Child Sexual Exploitation: Why Theory Matters

The issue of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is firmly in the public spotlight internationally and in the UK, but just how well is it understood?

To date, many CSE-related services have been developed in reaction to high profile cases rather than being designed more strategically. This much-needed book breaks new ground by considering how psychosocial, feminist and geo-environmental theories, amongst others, can improve practice understanding and interventions.

Edited by one of the leading scholars in the field, this is an essential text for students and those planning strategic interventions and practice activities in social, youth and therapeutic work with young people, as it supports understanding of how CSE arises and how to challenge the nature of the abuse.

Carlene Firmin is Professor of Social Work at Durham University. She previously worked as a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Bedfordshire, where she developed the Contextual Safeguarding programme. In 2011 Carlene became the youngest black woman to receive an MBE for her seminal work on gang-affected young women in the UK.

Jo Phoenix is Reader in Criminology at Durham University. She has extensive experience of writing and researching about prostitution and prostitution policy. She is author of "Making Sense of Prostitution" and "Illegal and Illicit: Sex, Regulation and Social Control" (with Sarah Oerton, University of Glamorgan) as well as numerous articles and book chapters on the sex industry and what is done about it.

Jenny Pearce, OBE, is a Professor of Young People and Public Policy at the University of Bedfordshire.