procedures, or guidance around Adult Sexual Exploitation (ASE). Molly’s SAR was raised via the SAR Escalation Protocol and TSAB proposed a national direction regarding ASE, encouraging a national definition and supporting guidance.

The SAR made a recommendation to develop a Teeswide Adult Sexual Exploitation Strategy which focused on improving victims’ journey, strengthening multi agency processes, providing guidance to professionals, improving chances to gather intelligence and evidence about perpetrators and considering the transition between child to adult services. Adult exploitation had already been identified as a gap locally and nationally and TSAB acknowledged the need for a more strategic focus and extended the recommendation further to develop an Adult Exploitation Strategy. It was agreed there should be a Task and Finish Group, with responsibilities to develop strategic priorities in relation to Adult Exploitation, coordinate actions and oversee delivery of those.

2. Vision

Across Tees we share a common vision to prevent, tackle and reduce adult exploitation.

To develop a robust multi-agency response to prevent and address exploitation, identifying and developing effective services to support victims of exploitation, improve the identification of victims of exploitation, identify perpetrators and disrupt their activity and address the conditions locally that foster exploitation.

It is the responsibility of all agencies to identify adults at risk of exploitation, to prevent them from becoming victims, and to protect and safeguard those who are experiencing exploitation from further harm. To meet this challenge, a shared understanding of the problem and a shared responsibility to proactively address all areas of exploitation is required. This will be achieved by efficient working partnerships between agencies, in recognition that the most effective way to tackle exploitation is via a committed coordinated multi-agency approach.

A needs-led, trauma informed and person-centred approach is required alongside a focused approach towards prevention and early identification. Effective intervention is central to the approach, whilst proactively targeting, disrupting, and prosecuting individuals or groups who seek to exploit vulnerable adults.

3. Overview

Exploitation is a complex and often hidden issue which abuses the basic human rights and dignity of victims who are subject to it. Exploitation may be taking place even if someone seems to be making their own choices or the activity they are taking part in appears consensual.

Exploitation is the deliberate maltreatment, manipulation or abuse of power and control over another person. It is taking advantage of another person or situation usually, but not always, for personal gain.

Exploitation can take many forms and the scope of this strategy is set broadly to enable local agencies to respond to different and emerging types of behaviour. There are common features or tactics which offenders use in exploitative situations, which include:

  • Controlling: through violence, threats of violence, humiliation, intimidation or controlling the victim’s everyday activity.
  • Depriving: a victim of their ability to resist the controlling behaviour, their ability to escape.
  • Removing: a victim’s independence, freedom of choice and access to their support network.
  • Gaining: the exploiter gains personally, financially or materially as a result of the exploitation.
  • Grooming/Befriending: establishing an emotional connection with a victim, and sometimes the family, to lower their inhibitions with the ultimate outcome of exploitation.

There are many types of exploitation including, but not limited to:

  • Sexual Exploitation: Any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from sexual exploitation of another, including commercial sexual exploitation into prostitution. It is important to understand the difference between a capacitated adult consensually engaging in sex work and an adult involved in sexual activity as a result of being exploited.
  • Labour Exploitation: All work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.
  • Domestic Servitude: This involves someone being forced to work in someone else’s home, perhaps cooking, cleaning and looking after children, with little freedom or pay. Domestic servitude is a form of trafficking in human beings which is extremely difficult to detect because the work is performed in private residences as seemingly normal practice, that is used as cover for the exploitation and control of someone for example, nannies or other domestic help, but the moment their employment arrangement transitions into a situation whereby they cannot leave on their own free will, it becomes a case of enslavement.
  • Human Trafficking: Action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation.
  • Financial Exploitation: Refers to illegal or improper use of a person’s funds, property, or assets by a trusted person or entity. This frequently occurs without the explicit knowledge or consent. Assets are commonly taken via forms of deception, coercion, harassment, duress and threats.
  • Fraud and Scams: Predominantly involves money or transactions that involve financial loss to the victim performed by a dishonest individual, group, or company.
  • Material Exploitation: A form of crime in which exploiters take over the home of a vulnerable person, in order to use it as a base for a number of areas of criminality. This may also be referred to as ‘cuckooing’.
  • County Lines: This involves drug lines operated by a telephone often from cities, sending dealers to sell in smaller towns, and coastal areas. Many gangs form a secure base in the homes of vulnerable people and force assistance by using violence or exploiting an addiction to drugs.
  • Organised Forced Criminality: Victims may be forced into criminal activities by gangs such as drug cultivation, organised begging or benefit fraud e.g. extra tax credits, housing benefit.
  • Cuckooing/ Forced Home Invasion: This involves a drug dealer or other criminal befriending a vulnerable individual who lives on their own. Like a cuckoo, the offender moves in, takes over the property, and turns it into a drug den or other criminal base.
  • Forced or Sham Marriages: A forced marriage is where one or both people do not, or cannot, consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. A sham marriage is where the marriage or civil partnership is contracted for immigration advantage by a couple who are not in a genuine relationship. Victims may be subject to one or more of these at the same time.
  • Predatory Marriage: Predatory Marriage is the practice of intentionally targeting and marrying a vulnerable person in order to gain access to their estate and assets upon their death. It relies on grooming and coercion to exert control over another person.
  • Radicalisation: The ‘grooming’ or ‘recruitment’ process by which a person comes to support terrorism and forms of extremism leading to terrorism.
  • Online Exploitation: An individual or group using online platforms to take advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a person into sexual and/ or criminal activity that can occur both online and offline. Online platforms, such as online gaming, social media, messaging and live streaming, can be used to do this.

