# Institutional pathways of young commercial sexual exploitation victims during follow-up in France's child protection services

Gillonne Desquesnes, Nadine Proia-Lelouey

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Gillonne Desquesnes, Nadine Proia-Lelouey. Institutional pathways of young commercial sexual exploitation victims during follow-up in France's child protection services. Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence, 2025, [Available online], 8 p. 10.1016/j.neurenf.2025.08.001. hal-05409471

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Original article

Institutional pathways of young commercial sexual exploitation victims
during follow-up in France's child protection services

G. Desquesnes<sup>a</sup> , N. Proia-Lelouey<sup>b,*</sup>

INFO ARTICLE

Keywords :

Child protection service

Commercial sexual exploitation

Institutional pathways

Young people

ABSTRACT

The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a major concern for French public authorities. While it has been the subject of extensive international research highlighting socioeconomic, family-related, and new technology-related factors, being under the care of child protection services has also emerged as a significant factor since the 2010s. This specific aspect has attracted the attention of approximately ten researchers worldwide. Their findings emphasise a lack of coordination between services and insufficient training for professionals. This study used a qualitative methodology to provide an overview of the situation in France. Accordingly, interviews were conducted with professionals working at residential care facilities that support sexually exploited youth. The study's goal is to reconstruct the institutional pathways of these young people, not only within child protection services but also across other relevant institutions (Education, Health, Police, and Justice). The findings, consistent with existing literature, highlight a significant shortfall in institutional safeguards, with two key priorities revealed: the judicial handling of sexual assaults reported by young victims and specific training for professionals supporting these youths.

RÉSUMÉ

L'exploitation sexuelle commerciale des mineurs est devenue une préoccupation majeure des pouvoirs publics français. Objet d'une abondante littérature internationale qui a mis en évidence des facteurs socioéconomiques et familiaux, des facteurs liés aux nouvelles technologies mais aussi, depuis les années 2010, celui d'être suivi par les services de la protection de l'enfance. Ce facteur spécifique, auquel s'intéressent depuis peu chercheurs et pouvoirs publics français, fait l'objet de recherches internationales depuis une dizaine d'années déjà – en particulier britanniques et australiennes. Aux deux explications traditionnellement avancées (les enfants suivis par ces services concentrant tous les facteurs de risque connus, il est normal qu'ils constituent une population à risque; le fait d'être suivi par les services de protection de l'enfance est en soi un risque – ciblage des foyers par les proxénètes, influence de pairs du foyer déjà impliqués dans ces pratiques), ces chercheures en rajoutent une troisième, celui d'une inadéquation de la réponse des services sociaux à la problématique de ces jeunes. Leurs conclusions soulignent tout particulièrement un manque de coordination entre services et un manque de formation des professionnels. Suivant une méthodologie qualitative, le présent travail tente de faire un état des lieux de la situation en France à partir d'entretiens réalisés auprès de professionnel. les de plusieurs services d'hébergement de la protection de l'enfance ayant accueilli des jeunes exploité.e.s sexuellement. L'objectif est de reconstituer les parcours institutionnels de ces jeunes non seulement en protection de l'enfance mais également dans les autres institutions concernées (Éducation, Santé, Police et Justice). Les résultats concordants avec la littérature, montrent que si ces jeunes sont souvent malmené.es dans leur famille, il.elles le sont également par les institutions censées leur apporter aide et protection. Des défaillances en série qui malheureusement se potentialisent les unes les autres et conduisent ces jeunes à considérer ces institutions au mieux comme indifférentes à leurs problèmes. Constats alarmants qui soulignent un défaut majeur de métagarance. Cette notion, empruntée à Benghozi, fait de la contenance psychique, une fonction qui ne relève pas seulement du cercle

<footnote><sup>a</sup> University School of Management of Caen, University of Caen-Normandy, Caen, France</footnote>

<footnote>b Department of Psychology, University of Caen-Normandy, Caen, France</footnote>

<footnote>* Corresponding author.</footnote>

<footnote>Adresse e-mail : nadine.proia-lelouey@unicaen.fr (N. Proia-Lelouey).</footnote>
familial mais qui s'étend aux institutions potentiellement en charge des enfants et à la société en général. En accord avec la littérature existante, notre étude met plus précisément en évidence deux priorités pour restaurer cette métagarance auprès des jeunes: le traitement judiciaire des agressions sexuelles signalées par les jeunes victimes et la nécessité d'une formation spécifique et d'un soutien régulier des professionnées à l'accompagnement de ces jeunes.

