4.1.12 Children who Display Sexually Abusive Behaviour |
Contents
Stage 3 - Strategy Discussion/Meeting
Stage 4 - The Child Protection Conference
Guidance - Children who Display Sexually Abusive Behaviour
| “Sexually abusive behaviour has been defined as any sexual interaction with person(s) of any age that is perpetrated [1] against the victims will, [2] without consent, or [3] in an aggressive, exploitative, manipulative, or threatening manner” Gail Ryan. “Juvenile Sex Offending” 1997 |
Introduction
These procedures apply equally to young people regardless of their sexual orientation and gender.
Sexual abuse by children and young people should always be taken as seriously as abuse perpetrated by an adult. It should be subject to the same safeguarding children procedures as apply in respect of any child who is suffering or at risk of suffering Significant Harm from an adult. The term “Children who display sexually harmful behaviour” is useful because it does not label children but identifies the behaviour as harmful and wrong. By using the words “who display” we are indicating that the individual can change their behaviour.
Professionals and carers should endeavour to identify the difference between consenting and abusive, appropriate or exploitative peer relationships. Adults should not dismiss some sexually harmful behaviour as ‘normal’ between young people or consider it “experimentation”.
The key determinant is usually the perception of the alleged victim and every effort should be made to understand the behaviour in the context of the relationship between the young people involved, the degree of coercion, including physical abuse and attempts to keep the behaviour secret.
Professionals working with children and young people who harm others should recognise that such children are likely to have considerable needs themselves. Evidence suggests that children who sexually harm may have suffered considerable disruption in their lives, have poor attachments, been exposed to violence within the family, may have witnessed or been subject to physical or sexual abuse, have problems in their educational development, and may have committed other offences. Such children and young people are likely to be children in need, and some will in addition be suffering or at risk of significant harm, and may themselves be in need of protection.
Children and young people who harm others should be considered responsible for their abusive behaviour, unless there is clear evidence that this is not the case. Some traumatised children develop compulsive patterns of behaviour and a significant proportion of young people who display sexually harmful behaviour have a level of learning difficulty. It is important that their own needs are met as well as protecting others. Work with adult abusers has shown that many of them began displaying sexually harmful acts during childhood or adolescence, and that significant numbers themselves have been subjected to abuse. Early intervention with children and young people who harm others may, therefore, play an important part in protecting the public by preventing the continuation or escalation of abusive behaviour.
There are three key principles, which should guide work with children and young people who sexually abuse others:
- Having a coordinated approach on the part of youth offending service, Children’s Social Care Services, NSPCC, education (including educational psychology), health (including child and adolescent mental health) and other agencies
- The needs of children and young people who sexually harm others should be considered separately from the needs of their victims, and
- An assessment should be carried out in each case, appreciating that these children may have a considerable social and developmental needs, as well as specific needs arising from their behaviour.
Neither Children’s Social Care Services nor the Police should embark upon a course of action that has implications for the other without appropriate consultation.
In assessing a child or young person who sexually harms another, relevant considerations include:
- The nature and extent of the sexually harmful behaviour; sometimes there are perceived to be difficulties in distinguishing between normal childhood sexual development and experimentation and sexually harmful behaviour
- The context of the behaviour
- The need for services, specifically focusing on the child’s harmful behaviour as well as other significant needs and
- The risks to self and others, including other children in the household, extended family, school, peer group or wider social network. There is a need for the child and their family to agree to address the issue of risk by working with relevant agencies and by implementing appropriate safety plans
Decisions for each agency, according to the responsibility of each, include:
- The most appropriate course of action within the criminal justice system, if the child is above the age of criminal responsibility
- Whether the young person should be subject of a child protection conference or considered a child in need and
- What plan of action should be put in place to address the needs of the young abuser, detailing the involvement of all relevant agencies.
Stage 1
Where there is any suspicion/allegation of a child having been Sexually Abused or being at risk of sexual abuse another child, it will be necessary to refer the matter immediately to the Children’s Social Care Services and the Police. Staff in all agencies should be aware of their responsibilities under the Bichard recommendations to refer information about unlawful sexual behaviour between children to the Police.