Professionals working with someone who they suspect is the victim of a crime have a responsibility to seek advice and report their concerns.

4. National Intelligence Picture 2023

Estimating the true scale of adult exploitation is challenging due to:

  • The complexity and nature of exploitation.
  • Sensitivity and limited disclosures: heavy reliance on professionals to identify.
  • Lack of professional knowledge to identify adult exploitation.
  • Lack of a national definition on adult exploitation can lead to different interpretations.

Throughout 2023…

Social network outline
  • The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) received 17,004 referrals of potential victims of modern slavery.
  • 8,622 (51%) potential victims claimed to have been exploited when they were adults.
  • 7,423 (44%) claimed to have been exploited when they were children.
Earth globe: Africa and Europe with solid fill
  • 6,163 (36%) claimed that they were exploited overseas.
  • 8,377 (49%) of potential victims claimed that they were exploited in the UK.
Male female outline
  • For potential adult victims… 6273 (73%) were male, 2,344 (27%) were female.
  • For potential adult victims, labour exploitation was most commonly reported, accounting for 34% (2,902) of referrals.
  • Exploitation types typically have gendered patterns…
    • Males most often reported Criminal exploitation 34% (4,382), Labour exploitation 33% (4,255).
    • Females most often reported Sexual exploitation 36% (1,470).
Clenched Fist with solid fill
  • Throughout 2022/23… The Prevent Programme received 6,817 referrals relating to concerns around radicalisation.
  • In 2023 The Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) provided advice and support to 280 cases of Forced Marriage and 3 cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
    • 34% involved victims aged 18 to 25
    • 24% involved victims with mental capacity concerns
    • 69% involved female victims
    • 31% involved male victims

5. Local Intelligence Picture

Throughout 2023…

Social network outline
  • The NRM received 102 referrals for potential adult victims of Modern Slavery in Cleveland.
  • 25 Female, 77 Male.
Earth globe: Africa and Europe with solid fill
  • 35% were exploited outside of the UK, 65% were exploited in the UK.
Green handcuff
  • 42% Criminal exploitation, 41% Forced labour /other, 17% Sexual exploitation

*It is important to note that currently the data collected on a national and local level in relation to Adult Exploitation is not directly comparable. This is because the data is collected differently and from different sources and may not cover the same cohort. Statistics on Adult Exploitation are produced separately by a number of different organisations. We acknowledge when taken in isolation, these statistics may not provide the context required by users to enable them to fully understand the national and local picture of adult exploitation. Although the datasets are not directly comparable, bringing the data together in this way is an attempt at increasing understanding and providing a picture of the prevalence of adult exploitation.

6. Practice Frameworks and Considerations

6.1 Trauma Informed Practice

Trauma-Informed practice is an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, and emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for everyone, and creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment (Hopper et al., 2010).

Many survivors of trauma experience feelings of shame and humiliation, which can prevent them from feeling able to express themselves and to assert their needs with others. Survivors will often not display any signs of fear or confusion and will appear to be fine and able to manage; they will often minimise, conceal or deny their experiences. Professionals working with survivors of exploitation will need to have a level of awareness and training to enable them to understand the exploited person’s individual needs and be able to develop a working relationship based on trust. At every stage it will be essential to demonstrate an interest in survivors’ well-being, from getting the first contact right, delivering a calm, kind, consistent approach at all times and in all environments. It is also important to recognise that victims of adult exploitation are likely to have had traumatic experiences which they may have begun to normalise.