# 1. Introduction

This work is part of a multidisciplinary research programme focused on the life trajectories of minors involved in prostitution networks [1]. Its aim is to reconstruct the institutional pathways of these young people using the same interview corpus from the study of family trajectories [2]. The said interviews were conducted in three youth homes with professionals currently or previously responsible for sexually exploited youth. All interviewees were women across various socio-professional categories (educators, psychologists, and nurses). In line with the recommendations of the Champrenault report [3, p. 80], all institutions concerned with the sexual exploitation of minors will be examined: Education, Health, Police, Justice, and Child Protection Services.

A French version of this article is available (Appendix).

# 2. Literature review

The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) has become a major concern for French public authorities [3]. According to Dupont, Pohu, Clochiatti, and Gorgiard [4], the prevalence of adolescent involvement in commercial sex exploitation in high-income countries ranges from 0.2% to 4.9%. It has been steadily increasing since the 2000s.<fnref n="1" /> The topic is the subject of prolific international literature [5], with studies highlighting socioeconomic and family factors, identified since the 1980s, as well as factors related to new technologies (NT), identified since the 2000s. Another risk factor was identified in the 2010s: being a minor in the Child Protection Services (CPS) and/or the Judicial Youth Protection Services (JYPS). Although most international literature reviews since Choi [6, p. 72] acknowledge this factor, they fail to prioritise it in the fight against CSEC. This specific vulnerability has traditionally been explained by two arguments: children monitored by these services tend to concentrate all the known risk factors, making it unsurprising that they constitute a high-risk population; being under CPS care is, in itself, a risk factor (e.g. targeting of care homes by traffickers, or the influence of peers within the home already involved in such practices).

This phenomenon, which has recently emerged as a concern for researchers [7,8] and for public authorities [3, p. 94] in France, has been the subject of international research over the past decade. One of the most recent studies [9, p. 1], provides insight into its prevalence:

> 'Recent research (...) suggests that approximately 3-15% of the child welfare population may have experienced CSE [10], and up to 26.7% may be at risk for CSE [11]' – See also [12].

A North American study [13, p. 2] identifies being monitored by CPS as the primary risk factor for sexual exploitation, ahead of socioeconomic and family-related factors. In the United Kingdom, Hallett [14], also interested in this issue, conducted a qualitative study with exploited youth. A third explanation was added to the two traditionally offered ones: the inadequacy of the response from CPS, which increases the risk of sexual exploitation and strengthens the bond between children and their exploiters. This inadequacy stems from the difficulty in providing genuinely 'therapeutic' care characterised by listening and recognition.

Bounds, Julion, and Delaney also criticise these services, particularly highlighting poor coordination with the Justice and Health sectors. They further note that the more a young person is monitored by different services, the higher their risk of exploitation [13, p. 3]. This argument is echoed and elaborated by Dierkhising, Eastman, and Chan [9]. Furthermore, Panlilio's team [11,15] attempted to develop tools based on statistical models to identify the children most at risk of sexual exploitation among those monitored by CPS.

Australian researchers have also addressed this issue, but only with children placed in care homes. McKibbin [16] conducted a literature review of existing prevention mechanisms, combining two issues: that of the harmful sexual behaviour of young people towards themselves or other young people, and that of their sexual exploitation by adults. Existing prevention programmes were discussed under the following three major themes: (1) Constructing educative interventions for children, young people, and workers; (2) Targeting grooming and problematic sexual behaviour; (3) Providing a holistic response and a way out. The author emphasised the urgency of remedying current situations of abuse. Three strategies were suggested: a whole-of-house respectful relationships and sexuality education; an enhanced multi-agency practice response; and a missing-from-placement strategy. McKibbin, Halfpenny and Humphreys [17] later tested a secondary prevention programme under the aegis of action research. The programme was based on the three previously identified strategic axes. Some positive results were highlighted, but the authors mainly addressed two limitations: (1) coordination of services, also identified by North American researchers [13]; (2) the despair and sense of powerlessness among professionals working with sexually exploited youth, especially when these young people repeatedly run away and return to their exploiters. The authors (17) mention a lack of training among these professionals, as previously noted by Hallett [14].

