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• Practice directions should recognise multiple models of CSE and a wider context of vulnerability and unmet needs. • Anxieties about young people's sexual behaviours can detract from CSE making it challenging to identify and respond. • Outreach and support that addresses young people's emotional, social and practical needs are valuable directions. • Suitable placements and ensuring young people have a safe and stable home environment is vital to any response to CSE. • CSE responses should be guided by child-centred practice and informed by young people's perspectives. There is a growing interest in understanding and responding to child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Australia, but limited empirical research from Australian contexts. The research reported here contributes to the evidence base by considering challenges and best practices for responding to CSE from the perspectives of 15 caseworkers in a statutory child protection and out of home care environment in one Australian region. In so doing, the paper also offers insight into CSE along with consideration of the emerging practice directions and systems surrounding these in the Australian context. Findings point to potential problems arising from existing frameworks for understanding and responding to CSE. Participants held concerns about a narrow focus on young people's sexualised behaviours in the wider multi-agency care context. This was understood to obscure a more complex understanding of CSE and its broader context of vulnerability and connection to unmet needs – some of which can arise from the care context itself – making identification and intervention difficult. Findings align with research that emphasises outreach and intensive support for young people centring on strengthening connections, identifying and addressing unmet needs and sustaining safety through consideration of placements and living circumstances. Consideration of practice challenges and opportunities signals the importance of child-centred, wellbeing-oriented directions allowing for multiple models of CSE victimisation, underpinned by a shared language in the multi-agency context and enhanced provision in existing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Preparing teachers for child protection and safeguarding must begin in initial teacher education. • We included 31 studies in a systematic scoping review. • In future, course developers should draw from models of rigorously evaluated courses. • Underpinning courses with trauma-informed approaches is strongly indicated. To improve educational outcomes for maltreated children, there is an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of the education workforce to respond appropriately to their needs. We conducted a systematic scoping review to synthesize current evidence about child protection and safeguarding in initial (pre-registration) teacher education with the aim of developing a knowledge base, and understanding what we — as researchers, teacher educators, and professional accreditation bodies — can and should be doing better. Thirty-one studies (reported in 38 papers) met the inclusion criteria. Studies were coded inductively against standardised criteria and critically appraised. Coding of study aims yielded three themes forming a descriptive map of research in the field: (i) studies investigating student teachers' perceptions of their preparedness to deal with child protection and safeguarding (n = 15); (ii) studies investigating preparation for child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education courses (n = 14); and (iii) studies investigating student teachers' preferences for future training (n = 2). We identified key contents or topics covered, teaching methods and delivery modes, time allocations, and personnel involved in course delivery. Findings show that child protection and safeguarding are seldom investigated in initial teacher education, averaging only one published study per year over a 32-year search period with most studies having been conducted in Australia and the UK. Time allocated to child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education courses varied from 1 to 16 h. Content covered was limited to several core topics with primacy given to child maltreatment subtypes, indicators, and reporting duties. Delivery methods were dominated by lectures, workshops, and discussions. Few studies had investigated the efficacy of innovative and interactive teaching strategies or online learning. We conclude that child protection and safeguarding in initial teacher education may be improved by leveraging off existing well-designed, rigorously evaluated programs, which have been found to be feasibly delivered and acceptable to future professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people who live in residential care are at greater risk of experiencing sexual abuse and other forms of abuse than those living in other out of home care placements. To better understand how young people perceive and experience safety in residential care, and the things that they most need to be and feel safe, a qualitative study was conducted with 27 Australian children and young people for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This paper describes young people's perspectives on what makes residential care safe: supportive relationships, stability and predictability, fair rules, and having some control over their environment. Young people said that safety could be improved with: better appreciation of the risks in residential care; better matching, staffing and oversight; and better-designed responses that involve young people themselves. The findings provide critical insights from young people themselves and argue that adults and institutions need to appreciate their views of safety so as to adequately respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic literature review was conducted to help address the gap in national and international knowledge about child sexual abuse (CSA) and ethnic minority communities. This paper reports the findings of that review in relation to the theme of community awareness. The results suggest that awareness of CSA may be low in ethnic minority communities due to misperceptions that it is ‘a Western problem’. This in turn may be associated with norms in the country of origin which are asserted to transfer after migration, such as CSA being seen as a private family matter that does not invite systematic intervention from the state, low media and research attention, widespread acceptance of myths about CSA, and prohibitive norms on discussing matters to do with sex including abuse. Such trends are seen to be the result of, but also then further protect and preserve, collectivist and patriarchal structures. They also make it challenging for raising community awareness. Nevertheless, genuine community engagement through outreach/educational/preventative programs that empower minorities through co-delivery, are high on cultural competency, tailored to specific groups, and use a feminist framework where appropriate, are seen as necessary; they represent investment in minority communities and child safety of children from minority communities. Overall, realistic goals about the effectiveness of outreach educational programs, combined with value for culturally meaningful constructions of child safety, are seen as key toward the success of awareness-raising programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]