The React Network
A network for practitioners and academics of racialised heritages and/or religions who are focused on addressing child sexual abuse.
What is the React Network?
The React Network brings together practitioners and academics of racialised heritages and/or religions who are interested in or focused on addressing child sexual abuse of people from these communities in England and Wales.
The network provides a space for collaboration to enhance understanding, knowledge and responses to child sexual abuse and its impacts on survivors, families and communities. It now includes more than 100 academics and professionals who have an interest in or focused on addressing child sexual abuse within these communities.
In 2024, our report Child sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children: a knowledge review identified a number of significant barriers to effective support for children and adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Despite these challenges, numerous organisations are actively providing innovative and impactful support within this complex landscape.
Recognising the importance of sharing these best practices and addressing barriers to effective support for victims/survivors and families of racialised heritages and/or religions, the CSA Centre established the React Network to facilitate a space for such exchanges.
Quarterly online meetings are facilitated by the CSA Centre and hosted by Dr Jen Allotey, who brings extensive research and practice experience working with children and adults from racialised heritages and religions affected by child sexual abuse. Focusing on a new theme each quarter, the Network aims to:
- Encourage members to celebrate, connect with and recognise the work of others.
- Build recognition of services and individuals committed to working in this space.
- Share good practice and ideas for service provision for victims/survivors from racialised heritages and/or religions.
- Discuss and address challenges faced by service users and staff working in this space. This has included welcoming speakers on topics including the lack of language for talking about sexual abuse within some communities, and the impact of ‘honour-based’ trauma, among others.
- Bridge the gap between research and practice through knowledge exchange between our collective expertise.
Join the React Network
Would you like to join the React Network? Please email us at reactnetwork@csacentre.org.uk to find out more.
How did the React Network originate?
The CSA Centre and Barnardo’s SEEN Centre for children and young people of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage commissioned the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU) at London Metropolitan University to build on research commissioned by the CSA Centre in 2021 in which the Race Equality Foundation reported on the needs of sexually abused Black, Asian and racialised heritage children and young people, the availability of support services for them, and resources for practitioners (see Ali et al, 2021).
The project included:
- A knowledge review, which provides an overview of published and ongoing research on the identification of and response to sexually abused Asian, African and Caribbean children and young people, and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Key themes included:
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- Barriers to disclosure: family and community pressures, the role of women/children in society, lack of terminology
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- How sexual abuse exacerbates risk of further harm (e.g. forced marriage, ‘honour-based’ abuse, being sent away)
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- Statutory services’ lack of understanding of these risks and pressures on victims/survivors
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- Specific circumstances for some African, Asian and Caribbean children, leading them to be more vulnerable to sexual abuse (e.g. asylum seeking, gang neighbourhoods)
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- Poor and lacking service responses: poor response particularly from statutory services, the importance of ‘spaces to speak’ and lack of specialist services
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- The combined impacts of societal racism and sexual abuse for children of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage and additional difficulties for disabled children and boys/men
- Four group discussions with Asian, African and Caribbean people working on child sexual abuse to reflect on the initial findings of the literature review and discuss priorities for future research. The focus groups comprised two sessions with academics; one with voluntary sector staff; and one with the Asian, African and Caribbean heritage members of the CSA Centre’s Experts by Experience group.
One of the recommendations that arose from the stakeholder focus groups was for the CSA Centre to support the development of a network for researchers and professionals for people of racialised heritages and/or religions working in the field of child sexual abuse. Its purpose would be to share good practice and evidence, build recognition of smaller services working in this field, address challenges and barriers faced by both staff and service users, and celebrate and recognise the work of others within the field.
Find out more about the React Network
The React Network is for practitioners, academics and professionals of racialised heritages and/or religions who have an interest in or are focused on addressing child sexual abuse within these communities. We welcome new attendees to join the Network, and to ensure we maintain a safe and supportive space, we ask a few brief questions. Please note, we reserve the right to withdraw or remove individuals from the Network should their involvement conflict with the Network’s values or principles.
The term racialised heritages and/or religions refers to the children and adults whose heritage, culture or religion is racialised – where society assigns racial meaning, assumptions or stereotypes based on perceived ethnic, cultural or religious identity. This process, shaped by power, history and prejudice, affects many different national, ethnic, linguistic, and faith groups.
While we recognise variations in language and terminology, and encourage discussion around these differences, our goal is to create a space of respect, ongoing learning, and mutual care in the exchange of knowledge.
It is well recognised in both practice and research that people of racialised heritages and/or religions often face additional barriers to reporting child sexual abuse, accessing appropriate support, and having their needs understood, as highlighted in the Child sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children: A knowledge review
The React Network is focused on child sexual abuse of people of racialised heritages and/or religions, to reflect the diversity of people who experience racialisation in ways connected to their heritage, culture or religion.
The React Network meets online quarterly, with sessions lasting two hours.
The CSA Centre facilitates the React Network, with colleagues Shauna Breen (CSA Centre Practice Improvement Advisor for the Voluntary Sector) and Milly Steele (CSA Centre Research & Evaluation Officer) supporting the facilitation of the space, alongside external specialist Dr Jen Allotey.
Our name highlights the urgency of action, as well as importance of proactive, evidence-based responses to responding to child sexual abuse of people of racialised heritages and/or religions.
To join the React Network, or find out more, please email reactnetwork@csacentre.org.uk.
