View all news

Evaluation of Gloucestershire DVSAP trafficking and grooming project published

4 November 2014

Researchers Dr Emma Williamson and Dr Natasha Mulvihill at the Centre for Gender and Violence Studies, University of Bristol have delivered an evaluation of the Trafficking and Grooming (T&G) Project in Gloucestershire that finds the project has delivered reduced child sexual exploitation risks for two thirds of individuals supported.

Researchers Dr Emma Williamson and Dr Natasha Mulvihill at the Centre for Gender and Violence Studies, University of Bristol have delivered an evaluation of the Trafficking and Grooming (T&G) Project in Gloucestershire that finds the project has delivered reduced child sexual exploitation risks for two thirds of individuals supported.

The T&G project was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for three years from 2011 and the evaluation report was commissioned by Gloucestershire Domestic Violence Support and Advocacy Project (GDVSAP).

The original project was conceived to meet the needs of trafficked women (particularly those without recourse to public funds) and to support young women being groomed into prostitution.

As the project evolved, the project worked mainly with young women being groomed (around 90%) of cases, and only a handful of trafficking victims (around 6% of recorded cases).

The evaluation found that the project has met a local need, providing a service to those at risk and in need, which has been especially important during budget cuts to statutory services.

If the project continues to be resourced adequately, the evaluation concludes that it should be well placed to continue to meet the needs of those experiencing trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The full evaluation report can be downloaded here.

Dr Emma Williamson has also written a blog entry with recommendations for the prevention of child exploitation in light of recent abuse cases in the UK..

Edit this page