Child sexual abuse in foster and kinship care, special guardianship and adoption: Learning from safeguarding reviews 2007–2022
£24.95
For most children and young people who cannot remain living safely at home, foster care, kinship care, adoption, and special guardianship provide safe and caring families. However, for a few this is not the case – children can and do experience sexual abuse while in care.
This is the first study to focus on children who were sexually abused by members of the household or family friends while living with foster carers, kinship carers, special guardians or adopters. It examines and analyses safeguarding reviews involving 87 children conducted between 2007 and 2022 and identifies what happened and why. The findings, including hasty assessments, demanding court timescales, children’s fear of disclosure, and not taking into account historical allegations, are explored to encourage practitioners to reflect on agency safeguarding practice and their work with children who are sexually abused.
The guide provides useful information on the signs and indicators of child sexual abuse and its long-term consequences, and how children can be better protected. Cases and extracts from review reports, coupled with the voice of the child, bring these to life.
It is a vital resource for practitioners and managers in fostering, adoption and kinship care, as well as panel members. It also has important messages for associated professionals in health and education. To make the knowledge from this study more readily accessible, a short companion guide has been developed.
Listen to the author interview
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Reviews
"Not only is the research eye-opening, but the findings are presented in a way that is both accessible and deeply practical. The guides are designed to support critical thinking and real-world application, making them invaluable tools for professionals. Having worked with children in care and kinship placements for several years, I encountered many new insights that had never surfaced in my training or practice. These volumes challenge deeply held assumptions – even among seasoned practitioners – and prompt a necessary re-evaluation of what we consider ‘safe’."
Camelia Chowdhury Allen, Corporate Parenting Service, London, Borough of Barking and Dagenham, UK
"So important. It’s vital to be aware that sexual abuse can happen in any setting, including foster care. There must be strong safeguards in place, and this should be talked about more. We need to deter anyone who thinks foster care is a way to cause harm to children."
Carolyn Moody MBE