Another Australian team [18] conducted a literature review, focusing solely on the sexual abuse and exploitation of youths living in care homes. The findings mirrored McKibbin's [16,17] and were alarming. The authors referred to previous psychological trauma, but also highlighted inadequate institutional responses, particularly because of the attachment disorders from which these children suffered. They concluded by emphasising the urgent need to systematise data collection to better address this issue. Lastly, Hallett [19] published the results of a qualitative study conducted in Australia. She challenged McKibbin's approach (and that of Australian authorities) of linking harmful sexual behaviour by young people towards themselves or others with sexual exploitation by adults, arguing that this risked reducing sexual exploitation to just another risky behaviour. The author conducted a qualitative study on exploited youths, based on interviews with social workers responsible for their care. She first referred to Jackson's work [20], which cautions against an approach focused solely on prior trauma and does not sufficiently consider the inadequacy of institutional responses. Following the author, the risk of exploitation should be understood as a complex phenomenon potentially resulting from poorly implemented strategies aimed at addressing it, further complicated by the fact that these young people do not necessarily recognise themselves as exploited. Hallett's analysis revealed five key themes for informing future training: (1) Challenges in identifying CSE; (2) Limited existing service options; (3) Benefits of assertive outreach and intensive support; (4) Importance of stable and suitable placement solutions for enhancing safety; (5) Shared language and specialist support in the wider care and multi-agency context.

<footnote n="1">¹ In 2021, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline received 29.3 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation, an increase of 35% from 2020. https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/2021-CyberTipline-Report.pdf.</footnote>
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A team of Spanish researchers [21] tackled the issue by conducting a questionnaire-based study with exploited youth. The data showed that the motivations for accepting sexual exploitation were same as traditionally known ones, and that the young people were well-informed of the risks associated with new technologies (NT). However, these young people believed that prevention needed improvement, particularly to build trust with adults. The attitude of all the professionals involved, particularly the police, was highlighted by these young people as crucial. Echoing data from Hallett [14] and McKibbin [16], they criticise the inappropriate attitudes of professionals, including those from CPS [21, p. 6].

### 3. Methods

Our methodology is similar to the one developed by Hallett: "The research findings reported here formed part of a small-scale explorative qualitative case study. The research utilised small group and one individual interview in order to elicit (i) case workers' understandings of CSE, and (ii) perspectives on opportunities, challenges and dilemmas encountered when responding to young people experiencing sexual exploitation" [19, p. 3].

More specifically, using secondary biographical data, our study aims to reconstruct and understand the personal trajectories of these young people in a previous study [2] and their institutional trajectories in the present study. The cases were selected by the socio-educational teams from the population they work with or monitor, based on two inclusion criteria: minority status and involvement in prostitution—that is, their ‘theoretical relevance to the phenomenon under study’ [22, p. 26]. Our analysis is not a biographical approach in the strict sense of ‘telling one’s story’, but uses biographical data to reconstruct exemplary life trajectories.

Although it is impossible to determine whether these cases are representative of all young people in sexual exploitation situations (in terms of gender and sociocultural background), their experiences can reasonably be considered typical of sexually exploited victims under CPS.

Of course, this represents a professional's subjective account about young people, requiring a researcher to take a step back and sometimes deconstruct the verbatim narrative to distinguish factual elements from interpretative elements.

The interviews were conducted in 2021, in three CPS residential care facilities care homes facilities. Eight of these interviews were one-on-one, while five involved two to three professionals. The interviews focused on 13 situations involving minors. As the majority were young girls (12 young women and 1 young man), we used the feminine terms to talk about them.

This study used secondary data, with ethical procedures—including data anonymisation and participant consent—previously conducted beforehand during the primary data collection phase of the PARMIN study funded by the ONPE.<fnref n="2" /> To preserve the anonymity of the young people mentioned in the interviews, certain biographical or factual data may have been modified.

### 4. Results

The institutions involved were Education, Health, Police, Justice, and Child Protection Services. Each institution was covered separately while respecting the chronological order of the pathways to the greatest extent possible, as the sexually exploited young people often interact with multiple institutions simultaneously. All the young people involved in the situations described are named, but is illustrated each case with a single verbatim excerpt.

#### 4.1. Education

In nine of the thirteen cases, the school did not appear explicitly in the reporting process, even though all of the children were either partially (high absenteeism) or completely out of school. Thus, school dropout, which is reported in the literature as an indicator of prostitution risk, was rarely, if ever, a reason for reporting.

The national education system was the source of four reports. They were all based on behavioural issues. Only secondarily were revealed incidents of violence of which the young people had been victims within or outside the family revealed, of which the young people had been victims:

Sita is seen by the school's social worker because she is often the cause of conflicts between students. During the interview, she revealed instances of physical abuse by her parents. She had also reported the sexual abuse by her father but none of her institutional contacts believed her. The physical abuse claims were ultimately not confirmed. Nevertheless, she received a measure of Open Environment Educational Action before being placed in a care home two years later, with the reasons for this change remaining unclear.