TSAB’s Trauma Informed Practice workbook is a useful tool for practitioners to access and complete. The workbook includes the key principles of trauma informed practice, vicarious trauma, a safety plan example template, as well as other tools and resources to support practitioners.

6.2 Contextual Safeguarding

Contextual Safeguarding is an approach that extends the parameters of traditional safeguarding systems to extra-familial settings and relationships. Adults can be at risk from multiple threats including exploitation by criminal gangs and organised crime groups such as county lines, trafficking, online abuse, sexual exploitation and the influences of extremism leading to radicalisation. We also know that individuals can be both victims of and perpetrators of exploitation. When developing our response to exploitation we will consider the wider environmental factors that are a threat to their safety and/ or welfare, and we will consider the individual needs and vulnerabilities of those involved.

6.3 Transitional Support

‘Transition is a process not an event’. The transition from childhood to adult is a particularly risky period in relation to exploitation. Care and support needs don’t go away when a child becomes an adult, no one is inherently vulnerable to exploitation; it is unmet support needs that create the risk of exploitation. Adults may be at an increased risk of sexual exploitation if they have had poor experiences in childhood, disrupted education, low attendance and achievements, have additional learning needs and have or are experiencing emotional or mental health issues. The use of alcohol and drugs may increase the risk of sexual exploitation.

There are challenges when it comes to transition planning for children as they approach adulthood. Our approach will need to ensure services are working together to support young people at risk of exploitation into adulthood and beyond.

6.4 Transitional Safeguarding

Transitional Safeguarding is a term used to highlight the need to improve the safeguarding response to older teenagers and young adults in a way that recognises their developmental needs. It recognises that adolescence extends into the early/mid-twenties (Sawyer et al. 2018) because the brain is not yet fully developed, and in some cases, there will be a need for specific support to help an individual to navigate through this progression safely. A more fluid and transitional safeguarding approach is needed for young people entering adulthood given that the risk of harm, and its effects, does not stop at 18 years old. The adult safeguarding systems are governed by different statutory frameworks, which can make the transition to adulthood harder for young people facing ongoing risk and arguably harder for the professionals who are trying to navigate an effective approach to helping them.

A successful transition to adult care and support needs the young person, their families and professionals to work together with the young person at the centre of discussions. Legislation gives local authorities a legal responsibility to co-operate, and to ensure that all the correct people work together to get the transition right for a young person.

6.5 Strengths-based approaches

Strengths-based practice is about ensuring we consider and maximise the resources/ strengths available when working with individuals. This means working in collaboration with the person to support them to develop solutions, enabling them to achieve the outcomes which are important to them. In a world of experts, they are the experts on what is important to them. Focusing on strengths does not mean ignoring challenges and addressing these accordingly. Strengths-based approaches are not prescriptive; there is no one-size fits-all model. The strengths-based approach requires both the practitioner and the person to focus upon their personal strengths and abilities. The focus is not on what the person can’t do, but on where their strengths lie and the support they have around them in their family and the community. In strengths-based practice the individual is empowered to have as much choice and control as possible and is encouraged to propose options and solutions to enable them to have the life they want. This is particularly important when working with adults at risk of exploitation, in order to support them to regain control and enable long-term change.

7. Legislative frameworks

This strategy has been developed within the context of the law and guidance that seeks to protect adults at risk of exploitation, including but not limited to:

8. Case Studies

8.1 Adult Sexual Exploitation

A vulnerable 37-year-old woman who had challenges with alcoholism, was evicted from her accommodation and moved into a block of flats where she was befriended by a male tenant who took advantage of her. Without her knowledge, the tenant started advertising her on the internet to provide sexual services. Men started turning up at her address for sexual relations which she reluctantly agreed to take part in to allow her to buy more alcohol. This progressed into the tenant supplying her with alcohol to get her intoxicated, she would then be taken to other locations where men would have sex with her, and the tenant was taking the payment. Her Social Worker could not get in contact with her so reported this to the police. When she was located by the police, she said that she had “escaped” and shared what had been happening to her. The woman was made safe by the police and re-engaged with her Social Worker; she was also visited by specialist police officers who referred her to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). Following engagement with her Social Worker, she decided not to press charges against the male tenant as she wanted to forget things and move forward with her life.

