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Abstract
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Practitioners, academics and policymakers are increasingly questioning the sufficiency of safeguarding practice in protecting young people from peer-on-peer abuse in England. Using the findings from an in-depth analysis of nine cases where young people either raped or murdered their peers, this article explores approaches to assessing and intervening with those affected by peer-on-peer abuse. Building upon international calls for a contextual account of abuse between young people, the article identifies a professional struggle to address the interplay between young people's homes and the public and social spaces in which peer-on-peer abuse often manifests.
FINDINGS from this study are used to illuminate wider research into peer-on-peer abuse which has indicated a professional inability to: assess young people's behaviours with reference to the contexts in which they occur; change the environmental factors that influence abusive behaviours; and recognise the vulnerability of those who abuse their peers. The article concludes that to effectively respond to peer-on-peer abuse, multiagency partnerships are required which can identify, assess and intervene with the harmful norms in peer groups, schools and public spaces that can facilitate peer-on-peer abuse and undermine parental capacity to keep young people safe - thereby adopting a more contextual approach to safeguarding adolescents. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
'Explores approaches to assessing and intervening with those affected by peer-on-peer abuse'
Key Practitioner Messages
* Social contexts such as peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods can make young people vulnerable to peer-on-peer abuse.
* Assessing and intervening with young people and families affected by peer-on-peer abuse will not impact upon the social contexts associated with the phenomenon.
* Multiagency partnerships need to intervene with social contexts that, albeit beyond the traditional remit of child protection, facilitate peer-on-peer abuse and undermine the capacity of parents to keep young people safe.
'Social contexts such as peer groups, schools and neighbourhoods can make young people vulnerable to peer-on-peer abuse'
Language: en |