Darika was flagged by her school for suspected instances of physical abuse by her father, as well as for engaging in risky behaviour with boys.

Elodie was flagged by her school for her harmful family environment, featuring a physically abusive father involved in drug trafficking, who would allegedly implicate his daughter in his criminal activities.

Lastly, Assa was flagged by her school for 'disturbing behaviour', which were, in fact, instances of prostitution disclosed by another schoolboy. During her interview, it emerged, without further details, that Assa may have been bullied at the boarding school she previously attended, which she was reportedly removed from for this very reason. Later in the interview, it was revealed that at the age of 13, roughly around the same time, she may have been raped — however, the two events could not be explicitly linked. Her rape led to a (first) report that was not followed up because she allegedly refused to file a complaint. She even felt 'betrayed' by the nurse who had disclosed the incident.

Only two of young girls resumed their education as part of their placement (Fatou and Assa). All attempts to reintegrate the others into school or establish a professional project for them failed, as in the case of Kenza:

> 'She had a completely acceptable academic level but was often absent because she wasn't engaged in her schooling at all (...) she was caught up in issues that made it impossible for her to reflect or plan for the future, making it very difficult for her to commit...'

#### 4.2. Police and Justice

According to the french law, the police and the justice system are institutions that play a decisive role in protecting minors from sexual exploitation.

This responsibility begins upstream, with the legal obligation to return runaway young people to their homes, as in the case of Elodie:

> 'One glaring everyday example is that [the police] stop undocumented kids at 3 a.m. or 5 a.m. in the city (...) They check their tablets, see that the minors are reported as runaways by us, but they don't bring them back to us, no (...) Well, sure, but if they don't bring them back, the kids just continue. (...) No, in this case, they are not helping the young people at all, nor are they helping us.'

The police and the justice system are also required by law to record complaints of sexual assault, particularly those involving minors. Unfortunately, professionals frequently highlight the failings of these institutions, particularly the justice system, as demonstrated in the cases of Pauline and Martin:

> 'A complaint was filed, but no case was ever brought to trial, and the [family member] was never held accountable for anything [the rapes

<footnote n="2">² Project manager: Bénédicte Lavaud-Legendre, lawyer, research fellow at the CNRS, COMPTRASEC – UMR 5114 [1].</footnote>
committed against Martin] (...) The complaint was filed, the young man underwent two psychological evaluations, he was interviewed three times (...) and... nothing ever came of it. There were never any [legal] consequences.'

Once minors are labelled as 'prostitutes', the police's failure to protect victims is even more obvious.

Julie, still a minor and a victim of sexual exploitation, called her educators for assistance while being held captive. Although notified, the police refused to intervene on the grounds that 'she might be consenting'.

Similarity Kenza's mother was refused by the police when she sought help for her daughter, who was in danger:

'We saw that when she was engaging in prostitution, her mother would go to the police station, but she was not taken seriously. They [the police] would tell her, "But your daughter wants nothing other than to prostitute herself"; (...) and that she was responsible for what she was doing and that they couldn't do anything for her'.

Failures were also highlighted in the case of the justice system, although they were probably tied more to systemic than individual issues, as in the cases of Julie and Elodie:

'In fact, I would say it's more the justice system [that didn't help us with Elodie], because given his illegal immigration status, he [the pimp] should have been deported (...) but they released him very, very quickly, and none of us understood why. Even our management was in contact with the justice system, asking what was going on, why he had been released when we told them "he's part of a network, practically prostituting our youth". (...) We were completely shocked'.

The justice system is also criticised for its lack of response to delinquent behaviour among youth, which often goes unpunished:

'Well, Elodie almost... Well, I think she did... Because in fact, she had a few episodes of violence [involving assaulting other girls]. So we thought that the PJJ [Judicial Youth Protection] might help us get some kind of legal action taken...'

### 4.3. Health services

The young individuals are regularly provided with somatic care, particularly for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and contraception matters, as demonstrated by the cases of Fatou and Assa:

'So, I saw [Assa] from a medical perspective because of the risks she described. She underwent all the serology tests and received several treatments in succession because there were recurrences, ongoing risky behaviour, and consequently, she had contracted STIs'.

Furthermore, three young people (Martin, Rose, and Kenza) were hospitalised in paediatrics, not for medical reasons but for their protection while waiting for placement in a foster home, as Martin was then homeless, and Rose and Kenza were being threatened by gangs.