8.2 Cuckooing

The Police received information that a vulnerable adult male was in fear of drug dealers who had taken over his home. The man had previously been attacked by one of the drug dealers and it was believed they had stored both drugs and weapons at his home.

Police attended the man’s home and found Class A drugs and various weapons. The man and an adult female were at the address, and both were initially arrested and brought to the police station.

When speaking to the police, the vulnerable man told them he was a drug user who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He disclosed that the group had taken over his home to deal drugs, he had previously been stabbed by the men over a drug debt and that he lived in fear of them. The police supported the man, gave advice, and offered to make him safe. He was fearful of reprisals and unsure if he wanted police involved so he went to a friend’s house that night to think about it.

The following day the man decided he wanted help and attended a local police station. With the support of police and his housing provider, he was moved to a safe temporary location out of the area and was later supported to find permanent accommodation.

The man is currently sober, living out of area and provided police with a statement in relation to the drug dealers and their activities. He was also supported by PROJECT NOVA and Salvation Army after being referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

8.3 Modern Slavery

Police attended a takeaway shop in Teesside after information from a partner agency advised there were two Indian nationals working there, living in very poor conditions and receiving little pay. Police located the two adults, and found they were working illegally and being held in servitude. Police and partner agencies made the couple safe and re-housed them temporarily, they were referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and later housed out of the area.

The owners of the takeaway were arrested by Police under Modern Day Slavery offences.

8.4 Financial exploitation by a professional

A very poorly elderly gentleman was admitted to a local health care establishment as an in-patient. A health professional at the establishment who cared for the man, abused their position of trust to financially exploit the man, by accessing his bank card and repeatedly committing fraud offences, using it to pay for goods and services. The fraud was identified by family and reported to the police. This resulted in the health care professional being successfully prosecuted for a number of offences and receiving a custodial sentence. Sadly, the gentleman died before the case reached the courts. The offending had a significant impact on the gentleman’s family.

9. Strategic Aims and Objectives

The priorities for this strategy have been identified using the ‘P’ model. This allows for a holistic approach to tackle causes and consequences of exploitation by proactively preventing and protecting those who may be at risk of exploitation and pursue those who are causing most harm. The plans to work towards are based on key areas of strategic and operational action.

With each priority we have identified the assurance methods, by which we will measure progress.

Priority 1: Prevention

Improve awareness, understanding and early recognition of exploitation across the partnership, communities and society.

What Actions Will We Take?

  1. Review how data is collected by different agencies, to ensure that data collected in relation to victims and perpetrators is useful and coherent, and to create a comprehensive picture of data collection with regards to adult exploitation in Tees that can inform the development of local services and processes.
  2. Develop an awareness raising programme around proactive steps the public and professionals can take to help eradicate adult exploitation and achieve consistency of messages across different platforms so that there is a common approach and understanding across Tees for both communities and professionals.
  3. Gather intelligence from visiting locations where vulnerable people may present e.g. homeless shelters, food banks, drug and alcohol support services. Identifying high risk locations targeted with information on exploitation, including information available in various languages.

Assurance Methods

  1. A local data set will be agreed across Tees identifying demographics of adult victims of exploitation, locations and perpetrators. Work will be undertaken to embed this into agency databases and to ensure that data collection and performance monitoring information collected by commissioners includes data set and fields in relation to adult exploitation so we can increase understanding of prevalence of adult exploitation on a local level.
  2. Increased communication will be evidenced through local campaigns and effectiveness will be assessed through surveys. A question will be included in the TSAB Annual Survey for professionals, around awareness of services available to support individuals experiencing Adult Exploitation and how to report concerns. Responses to the survey will be monitored and reported on during each year of the strategy.
  3. Increased engagement and communication with local community venues where vulnerable people may present, including providing information and advice on ways in which they can report local intelligence.

Priority 2: Protect

Improve individuals’ and communities’ resilience to tackle and reduce exploitation and the interventions to tackle exploitation.

What actions will we take?

  1. Facilitate work to create processes/pathways aligned around victims’ needs with clear referral mechanisms and pathways developed within partner organisations.
  2. Improve transition planning for victims of exploitation as they approach 18 and whether appropriate services are available and provided. Firm up multi-agency pathways and eligibility criteria for considering what support might be provided when child victims transition into adulthood.
  3. Ensure there is a victim centred approach to enforcement and legal activity that is multi-agency and includes voluntary services and NRM pathways.

