Reframing the narrative: How Abianda supports girls and young women who’ve experienced criminal exploitation

This blog is published in support of AYJ’s latest briefing, From exploited to exploiter? Preventing the unjust criminalisation of victims of child criminal exploitation in the transition to adulthood. The blog shares reflections from two frontline practitioners at Abianda, an organisation working with girls and young women affected by criminal exploitation and violence. They describe how Abianda builds trust through consistent, equal relationships, centres young women’s agency, and provides continuity of care before and after the age of 18.

Exploited to exploiter? is part of a larger project funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust that explores the experiences of children transitioning to adulthood while in the criminal justice system. 

What does criminal exploitation look like in girls and young women — and how might it differ from more “visible” or stereotypical models?

Often, criminal exploitation of girls and young women can look like typical relationships from the outside. It’s only when you look closer that you see what is happening. But it is important you know what you’re looking for and this is a mistake services can make — they can be looking for a ‘perfect victim’, which means a lot of girls are made invisible. We need to recognise that criminal exploitation can look like a relationship between two or a group of people from the outside.

“It is important you know what you’re looking for, and this is a mistake services can make — they can be looking for a ‘perfect victim’, which means a lot of girls are made invisible.”

Are frontline professionals confident in identifying CCE when it affects girls and young women? What do they miss?

It really depends on the area and frontline professional. It is still the case that young girls – sometimes very young girls – are seen as having made ‘choices’ that have led them to where they are.  This approach completely misses the context in which a person lives: the options that were available to them at the time. What you’ll see when you look closer is that there was never really a choice to begin with.

Services need to get better at looking for the indicators of exploitation. With black children, we see adultification bias, in which children are seen as perpetrators before they’re victims. This means a crucial opportunity to recognise the vulnerable nature of these children is lost.

How are signs of coercion or harm misunderstood as ‘choices’ or ‘lifestyles’ in young women’s cases?

How young women and girls present — whether that’s being confident, assertive, or even aggressive — means they’re not seen as victims. Instead, they’re seen as choosing this lifestyle. If they’re not seen as engaging with systems or services, that’s also misread as a choice, rather than a response to trauma or lack of trust. There’s a failure to recognise that girls and young women might express emotions like anger or fear, and that those emotions are valid. Instead, those responses are used to reinforce stereotypes about the choices they’re supposedly making. It’s victim-blaming, just like in cases of domestic violence: the idea that “she could leave” or that she’s not the ‘perfect victim’.

“Some services miss an ecological model: a framework that recognises how a child’s experiences and vulnerabilities are shaped by multiple, interconnected levels of influence — not just individual factors.”

What happens to young women when they turn 18 and fall off the edge of child safeguarding systems?

Things are already peeling away in terms of solutions and services as young women reach 18. This is tough for practitioners, let alone the girls and young women themselves. In fact, it often stops before 18. There’s such urgency before that point, but as they approach 18, you really feel things slowing down from a services perspective. Girls and young women are then expected to advocate for themselves in order to get support after 18. A big part of our work at Abianda is making young women aware of what services they can still access. Local authorities are stretched and can’t signpost in the way they should.

Some teams in local authorities are more mindful than others and do think about what a proper transition should look like, but we know really feel the pressure to close things. You hear, “This person is turning 18, we need to close the file.” This is different borough to borough, of course.

“A big part of our work at Abianda is making young women aware of what services they can still access. Local authorities are stretched and can’t signpost in the way they should.”

What does good practice look like when supporting girls and young women affected by CCE as they transition into adulthood?

Good practice needs to be led by young women and girls. It’s about building that relationship and working past preconceived notions of a person’s behaviour. There should always be transparency. It should feel like you’re tipping the balance of power so that the young people feel they are leading. This is important because so much of CCE is about removing power, so support should be about building that back up, perfectly.

“There should always be transparency. It should feel like you’re tipping the balance of power so that the young people feel they are leading.”

What role should youth work, contextual safeguarding, and trauma-informed practice play for 18–25 year olds?

They need continued support to navigate systems that are available to them. Next to that, they should be allowed time to figure out what they want to do and where they want to go. An array of participatory opportunities should be open to them – asking them what they want to see, how they can influence it.

When a girl has been criminally exploited and ends up in the child secure estate, how well is her victim status recognised and responded to?

 It depends on the information that’s been shared with the secure estate. If services haven’t clearly communicated her history of exploitation, the secure estate might not recognise her as a victim at all. And even when the information is there, there’s no guarantee it’s used in a meaningful way. There’s often a disconnect between what’s on file and how the girl is treated day to day. Staff might overly focus on challenging behaviours without understanding the trauma behind them. If the narrative passed on is incomplete, or if she’s described only in terms of risk, the harm she’s experienced can be completely missed.

Abianda’s model challenges the barriers that stop young women from seeking help. What do services most often get wrong when working with girls affected by exploitation or gang violence, and how does your approach shift that?

 Young women and girls are the experts in their own lives; that’s a key priority for us. Too often, services approach children and young people with a fixed mindset: “Tell me what happened, and we’ll tell you the solution.” But what’s needed is a participatory approach, where young women have real choice in what they engage with. We want to offer something that feels useful for her — not something imposed. It’s about giving her the tools and the space to work out what she needs, on her own terms. What workshops does she want, what services does she need access to, etc.·

“Young women and girls are the experts in their own lives; that’s a key priority for us.”

Abianda’s approach is rooted in equal relationships and asking the right questions. How do you build trust and resilience in young women who have experienced violence, control or coercion?

 It starts with shifting the central question. When we’re looking at situations of risk, we ask: “What has she done to survive?” and “What tools has she used?”. This is because, again, she’s the expert in her own life. It’s about identifying her strengths and helping her to see them. We’re always checking in, asking if something is useful for her. We want her to have those choices: how she uses the space, to create spaces where she is understood and doesn’t feel judged. That approach helps her reflect on the situation she has come from and see all the factors that contributed to that situation, including her part within it.