According to professionals, mental health support is notably absent in these cases. There is no mention of any child psychiatric care for the three young people during their hospital stays. Later, Rose refused outpatient psychological support, and Kenza declined psychiatric care following episodes of hallucinations. Although Martin initially agreed to psychological support, he ended it abruptly after just a few months.

Among the other youths, while Sita did engage with psychiatrists, this was always in emergency situations, following acute episodes. Regarding Gabrielle, Sara, and Luna, nothing was mentioned on this subject in the interviews. As for Fatou, she categorically refused any type of psychological support:

'We suggested she see the psychologist, (...) and she looked at me, laughed, and said, "Oh, no, it's fine. You're not seriously talking about me seeing a psychologist—don't bother."'

Julie and Yasmine seemed to show some interest, although their circumstances made it difficult to engage with the standard timelines of traditional therapy.

'We managed the first session, but by the second... She wasn't there; she was on the run. I don't know if there was any follow-up... It was very complicated because she was such a volatile young person; everything was day-by-day. Unfortunately, therapeutic engagement is very difficult when a young person is so unstable'.

Darika and Elodie are the only ones who appeared to have benefited from some form of mental health support, although nothing is noted about its duration or consistency.

### 4.4. Child protection services

In France, the *Aide Sociale à l'Enfance* (ASE) [Child Welfare] implements CPS measures as defined by Article L. 112-3 of the *Code de l'Action Sociale et des Familles* [Social and Family Action Code], 'aiming to ensure that the fundamental needs of the child are met, to support their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development, and to safeguard their health, safety, morality, and education, while respecting their rights'.

#### 4.4.1. Child protection pathways

In this study, reconstructing the trajectories of the young individuals within the CPS was extremely challenging. The professionals faced difficulty while piecing together the family and institutional histories of these youths. There were hesitations, inaccuracies, repeated references to notes, and frequent confusion between cases. Clearly, no biographical narrative work had been done before and was done in praesentia through our research interviews.

All the measures (those for which the professionals were interviewed) were judicial, except in the case of Sara, who received an administrative measure—she herself alerted CPS by calling the French 'childhood in danger' phone line (119).

The pathways of these young sexually exploited people are characterised by a late entry into CPS. These individuals, ranging from 13 to 17 years old, entered CPS during adolescence rather than childhood. Assa, is an exception, she was placed in a CPS nursery for 18 months, but there is no indication that any follow-up occurred after this placement. In all likelihood, she was unnoticed by CPS until her school flagged her to them. Several placements occurred particularly late, with Sara placed at age 16, and Rose and Kenza, at age 17. In half the cases, the placement was preceded by either a Home Educational Action (*Action Éducative à Domicile* [AED]) or an Open Environment Educational Action (*Action Éducative en Milieu Ouvert* [AEMO]), and it followed their failure (or non-implementation) due to the non-cooperation of the young person and/or the parents, avoidance, or running away, as in the case of Yasmine:

'She benefited from an AEMO at a very young age; she was very, very young (...) Actually, the AEMO measure was for her whole sibling group (...) She was very young, but it ended... The family didn't engage and didn't work with the educator'.

Many open environment education actions order also occurred late (at 15–16 years of age), as in the cases of Rose and Kenza. These late pathways also often tend to be very brief in terms of their duration. Young adult contract measures, which were also quickly discontinued, proved unsuitable for addressing the issues faced by these young people, as seen in the cases of Kenza and Sara:

'[Sara] was not fulfilling her young adult contract, because the goals were unattainable for her. She was in a completely different headspace, so the contract was terminated'.

Moreover, pathways starting in early adolescence are often very chaotic and marked by multiple placements. For example, Elodie was
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flagged by her school at around 13-and-a-half years of age, then placed in her first foster home for 2 years, followed by yet another for an additional 2 years. She then spent a few months in an institutional apartment, and later lived in a hotel, before being directed to a mother-and-child centre, once it was established that she was pregnant.

### 4.4.2. Young people in protection but unprotected

Another major characteristic of these sexually exploited young people's pathways is the frequency of running away, which occurs both before and during their placements. It occurs to the point that some can be considered to have not been truly placed, as in the cases of Assa, Gabrielle, and Darika.

'Indeed, on paper [Darika was still living in the group home], but she was no longer there. She had run away, and we didn't have much information anymore. The service was very concerned about these behaviours, and of course, so were we'.