Assurance Methods

  1. Monitor source of referrals over the next three years in relation to adult exploitation within partner organisations based on the agreed data set.
  2. Develop a Transitions Protocol and seek assurance on transition planning from appropriate services who may support adults / young people 17+ at risk of exploitation.
  3. Receive a report of police enquiries in relation to adult exploitation, including reference to CPS charge volumes, to provide analysis of the number of enquiries and charge rate.

Priority 3: Purse

Improve prosecutions and disruption of locations, individuals and groups responsible for exploitation through effective partnership working and sharing of information. Supporting and safeguarding victims.

What actions will we take?

  1. Deterring offenders by working collaboratively and sharing information that will help detect, prosecute, and disrupt those seeking to benefit from adult exploitation.
  2. Consider how members of the public and professionals can report their suspicions regarding those at risk or suspected of perpetrating exploitation in a straightforward way which supports disclosure and early intervention.
  3. Appropriately record and investigate all reports of exploitation as a crime.

Assurance Methods

  1. Identify appropriate partnerships/ forums working to detect, prosecute and disrupt offenders.
  2. Awareness raising and training for professionals in relation to Partnership Information Sharing Form https://www.teescpp.org.uk/forms/partnership-information-sharing-form/ to take place. Clear guidance to be developed to maximise the effectiveness of information sharing.
  3. Assurance to be provided that agencies are flagging and identifying exploitation at the earliest opportunity, linked to the agreed adult exploitation data set.

Priority 4: People

Keep the person at the centre of all planning and activity, to improve outcomes and recovery for those affected / at risk of exploitation.

What Actions Will We Take?

  1. Training of frontline staff (social care, housing, environmental health, police officers, health visitors, volunteers etc) on exploitation, identifying the signs, and the support available for victims.
  2. Raise awareness across the partnerships of current legislative frameworks in relation to adult exploitation and consent.
  3. Organisations to carry out appropriate quality assurance and reflective supervision for those supporting victims in the course of their work, particularly taking into account vicarious trauma.

Assurance Methods

  1. Monitor the number of professionals and organisations accessing relevant TSAB e-learning and training courses. Feedback from training evaluations to be collated.
  2. To develop and promote consent guidance, monitoring its reach via the TSAB website.
  3. Assurance to be sought via the TSAB Quality Assurance Framework.

Priority 5: Partnerships

Continue with a collective commitment to tackle exploitation across the partnership and demonstrate effective leadership in driving forward changes required.

What Actions Will We Take?

  1. Develop an adult exploitation network, including a peers support network across Tees and engage key stakeholders to develop multi-agency policies and procedures.
  2. Consider how to strengthen meaningful partnerships with communities identified as at risk of adult exploitation.
  3. Identify resources and written guidance that can be used by professionals and organisations working with Adult Exploitation creating a consistent approach across Tees.

Assurance Methods

  1. Mapping of current forums/ networks and consideration of a gap analysis.
  2. Strengthen links with voluntary sector organisations.
  3. Analysis of local resources and guidance, including how professionals’ access these.

10. Links to existing forums and networks

There are many forums and networks across Tees where exploitation may be considered a key priority area, and the adoption of this strategy would allow for an opportunity to further enhance joint working across Tees, to achieve better outcomes for victims of exploitation. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Anti-Slavery Network
  • Community Safety Partnership
  • Domestic Abuse Partnerships
  • Harm Outside the Home (HOTH)
  • Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership (HSSCP)
  • Health and Wellbeing Boards
  • High Risk Adults Panel (HRAP)
  • Multi-Agency Child Exploitation (MACE)
  • Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)
  • Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)
  • Multi-Agency Tasking and Co-ordination (MATAC)
  • North East Sex Worker Forum
  • South Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership
  • Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board
  • Vulnerable Practitioners Group

11. Implementation/ Governance

A Strategic Implementation Group will be established in the first instance to lead on the coordination of the strategy and action areas. Updates on progress will be provided 6-monthly to the Teeswide Safeguarding Adults Board. Progress will be reported on annually to provide scrutiny, transparency and accountability in relation the strategy.

Together we aim to:

  • Raise awareness of the various forms of exploitation to enable people to recognise the signs, empower people to keep individuals safe and know the actions to take if exploitation is identified.
  • Ensure clear guidance, procedures and pathways are in place to effectively identify and respond to exploitation.
  • Ensure the voice of adults affected by exploitation is heard.
  • Establish a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling exploitation and targeting perpetrators of exploitation.
  • Ensure effective services are in place to support those affected by exploitation.

12. Appendix

Appendix 1: Resources

Date Approved: 11/12/2024 Version: 1