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Countering Violent Extremism, Safeguarding and the Law: A Practitoner’s Perspective on Protecting Young and Vulnerable People from Exploitation

Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization

ISBN: 978-1-83982-989-5, eISBN: 978-1-83982-988-8

Publication date: 9 September 2020

Abstract

Purpose – UK laws surrounding the duty to prevent individuals being drawn into terrorism often focus on the need to safeguard the populace from exploitation by terrorist or extremist groups. It is within this context that countering violent extremism (CVE) work often takes place. This chapter explores how this legal duty shapes CVE projects in the UK, drawing on practitioner’s perspectives.

Methods – Writing from the perspective of practitioners from ConnectFutures, an organization that has been operating since 2013 in the UK and internationally, who advocate for a contextual safeguarding approach to provide a more holistic attitude to the prevention of violent extremism and exploitation.

Findings – Exploring the intersections between multiple forms of criminal exploitation, as well as engaging in the spaces and places young people experience harm, allows practitioners working in the CVE space to contribute to the protection of individuals from terrorist and extremist radicalization.

Originality/Value – Applying the new developed contextual safeguarding framework to CVE projects provides a contemporary and alternative ways to conduct CVE work. The chapter provides overviews of three CVE projects running with young people today in the UK, exploring how the new frameworks are adopted within these programs, all designed to address the complex causes of violent extremism.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

First, thank you to my colleagues at ConnectFutures for their consideration of this chapter’s previous drafts. Thank you next to our partners, St Giles Trust and all our colleagues who support the delivery of our BRAVE program. A final thank you to all the practitioners and young people who engage with and support our work.

Citation

Evans, C. (2020), "Countering Violent Extremism, Safeguarding and the Law: A Practitoner’s Perspective on Protecting Young and Vulnerable People from Exploitation", Silva, D.M.D. and Deflem, M. (Ed.) Radicalization and Counter-Radicalization (Sociology of Crime, Law and Deviance, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 135-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1521-613620200000025008

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited