Staff profile

I am an applied social researcher, concerned with safeguarding young people, social justice and inequality. I have particular expertise in social care responses to abuse between young people and ham in extra-familial spaces and places. In 2015 I founded the concept of 'Contextual Safeguarding' to enhance practice and policy in this area.

I joined the Department of Sociology at Durham University in 2021. Prior to this I developed the Contextual Safeguarding research programme at the University of Bedfordshire for eight years. Before joining academia, I spent over ten years in voluntary and statutory agencies, researching young people’s experiences of community and group-based violence and advocating for comprehensive social care and wider safeguarding approaches that keep young people safe in public places, schools and peer groups.

As my publications demonstrate, I have designed and used Contextual Safeguarding as a theoretical and operational framework to draw attention to, and address, the social and cultural contexts in which extra-familial abuse occurs. By working with experts in child protection law, public health, criminology, psychology and education to develop multi-disciplinary, I have used research to change how safeguarding systems respond when young people come to harm. 

I am committed to applied, accessible and usable research. Over the course of my career I have used research to inform the development of safeguarding and child protection policies; including statutory guidance and funding programmes. Moreover, I have worked with research colleagues, practitioners and young people to co-create knowledge, recommendations, and toolkits that enable the use of Contextual Safeguarding in practice.

My approach

Theory: Since 2011 I have developed, and then tested, the Contextual Safeguarding conceptual framework. The framework is principally built on Bourdieu’s social theory, and applies the concepts of field, capital and habitus to forms of extra-familial harm, and associated social care responses. As the framework has been applied I have also utilised structural and social theories of child protection, ecological theories of human development, public health theories of harm reduction and theories of situational crime prevention to critique and reimagine social work responses to extra-familial harm.

Method: my research draws upon, and contributes to, two qualitative research methods. I have used case file review methods since 2011 to understand social work responses to extra-familial harm; gradually developing a contextual case review method that has informed both individual case review and macro-analysis of serious case reviews and domestic homicide reviews. I have also worked with colleagues to develop a multi-method approach to building case studies of local organisational responses to extra-familial harm; first auditing current practice and then co-creating new practice approaches. This work has involved embedded research methods including meetings observations, reflective workshops and whole-system review sessions to track system-change at an organisational level across multiple years.

Application: my work has been applied in children’s social care departments, schools and voluntary sector organisations to redesign how they approach extra-familial harm. Nationally it has been integrated into child protection policy frameworks in England, Wales and Scotland. Whole-organisation application of the Contextual Safeguarding framework is being tested (or in development) in multiple sites tests in the UK, Europe and Australia. Thousands of practitioners are working with my colleagues and me, in research test sites and via virtual practice networks, to understand the implications of the CS framework for policymakers, practitioners, young people and families. In 2020, I convened the Contextual Safeguarding Academics Network (CSAN) to bring together researchers and lecturers who use the CS Framework, and in 2019 I established the Contextual Safeguarding Local Area Interest Network (LAIN), to connect strategic leads across children’s services departments with an interest in the topic. Contextual Safeguarding has also been used to design the methods for over 20 case reviews to identify opportunities for intervening with extra-familial forms of significant harm.

Speaking engagements

Over 500 public engagement including:

• Invited Keynote (2022) RCPCH and the Young Person's Health Special Interest Group (YPHSIG) 2022 Global Adolescent Conference: Contextual safeguarding: recalibrating child welfare responses to abuse beyond families and its impact
• Invited Keynote (2022) Kempe Center's 2022 International Virtual Conference: What lies beneath: contextualising child welfare in the midst of structural harm
• Invited Keynote (2022) JSWEC Social Work Education and Research Annual Conference 2022: Contextual Safeguarding: Centering Social Justice in Social Work Responses to Extra-Familial Harms
• (2021) Invited keynote: Association of Child Protection Professionals Conference on Exploitation, UK
• (2021) Invited keynote, Context Matters, International Sexual Violence Symposium, University of the Sunshine Coast
• (2019) Invited keynote, East Asia Regional Council of Schools Annual Conference, Malaysia
• (2018) Invited panel member, evidence session on social norms, Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, UK
• Premier League, Annual Safeguarding Conference, Keynote Address (2018)
• (2017) Invited speaker, ANZATSA Biannual conference, University of Auckland, New Zealand
• (2017) Griffith University, Brisbane, Research Colloquium: Contextualising Child Protection: Reforming safeguarding systems to address peer-abuse in the UK
• (2016) BSA Bourdieu Conference; A three stage application of Bourdieu to develop responses to peer-on-peer abuse
• (2016, 2017) Invited keynote: Ofsted annual conference
• (2015) Invited keynote, NOTA annual Conference
• (2015, 2017) Invited keynote, Youth Justice Board annual conference
• (2013) Invited panel member, roundtable with Deputy Prime Minister, Violence against Women and Girls, UK
• (2010) UK representative for Women’s National Commission, Workshop, United Nations CEDAW Convention, US
• (2015) Ofsted Annual Children’s Social Care Conference – Keynote Address

Teaching and supervision

I currently convene the Social Work in Practice module for, in addition to acting as a tutor and dissertation supervisor for students on, the Durham Social Work Masters; as well as providing guest lectures in to criminology and sociology students. 