While in the literature, sexual exploitation is mainly discussed as a consequence of running away (survival sex), the situations in our panel suggest that running away can also be a result of (the resumption of) prostitution-related behaviour, either by his own initiative (Martin) or under pressure from trafficking networks (Fatou):

'She was missing for at least 3 weeks, and during this time, she is said to have engaged in [prostitution] activities. (...) Some time ago, when she ran away again and engaged in these kinds of activities, we found out through another young person (...)'.

However, sexual exploitation does not only occur when children abscond, as it can also occur when children return to the family environment, as in the case of Gabrielle:

'According to them [three other girls from the foster home], Gabrielle engages in prostitution in Paris when she returns to her father's house. I [educator] heard an audio recording on WhatsApp where Gabrielle said, "Yes, I work for my mother and send her money"'.

This may also occur in parallel with placement, as in the cases of Sara and Kenza.

'(...) and she [Kebza] said to me, "Yes, yes, I worked [engaged in prostitution]". She had no qualms about telling me. (...) I don't know when she had the opportunity to do that, because we didn't really let her out, but when she had free time, apparently, she managed to...'.

Some young people organise (or re-establish) sex work networks within the group home:

'And so, well.. Rose and Julie started "working" together, identifying vulnerable girls, taking them under their wing, and then absconding with them to Paris to engage in prostitution with them, and they published their ads on Wannonce. (...) Meanwhile, Rose clearly tried to build her network right here [in the foster home], and that was the real danger we faced'.

While nearly all these young people had already experienced sexual assaults before encountering CPS, their re-victimisations during placements were numerous. These occurred during the time they ran away, or on weekends, as in the cases of Sita, Darika, and Julie:

'She [Julie] suffered a second assault involving three [young men] at * [place where the assault occurred]. They gang-raped her. (...) She'd hung out a little with them, she knew them (...). Her boyfriend at the time, who had told her to leave the house, had also abused her'.

These re-victimisation events may even occur within ASE structures, as in the cases of Martin and Darika:

'She [Darika] was placed in a centre... in an emergency home at first. That's where the assaults began, and she was very quickly referred to a foster family, because there were instances of sexual assault in the home by a boy, a young man who was also living there. But the young man denied it. He said that she'd wanted it (...). And then we placed her in a foster home (...). She attended three in total (...) She had a problem with another boy who was also living at this lady's house, who is alleged to have forced her to perform oral sex on him. But the boy described a totally different situation. He said, "She offered it to me, she wanted to offer me oral sex" (...) So she was moved out and placed in another home yet again'.

Regardless of any potential ambiguity in the young girl's messages, it should be noted that the solution of Child Protection each time was to move her to a different care facility (the same was done for Martin). More generally, the reported assaults during the time in Child Protection, whether inside or outside the care facilities, rarely result in the judicialisation of the events (cf. above chapters regarding the Police and Justice).

### 4.4.3. ASE professionals: between fatalistic acceptance and over-investment

A certain laissez-faire attitude exists among professionals when faced with the sexual exploitation situations involving these young people, although it is likely an indication of a certain sense of powerlessness. For instance, Fatou not only shared with educators her plans for future prostitution, but also tried to draw other young girls into engaging in sex work:

'Anyway, she's always on the phone with some boy, and sometimes she's off, saying, "Oh, well, I'm going to book an Airbnb", and she talks about it openly with the other girls in front of us, "We're going to have parties, and there will be boys involved"'.

However, there are times when a report is made, as in the cases of Sara and Rose:

'Each time a young girl tells us things of this nature [prostitution-related behaviours], we write a report (...) Our reports are then passed on to ASE educators, who then forward them to the family judge, and the judge or the service managers pass them on to the prosecutor's office'.

There is also a paralysis of the teams, which can manifest when faced with clear cases of abuse, as in Julie's case:

'Without wanting to put the blame on the children's homes... But this, this [the triple rape (and third victimisation) of which Julie was the victim] was not addressed at all during the time she was there'.

Frequent assaults within ASE structures themselves are also addressed by relocating the victims, as in the case of Darika (cf. above).

More frequently, fatalism and discouragement are common, as in the cases of Assa and Julie.

'They [the team at the children's residential care facility] introduced the young girl [Julie] to us by saying, "We couldn't accomplish anything with her, she's always running away. You'll see, it's unbearable". They were clearly disheartened by the situation, and it's true that she hadn't really engaged either...'

Nevertheless, some professionals remain steadfastly committed to supporting young people, as in Elodie's case, even to the point of occasionally going beyond the boundaries of their professional framework.

