“I don’t know what that woman who is working with my Mum is doing, but tell her thank you”
Recent feedback from a CSE survivor shows the vital work Pace have done in enabling parents to understand CSE which, in turn, helps them not to blame their child or themselves.
The feedback from a survivor reiterates the vital importance of working alongside parents to safeguard children, prevent victim blaming and improving relationships in the home. The young survivor has explained how their Pace Parent Liaison Officer has helped their mum to understand how CSE works and that she feels her mum no longer blames them.
Working alongside parents
Pace Parent Liaison Officers based within multi-agency teams operate Pace’s Relational Safeguarding Model which works alongside and supports parents, maximising their capacity to safeguard their children, contribute to the prevention of abuse, and disrupt and convict exploiters.
Pace equips and empowers parents to safeguard their child through supporting them to develop and implement safety plans, become more emotionally resilient, and improve relationships in the home. It has also contributed to strong attendance at court, to bring exploiters to justice, a reduction in missing episodes, and the number of children going into care.
Impact of Pace’s Relational Safeguarding Model
You can read about the impact of this work in the recent report ‘Empowering Parents, Evaluation of Parents as partners in safeguarding children and young people in Lancashire project 2014-17’, Shuker and Ackerley.
As another CSE survivor said whilst speaking to policy makers and professionals at a government advisory group in London:
“Remember to listen to the parents; they are there to pick up the pieces when everyone else has walked away.”