I collaborate with other researchers from across the world who share my interests. If you are interested in undertaking a PhD under my supervision, I would be delighted to hear from you directly about your ideas and to discuss opportunities to work with you at Durham. A list of my current PhD supervisees is included below (see section entitled 'supervises'). Their projects are diverse and range from work on peer influence during adolescent, racism and school cultures, social work responses to extra-familial harm in the UK and internationally, and colourism in the UK.

• Social work responses to adolescents
• Social work responses to extra-familial harm
• Child protection legal frameworks and adolescent welfare
• Situational, social, structural and relational drivers of harm in adolescence
• The application of Bourdieu to social services
• Distance, secure and out-of-home care in response to extra-familial harm
• Contextual outcomes and impact measures
• Peer support and group behaviour during adolescence
• Case study and case review methodologies
• Sociological approaches to network and route analysis

I also convene a monthly reading and discussion group for post-graduate researchers interested in Contextual Safeguarding. If you'd like to join please get in contact.

• • Social work responses to adolescents
• • Social work responses to extra-familial harm
• • Child protection legal frameworks and adolescent welfare
• • Situational, social, structural and relational drivers of harm in adolescence

• Communities and Social Justice
• Criminal Justice, Social Harm and Inequalities

• Contextual Safeguarding Network
• TedX Talk on Contextual Safeguarding

• 2022: Adjunct Member: Sexual Violence Research and Prevention Unit, University of the Sunshine Coast :
• 2022: Advisory Council Member: Churchill Fellowship:
• 2022: Co-Convener: Social Work and Adolescents, Special Interest Group, European Social Work Research Association (ESWRA):
• 2022: Member: National Youth Agency Strategic Safeguarding Advisory Panel:
• 2022: Member: NIHR selection committee for Predoctoral Local Authority Fellowship scheme:
• 2021: Member: Association of Professors of Social Work:
• 2021: Member: Black Female Professors Forum:
• 2020: Editorial Board, Child and Family Social Work:
• 2019: Associate Editor, Child Abuse Review :
• 2019: Convener: Contextual Safeguarding Academics Network :
• 2019: Reviewer: Child Abuse and Neglect, Children and Society, Journal of Youth Services, Justice Quarterly, Sexual Abuse :
• 2019: Sector Reviewer: Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; CSA Centre for Expertise; NSPCC; Research in Practice:
• 2017: Board of Trustees: NOTA: 2017- present:
• 2017: Editorial Board, Safer Communities:

Available for media contact about:

• Community and youth work:
• Social work:

Authored book

• Firmin, Carlene, Lefevre, Michelle, Huegler, Nathalie & Peace, Delphine (2022). Safeguarding Young People Beyond the Family Home: Responding to Extra-Familial Risks and Harms. Bristol: Policy Press.
• Firmin, C. (2020). Contextual safeguarding and child protection: Rewriting the rules.
• Firmin, C (2017). Abuse Between Young People: A Contextual Account. Routledge.

Chapter in book

• Firmin, C. & Knowles, R (2022). Has the purpose outgrown the design? In In: Holmes, D. (Eds) Safeguarding Adolescents: Risk, Resilience, Rights and Relationships. London: Jessica Kingsley.
• Firmin, C (2019). Contextual Safeguarding: Theorising the contexts of child protection and peer-abuse. In Child Sexual Exploitation: Why Theory Matters. Pearce, J Bristol Policy Press. 63-86.
• Firmin, C. & Hancock, D. (2017). Profiling CSE: Building a contextual picture of a local problem. In 107-120.
• Firmin, C & Pearce, J (2016). Living in Gang Affected Neighbourhoods. In Safeguarding Black Children: Good Practice in Children Protection. Bernard, C & Harris, P Jessica Kingsley. 76-91.
• Firmin, C. (2014). MsUnderstood: The benefits of engaging young women in antiviolence work. In Working with children and young people to address violence against women and girls: lessons for policy and practice. Ellis, J & Thiara, R Polity Press. 205-224.
• Firmin, C. & Beckett, H. (2014). Child sexual exploitation. In Forensic Gynaecology: Advanced Skills Series. Dalton, M Cambridge Press. 136-141.
• Firmin, C. (2013). Busting the ‘gang-rape’ myth: Girls’ victimisation and agency in gang-associated sexual violence. In Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A multidisciplinary response to an international problem. Horvath, M. A & Woodhams, J Routledge. 97-115.
• Firmin, C. (2013). Something old or something new: Do pre-existing conceptualisations of abuse enable a sufficient response to abuse in young people's relationships and peer-groups? In Critical perspectives on child sexual exploitation and related trafficking. Melrose, M & Pearce, J 38-51.
• Firmin, C. (2013). Criminal gangs, male-dominated services and the women and girls who fall through the gaps. In Moving in the Shadows: Violence in the lives of Minority Women and Children. Rehman, Y, Kelly, L & Sidqiqui, H Ashgate. 127-140.

