A STUDY into adult sexual exploitation in Thurrock and its impact on victims has been described as 'vital and groundbreaking' by a leading borough councillor.

And another leading figure in the world of Thurrock adult social care says it will offer 'support and resilience' to a cohort of people in Thurrock who are vulnerable to exploitation.

Victims, and potential victims, of adult sexual exploitation will be better protected thanks to the 'groundbreaking' study carried out by Thurrock Safeguarding Adults Board (TSAB) and The Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University (LMU).

Cllr Deborah Huelin, Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities, said: "Once again Thurrock leads the way with a fantastic piece of exploratory work, this time partnered with the LMU to investigate the deeply unsettling issue of sexual exploitation in adults and young people transitioning into adulthood in the borough.

"The results of this study will help the council, partners and professionals strengthen their understanding of adult sexual exploitation (ASE) in the community, and develop clearer ways for child and adult victim-survivors to be identified and supported.

"Following the vital work of the South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre (SERICC) across the region, we hope this promising research can both improve the lives of those impacted by ASE, as well as preventing it altogether."

By gathering feedback from frontline practitioners about their experiences of working with ASE and analysing historical data from 161 sexual exploitation cases from 2018/19, the study has identified how services across the borough can help to identify and respond to ASE in Thurrock.

Outcomes from the study include finding new ways to:

tackle perpetrators and reduce offending

improve the response to victims and survivors of ASE

improve the training provided to a range of agencies, including the council, health providers and the police, in supporting victims of ASE

From the findings a series of strong recommendations on how services, partners and professionals can help to identify and respond to ASE have been proposed. The full report is available to read online at on the Thurrock Safeguarding Adults Board website.

Jo Lovett, from London Metropolitan University said: "The results of the study will be incredibly helpful for colleagues in adult social care, alongside professionals in areas such as healthcare, police and housing.

"By working closely with Thurrock we've been able to create a series of recommendations that focus on recognising and supporting victim-survivors, stopping perpetrators' behaviour rather than thinking that victim-survivors need to change their behaviour, and ensuring that the appropriate services are in place to address these."

Sheila Coates MBE, Director SERICC (South Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre) said: "As a specialist Thurrock based sexual violence and abuse service we welcome the CWASU study and look forward to the development of a proactive whole systems approach, to aid the understanding, identification and responses to victims-survivors and their families.

"The comprehensive information within the report will be invaluable to all partner agencies when developing services to improve the lives of victims-survivors."

Neil Woodbridge of Thurrock Lifestyle Solutions said: "As a Social Enterprise who work with vulnerable women we were happy to partner with others and allow the voice of the people we support and their stories to be heard.

"As part of this research I was privileged to chair some of the initial meetings. Sadly, the research clearly evidenced that there is a particular cohort of people in Thurrock who are vulnerable to exploitation and for us, it is the work going forward to not only protect them but also give them the resilience they need which we look forward to."