'At one point, things were difficult in terms of my relationship with her; she would stand me up, she wouldn't show up at all for
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appointments. It was complicated... It's one of the most challenging situations I've ever had in terms of building a relationship'.

(...)

'We'd already gone to extract her from a squat; we'd already done a lot, even though we're just educators. This situation wasn't exactly easy'.

In terms of investment, professionals can go so far as to contravene the hierarchy and take personal responsibility for certain situations, as particularly illustrated by Yasmine's situation.

'When she came to us after wandering for several months and told us she was pregnant and needed help, we discreetly arranged for an abortion. We arranged external follow-up (...). We provided and paid for it out of our own pockets, (...) because our management wouldn't allow us to... We were not supposed to get involved with this family [a family of criminal gang who were terrorising the neighbourhood], and so we couldn't submit an expenses report stating that we'd supported this girl'.

Moreover, some professionals try to understand the incomprehensible and instil at least a minimum amount of self-preservation in young people perceived as engaging in self-destructive behaviours, as in Elodie's case:

'She knew it was hurting her, but at the same time, there was also a sort of... desire to self-destruct. She did not have a good self-image, which is why providing care was very important, even though it was very little, considering everything she was going through.

Such situations cause distress and suffering at work, like in Yasmine's case:

'[It is a] striking situation in the sense of being powerless, not knowing what to do or how to do it, while trying to maintain a professional distance'.

## 5. Discussion

Our testimonies align with those obtained by in previous studies [14,19,21]. While sexually exploited young people such as these are often mistreated by their families, they are also subjected to harm by the very institutions meant to protect them. Unfortunately, these serial failures exacerbate each other particularly because the institution-by-institution presentation does not reflect the reality of a complex and variable phenomenon in which interventions may overlap but also maintain their own mode of action and temporality. The synergy required for effective institutional networking (see below) is hampered from the outset by the organisational arrangements specific to each institution.

Nevertheless, these failures undermine what Benghozi calls "metagarance" which he defines as follows:

'[This is] the function that makes it possible to guarantee a sufficiently secure protective psychic capacity. With regards to a link of filiation and/or affiliation, it is an ethical "responsibility", (...), for the subject, the group, the family, the community, the institution, and the State'. [23, p. 58].

This concept, originally a clinical tool, illustrate that the psychic function of containment [24] extends beyond the traditional parental and family framework to include institutions and, through them, the state.

Drawing on Kaës, containment is understood not solely as an inter-subjective process but also as a group and institutional process: each space is 'supported and shaped by those who frame it' [25, p. 109]. The functions of holding, supporting and guaranteeing the 'meta' level ensure and/or restore the spatial and temporal continuity necessary for subjectivation.

Therefore, these institutions, as a meta-framework, are therefore just as important as the family in guaranteeing this containment, which, as the account above indicates, is far from being the case.

School can prove, at least with regard to absenteeism, to be an indif-ferent institution [26]. However, the school is often the source of reports. Although the primary reason is behavioural problems, there are also rev-elations of family abuse and/or sexual violence. The question then arises about the institutional outcome of these disclosures.

The police may also demonstrate *indifference* when encountering young people wandering in the middle of the night, merely encouraging them to return to their residential care facilities, even though they know those children are runaways. The police also labour under the myth of the *perfect victim* [27, p. 218], which is a representation of the victim as someone whose history would show no delinquent behaviour including participation in prostitution-related activities. This leads some police officers to inaction [21] even in situations of obvious danger, which require immediate intervention (see the cases of Julie and Kenza). The third key point regarding the police also applies to the justice system. Specifically, it is the dismissal of sexual assault complaints without fur-ther action. We can mention, in this regard, the cases of Martin, Julie, and Yasmine, but, in reality, it concerns all the youths on our panel.

Regarding justice, the lack of pursuit of aggressors and/or pimps, as well as the failures in implementing certain sentences after a judgement, must be mentioned (Julie and Elodie).

All these institutions, either preceding or alongside CPS's actions, show failures in providing containment. They are overwhelmed, subject to multitasking, and lacking resources. Nevertheless, it is important to stress that for the victims, this is not just another failure: each additional failure has a cumulative effect and amplifies the trauma, especially when complaints are dismissed. This observation reinforces Hallett's [19] highlighting the risk of seeing sexual exploitation treated as a risky sexual behaviour rather than an assault.

