Introduction

In this chapter I employ intersectionality as a critical lens to interrogate the ways that race, gender, class and sexuality impact black adolescents’ experiences of child sexual exploitation (CSE). In particular, the exploration will be anchored in an intersectional analysis to extend understandings of the nuanced ways in which race-constructed otherness is experienced by young black people affected by sexual exploitation. ‘Black’ is defined here as referring to individuals of African and African-Caribbean origin as well as persons of mixed ethnicity (African or African-Caribbean and another parentage, usually white British). A key reason for focusing on this subgroup of children is that they are disproportionately represented in the care system (Owen and Statham 2009) and the data on CSE suggests that children in the care system are disproportionately affected (Pearce 2009; Beckett et al 2013; Beckett et al 2017). The central argument is that positional and situational inequalities intersect in complex ways which have a negative impact on the everyday realities of black youth, thus rendering them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Specifically, the chapter discusses the contribution that an intersectional frame of analysis can make to intervening with sexually-exploited black youth. The chapter is organised into three parts: the first section briefly sketches the key messages from the literature on CSE and black children. The second provides an overview of the intersectionality theoretical framework of the chapter. In the final section, using a case study, from the Serious Case Review (SCR) of child R, a 15-year-old black girl in the looked-after system, as an exemplar, I will present ways that an intersectional lens can offer some analytical tools to gain a deeper insight into the challenges for black youths at risk of abusive and exploitative relationships. The chapter concludes with some discussion of the implications for a child-focused approach are also discussed.

Child sexual exploitation and black children

While it is well known that CSE affects children and young people from all backgrounds, little is known about the scale and nature of black children's experiences of CSE. Research indicates that girls are more likely than boys to be the victims of sexual exploitation, though boys are also sexually exploited (Pearce 2009; Berelowitz et al 2013).