Taking back power: Young women reflect on exploitation, support, and regaining their agency

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 captures reflections from Abianda’s Young Women’s Advisory Group,  a collective of young women with lived experience of exploitation, on what meaningful support should look like. Their insights highlight what services can do to shift power and build trust, and looks at how Abianda take a trauma-informed, participatory approach that supports girls and young women as they move into adulthood.

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. 

From your experience, what do professionals often misunderstand about how criminal exploitation affects girls and young women?

Professionals often don’t even think criminal exploitation affects young women. They see our behaviour as the result of something else, or they just don’t see it at all. It’s hard for them to connect the experiences of some girls to the nuanced nature of how exploitation works, and how it’s different for girls compared to boys. Take emotional exploitation, which can be dismissed as a choice. People expect girls to react emotionally, to self-harm, for example, so they don’t take the root cause seriously; just focus on the physical harm itself. It’s about thinking holistically and realising it’s not just one thing that leads someone down a certain path. It’s a mix of experiences and pressures, but professionals don’t always look at the full picture.

What changes when a girl turns 18 in how she’s treated, supported, or seen by services? What should not be allowed to disappear at that point?

When you’re under 18, you’re sometimes given the benefit of the doubt. But as soon as you turn 18, you’re seen as an adult, like you should already know what you’re doing. At 18, girls are left feeling helpless. A big problem is schools and care services don’t do a good job of signposting to services, maybe because lots of these services  have an 18+ cap. They’re not thinking ahead to when we’ll need them.

What you find is people want to safeguard you, but it’s like bubble wrap — they pick and choose when you’re seen as an adult and when you’re still a child. But your needs and traumas don’t suddenly change the minute you turn 18. Care should always be bespoke. During that transition, it should be known by services that we need referrals, and that specialist provisions should stretch into adulthood.

“Your needs and traumas don’t suddenly change the minute you turn 18. Care should always be bespoke.”

Have you seen good examples of support, either in in the community or in custody,  that actually helped young women feel safer or more in control? What made it work?

 At school, we had certain teachers we trusted because they took the time to get to know us. They’d make adjustments, like assigning a TA or helping with assignments and giving us access to resources outside of school. In those cases, they didn’t judge;  they explained things properly. Community centres and youth centres make a real difference too. They offer support in a more relaxed setting, and if you want to get further help, they can link things together. There is also an NHS service called SLAM that advocates for you. They’ll take you out, the support is consistent, and the facilitators are culturally competent. You make more progress when you feel like you’re being trusted.

“Community and youth centres make a real difference. They offer support in a more relaxed setting, and if you want to get further help, they can link things together.”

What makes it hard for young women to be heard or taken seriously when they try to explain what’s happening to them? What needs to change in how adults listen?

There are stereotypes that young women are dramatic or attention-seeking, even when we genuinely need help. When we cry out, it’s dismissed. Racial bias plays a role too: teachers think we’re being aggressive or misbehaving when we’re not. Teachers and other professionals need to actively listen and show compassion. It takes courage to speak up, and they need to be aware of that. Something to note with girls - our answers often come slowly, revealed bit by bit. That doesn’t mean we’re lying or hiding something, it just means we’re slowly opening up.

If a young woman is arrested or in prison but was being exploited, what should the system do differently to support her instead of just punishing her?

People need to acknowledge that exploitation is real, it’s not an excuse. The system needs to embed trauma-informed practice into every corner of it. In a prison setting, having an appropriate adult can make such a difference, and there should be a clear pathway to specialist support. Just putting people in prison doesn’t change what’s happening. They need advocates, someone who understands cultural differences and the impact of things like adultification; someone who can explain what is happening to them in this new environment. Punishment alone causes more harm than good. Right now, there’s not much understanding in the system.

Some young women understandably don’t trust professionals because of how they’ve been treated in the past. What do you think helps build trust, and what breaks it?

It depends on what systems young people have interacted with. It’s a lot harder to trust the police. With professionals, they need to ask questions and actually follow through on what they say they’re going to do. Seeing adults keep their promises is so important because we’ve been let down so many times before this point. Trust also breaks down when we’re not included in decisions. Professionals should keep it straight up, say things how they are. You’ve got a duty of protection. It’s not a friendship, but there should be a level of mutual respect.

“With professionals, they need to ask questions and actually follow through on what they say they’re going to do. Seeing adults keep their promises is so important because we’ve been let down so many times before this point.”

Some girls are moved far from home into care or custody. What impact does that have, and what needs to change about how those decisions are made?

It’s unsettling for a young woman to be moved away from home. Professionals should ask her what she wants; like whether she can still live in her community and then explore what it will take to make happen. Friendships and relationships are really important to girls — to go from some friends to no friends is rough. If a move does have to happen, professionals should explain why. Give her time to come to terms with it. There’s usually not much support in the new environment. We’re talking about a new school and a new area. Professionals don’t always think about how big that is.

Abianda focuses on building agency and independence. What does “having power” mean to you, and what helps young women feel more in control of their lives? 

Power means having autonomy, being able to make decisions that affect you. It means having access to opportunities to gain knowledge and develop skills. Without access, it’s hard to break into new spaces in your life. Having power means being able to pursue opportunities in your life.

“Power means having autonomy, being able to make decisions that affect you. It means having access to opportunities to gain knowledge and develop skills.”

If you could design your own service or programme for young women affected by criminal exploitation, what would it include? What would you do differently?

We’d want the service to include some kind of therapeutic practice. There’s a lot of trauma, and we don’t always get the chance to speak about everything going on in different areas of our life. Being able to talk about those things would help. The young person should decide when the service ends, not be forced to follow a fixed timetable. It would be a space where people could connect with each other and meet others with shared experiences. In this service, there should be training for young women to become professionals themselves, so practitioners have lived experience. The service should include young women from the ground up. Over 6 to 12 months, work really closely with them to set goals. It should be open to people of any age and make sure they have a safe place to live. It would not focus on pathologising the lives of girls and young women.

Finally, no office vibe! We are tired of clinical settings. Some of the best services take you on outdoors trips beyond your usual environment. These are great because suddenly you don’t feel like someone who needs ‘fixing’. The best services allow for real engagement with a young person. Abianda already do this well, but more services could take a personalised approach, one that helps girls understand what happened to them, and why. That way, they can explain it to themselves, which makes them stronger in the future.

It sounds funny but the perfect service would involve normal things: going outside and doing things people do every day. A service that sees the whole person.

“The best services allow for real engagement with a young person. Abianda already do this well, but more services could take a personalised approach, one that helps girls understand what happened to them, and why. That way, they can explain it to themselves, which makes them stronger in the future.”