Shortcomings in terms of mental health care must also be highlighted, although, beyond the well-known lack of capacity of French psychiatric services, the issue primarily lies in the inadequacy of the care provided. Hence, first-line support needs to be provided directly by the social workers themselves [14,28,29]. Similarly, these young people who refuse 'psy' interventions are also saying, as suggested by Hallett [19] and Jackson [20], that the quality of current socio-educational care in the here and now should be prioritised, before they are returned to their past traumas.

CPS also demonstrates glaring failures in containment. Some of these failures are organisational, while others concern staff training and support [14,16,19]. While reports were issued late (at best, in early adolescence), all the cases revealed varying degrees of significant family dysfunction. Assa's situation is particularly striking in this regard, as she went unnoticed by CPS from the time she left nursery until adolescence. There are also multiple placements, whether related to organisational difficulties (Elodie) or as a way to address sexual assaults (Martin and Darika). One can also question the decision to place young people with a long history of sexual exploitation in residential care facilities, as this risks them recruiting other young individuals (Fatou and Rose).

More generally, it is the fatalism of the teams involved with which engagement is required. Training in the detection of signs of exploitation seems insufficient, but it is still necessary to address the factors of shock, fascination, and denial, which can lead to inertia among professionals. This involves supervision time that also provides professionals with a space of containment and emotional processing. Whilst training must be provided before to prevent sexual exploitation situations from occurring [17], such training needs to include adolescence and psycho-trauma awareness. This will help professionals obtain the tools needed to enhance the socio-educational support they can offer to young people, which must be conceived as the cornerstone for rebuilding trust in adults and institutions. Work to repair 'meta-garance' requires the active and supportive presence of stakeholders [14,19] and a robust institutional network [26] that fosters inter-containment [30]. This concept
emphasises the need for institutions not only to create links but also to establish a common space for transformation for those they serve. 'Meta-garance' and inter-containment can only be practised during dedicated intra- and inter-institutional sessions for professionals, as conceived by the institutional psychotherapy movement [31]. A 'meta' moment, in which it could be possible to work on *welcoming*, can be understood as a psychological readiness to receive and transform the expressions (often behavioural) of those being welcomed. Welcoming also involves 'recounting' the young person's story. It was surprising to see professionals struggling to *tell the stories* of these young people, thus mirroring young people's difficulties in *telling their own story*. This observation highlights the need to raise awareness and train professionals on the importance of empowering young people to take ownership of their history.

This is also where organisations from the voluntary sector could play a crucial role, as they are less constrained by bureaucracy and often operate more flexibly, thus making them more suitable to adapt to the issues faced by young people.

However, failures in 'meta-garance' do not concern only families and the institutions involved in the protection of minors. They also concern contemporary society as a whole, marked as it is by the advent of the Internet and social networks, which have facilitated an exponential growth in youth sexual exploitation. Such effects are clear on three levels: (1) It is easier for predators to contact potential victims. (2) There is widespread dissemination of pornographic content, which increases not only the perpetration and victimisation of sexual assaults but also the development of new forms of sexual victimisation online. (3) The global hypersexualisation in society may induce, through social desirability patterns, a behavioural hypersexualisation of young girls, which is itself a potential source of sexual exploitation. All these societal elements, which undermine 'meta-garance', will increase both the difficulty of the institutions' work and their risk of failure.

## 5.1. *Limitations of the study*

The main limitation of this study is its reliance on reported discourse—specifically, that of professionals working with young sexually exploited victims. This discourse is inevitably influenced by the professionals' own perceptions and beliefs. Future research should include interviews conducted directly with victims and/or former victims. This would offer, on the one hand, first-person accounts of victims' family and institutional experiences as well as a broader view of their trajectories, including, where applicable, their contacts with associations.

## 6. Conclusion

Following a preceding article on the family trajectories of underage female victims of sexual exploitation, we turned our attention to their institutional trajectories, including within the ambit of CPS as well as other institutions involved in protecting vulnerable youth (Education, Health, Police, and Justice). The concept of 'meta-garance', highlights how the processes supporting psychic maturation result from systemic interactions between family, institutional, and societal dynamics. Unfortunately, it must be acknowledged that, as of 2021 (when the interviews were conducted), the institutions involved were unable to fully fulfil their role as agents of 'meta-garance' in protecting young victims. While one may hope that the situation has improved since the Champrenault report [3], two priorities emerge from our study: (1) the judicial (and psychological) handling of sexual assaults reported by young victims, coupled with (2) specific training for social actors to break down taboos and address the effects of shock and/or fatalistic acceptance that still surround the sexual exploitation of minors in France.

## Funding

None.

## Appendix A. Supplementary data

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurenf.2025.08.001.

## Disclosure of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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