Estelle LuckOn Tuesday 18 January, VITA Network held its first-ever ‘VITA Network Discusses…’ Webinar. We welcomed the incredible Kendra Houseman, Director of Out of the Shadows, to give a talk on County Lines. And I think I speak for everyone when I say the session was deeply moving, extremely powerful and also very informative as well. There’s a lot we, as people dedicated to ending Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and as people working with children and young people, can take away from the talk.
Throughout the session, Kendra was very open and honest about the topic of County Lines, which quite literally, refers to the phone lines through which people order drugs. These lines span different counties, hence “County Lines.” Kendra was keen to point out that the term was actually coined by police and that it wouldn’t be used or necessarily understood by people and children operating inside the gangs. This was one of many key lessons.
When we think and talk about County Lines, it’s rarely from the perspective of the people involved, and more crucially, the children who are being exploited within these gangs. If we want to help these children, we need to see and understand what’s happening from their perspective. We need to see what they see. And we need to try to put ourselves in their shoes so that we can empathise with what they’re feeling and therefore better understand and help them.
Being able to empathise is a key quality of trauma-informed care, but especially when treating kids who are or may be involved in County Lines. Why? Well, as Kendra pointed out, the people supplying these kids with the packages they have to distribute are most likely going to be adults. And the people who receive those packages are also going to be adults. They may behave aggressively towards these children, shouting abuse or even acting violently.
If we came into contact with a victim of child exploitation, we’d hope that they’d view us as safe, responsible adults who are there to help. But the reality is that these kids cannot tell the difference between safe adults and the adults they come into contact with on a daily basis. You can therefore see why it would take a lot for these kids to trust adults in the healthcare system, the police, social workers, etc.
Kendra’s talk also highlighted how for the kids in these gangs, working up to the next rung in the gang hierarchy is their main goal. That prospect is going to be very attractive to them, so they’re not likely to open up about their situation to anyone who could jeopardise that.
But how do you know when a child you’re working with is a victim of child exploitation?
During the webinar, Kendra very helpfully gave us some signs that a child could be a victim of child exploitation. Here are the ones that healthcare professionals, police and people working in social care would be able to spot:
- Evidence of self-harm physical assault or unexplained injuries
- Decreased emotional wellbeing
- Looking disheveled
- On drugs/evidence of drug use
- Being under the influence of alcohol
- Use of language you wouldn’t expect them to know
- Being found out of area or miles from home
- Being found with weapons or more than one phone
There are plenty more, of course, but these are the signs you’d be most likely to spot when meeting a child for the first time in a health or social care setting. If you notice a child exhibiting any of these signs, it may be an indicator that you need to push for safeguarding help. These signs should never be ignored. Trust your instinct.
On this note, Kendra also explained how important it is to work with the children, rather than doing things to them. She said children need explanations about what the people around them are doing as well as why they’re doing it. This goes for the family of that child as well. Not keeping the children and their families in the loop could make them upset and may lead to a deeper lack of trust. This was another key takeaway from the webinar and one that will be useful to anyone working in a healthcare setting. If you can, include the child in conversations you’re having with their parents and social workers, for example. Children in this situation often feel like they’re not being heard, so we need to listen to them — really listen, as Kendra says.
Kendra’s honest approach to talking about County Lines and child exploitation is something we should all adopt. We shouldn’t treat it as a secret. The more we talk about it, the more we spread awareness. We should also continue to educate ourselves — not just about what these children are feeling, but about how they ended up there in the first place. What can we do to prevent child exploitation on a wider scale? It’s not just about looking at the child; it’s about taking a look at and improving the whole system.
Key terms:
One first step to further educating ourselves about County Lines would be to learn some of the vocabulary used within these gangs. We need to become familiar with the terms so the language becomes one we can engage with. Here are some examples below:
“Going country”
Coming from a major city to a town/more rural area, e.g. transporting drugs to a different location. Kendra says young people don’t want to go “country” due to the risks associated with it.
“Going long”
Going from a town into a major city.
Both can refer to the extension of the phone line or the movement of a physical package.
“Debt bonding”
Binding a young person to work for you with a debt. A young person may be sent “country” with some drugs and robbed on route by people connected to the person who sent them. They’ll then be told they need to work to make up the money lost from the goods that were “robbed.”
Helping a child out of an exploitative situation:
Kendra gave some important advice on how you can help children out of being exploited…
- If you suspect a child is a victim of child exploitation, here are three questions to ask:
1. Where is your safest space?
If they don’t say their bedroom/home, this is a potential red flag.
2. Where is your unsafest space?
3. Have you got a debt? If they have a debt, understand it will be very difficult to get them out of the situation they’re in.
- Tip for parents/carers: decide a code word with your child such as ‘biscuits’ or ‘cheese sandwich’ which you can use to check if they need help, or they can ask for help without losing face with peers. For example:
- Parent: “would you like a cheese sandwich when you get home?”
- Child: “yes”
- Parent then knows child feels worried for their safety and wants to get collected and taken home. The child can tell their friends that their parent says they have to come home so the parent can take the blame too.
- Let them know it’s okay to be scared, and that being scared isn’t a sign of weakness.
- Explain to them what consent is.
Key things to remember:
- Generate talking and understanding
- Educate yourself
- Challenge incorrect language used by others
- Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility
- Exploitation is abuse
- Think from a child’s perspective
- Stop using terms that dehumanise young people who’ve committed crimes
To find out more about Kendra and her work with Out of the Shadows, follow on social media @Outofthe_Shadows and check out her website – https://www.outofthe-shadows.co.uk/.