Journal Article

• Wroe, Lauren Elizabeth, Peace, Delphine & Firmin, Carlene (2023). ‘Relocating’ Adolescents from Risk beyond the Home: What Do We Learn When We Ask about Safety? The British Journal of Social Work bcad077.
• Firmin, Carlene, Manister, Molly & Peace, Delphine (2023). Serious Case Reviews and Extra-Familial Harm: Missed and Emerging Opportunities to Develop Contextual Practices. The British Journal of Social Work 53(2): 1077–1098.
• Firmin, Carlene & Lloyd, Jenny (2022). Green Lights and Red Flags: The (Im)Possibilities of Contextual Safeguarding Responses to Extra-Familial Harm in the UK. Social Sciences 11(7): 303.
• Firmin, Carlene & Owens, Rachael (2022). Holding It Together? Professional Perspectives on the Role of Relationships when Relocating Young People due to Extra-familial Harm. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice 5(2): 231-255.
• Firmin, Carlene, Lloyd, Jenny, Walker, Joanne & Owens, Rachael (2021). From ‘no further action’ to taking action: England’s shifting social work responses to extra-familial harm. Critical and Radical Social Work
• Firmin, Carlene, Wroe, Lauren & Bernard, D (2021). Last Resort or Best Interest? Exploring the Risk and Safety Factors That Inform the Rates of Relocation for Young People Abused in Extra-Familial Settings. The British Journal of Social Work
• Preston, O., Godar, R., Lefevre, M., Boddy, J. & Firmin, C. (2021). Considerations in the use of local and national data for evaluating innovation in children’s social care. Journal of Children's Services 16(3): 233-248.
• Firmin, Carlene & Rayment-McHugh, Susan (2020). Two Roads, One Destination: Community and Organizational Mechanisms for Contextualizing Child Abuse Prevention in Australia and the UK. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice 3(2): 229.
• Lloyd, J., Walker, J. & Firmin, C. (2020). Keeping children safe? Advancing social care assessments to address harmful sexual behaviour in schools. Child and Family Social Work 25(4): 751-760.
• Firmin, C. (2020). Child Protection and Contexts of Recognition. Child Abuse Review 29(2): 91-96.
• Firmin, C. (2020). School rules of (sexual) engagement: government, staff and student contributions to the norms of peer sexual-abuse in seven UK schools. Journal of Sexual Aggression 26(3): 289-301.
• Lloyd, J. & Firmin, C. (2020). No Further Action: Contextualising Social Care Decisions for Children Victimised in Extra-Familial Settings. Youth Justice 20(1-2): 79-92.
• Firmin, C., Lloyd, J. & Walker, J. (2019). Beyond referrals: levers for addressing harmful sexual behaviours between students at school in England. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 32(10): 1229-1249.
• Firmin, C. (2019). Relocation, relocation, relocation: home and school-moves for children affected extra-familial risks during adolescence. Children's Geographies
• Firmin, C. (2019). From genograms to peer group mapping: Introducing peer relationships into social work assessment and intervention. Families, Relationships and Societies 8(2): 231-248.
• Firmin, C. (2018). Contextual Risk, Individualised Responses: An Assessment of Safeguarding Responses to Nine Cases of Peer-on-Peer Abuse. Child Abuse Review 27(1): 42-57.
• Firmin, C. (2018). Contextualizing case reviews: A methodology for developing systemic safeguarding practices. Child and Family Social Work 23(1): 45-52.
• Firmin, C. & Abbott, M. (2018). A route to safety: Using bus boarding data to identify roles for transport providers within contextual safeguarding systems. Children and Society 32(5): 381-392.
• Firmin, C., Warrington, C. & Pearce, J. (2016). Sexual exploitation and its impact on developing sexualities and sexual relationships: The need for contextual social work interventions. British Journal of Social Work 46(8): 2318-2337.
• Firmin, C. (2009). Girls around gangs. Safer Communities 8(2): 14-16.