A Strategy Discussion/Meeting between the Children’s Social Care Services and the Police will take place which may result in a Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry). A decision to proceed to a Child Protection Conference will be made if the Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry) concludes that the child is at risk of continuing Significant Harm.
Where there is no reason to hold a Child Protection Conference, there may still be a need for a multi-agency approach if the young persons needs are complex. Issues regarding suitable educational and accommodation arrangements often require skilled and careful consideration.
Best practice advice is that a separate worker should be allocated for the alleged victim of the abuse and the alleged perpetrator. Both children may be the subject of a Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry).
Stage 2
In the cases where an interview under the PACE Act regulations is required, the Police and/or Children’s Social Care Services must inform the Youth Offending Service who will provide a worker to attend the interview. See Contact Details Appendix.
In some cases an interview may not be required — the initial Strategy Discussion/Meeting between the Children’s Social Care Services and Police will decide which course of action to implement.
Stage 3 - Strategy Discussion/Meeting
Also see Child Protection Conferences Procedure.
A Strategy Discussion/Meeting should be convened within a maximum of 7 working days of the initial referral.
This must be a ‘face to face’ meeting.
The Strategy Discussion will be convened and minuted by the Safeguarding Children Service. The Children’s Services Manager of the NSPCC Sexually Harmful Behaviour Team will chair and minute the meeting on behalf of Coventry Safeguarding Children Board.
Attendance at the Strategy Discussion/Meeting should involve:
- The social worker responsible for the Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry) or the allocated worker from the relevant Children’s Social Care Team
- The investigating Police officer
- A member of the NSPCC ‘Children who display sexual behaviour’ team
- A member of the Youth Offending Service (where appropriate)
- A representative from the child’s school
- Other significant professionals as appropriate
Information from the PACE interview should be available to the Strategy Meeting either as a report or in the format of the Witness Statement.
The purpose of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting is to co-ordinate and plan the investigation of the alleged sexually abusive behaviour and make plans where appropriate to safeguard the children involved.
The outcome of the strategy meeting should be
- Details of the young person involved, including other family members in particular details of other children who may be at risk
- A full description of the alleged harmful behaviour
- A record of relevant contextual and background information about the young people involved
- An initial assessment of risk
- Clear recommendations which attribute responsibility and timescales
Recording
A written record of the strategy meeting will be circulated to all attendees and other relevant professionals who have contact with the family. These minutes should be considered confidential as they may contain third party information.
Stage 4 - The Child Protection Conference
The Child Protection Conference should take place within a maximum of 15 days of the Strategy Discussion/Meeting when the decision is that the matter requires a Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry). Where the victim is another child in the same household or in regular contact with the same household, the Child Protection Conference should also consider the needs of that child.
The Child Protection Conference should consider:
- The nature of the incident/concerns
- Whether or not responsibility has been accepted for the incident
- The willingness of the child and family to engage in an agreed assessment plan
- The family background; the families attitude to the incident/concerns and to the child
- Patterns of behaviour/sexual development of the child
- The level of risk or dangerousness to him/herself or other children
- Exploring strategies to assist the child and family in co-operating with the proposed assessment.
A representative from the NSPCC “Children Who Display Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour” team should be invited to provide advice to the Child Protection Conference. A member of the Youth Offending Service should also be invited when there are issues related to Court processes.
Guidance - Children who Display Sexually Abusive Behaviour
Considerable care needs to be taken to determine whether an incident constitutes harmful behaviour and to distinguish it from normal childhood sexual development and experimentation.
In evaluating the likelihood that one child is abusing another, a number of factors should be considered:
- The nature of the relationship between alleged perpetrator and victim, with particular attention to power differentials
The greater the degree of power held by the alleged perpetrator in relation to the victim, the greater the opportunity for harm to have taken place. Considerations of age, gender, disability, sexuality, culture, maturity and family situations will often have a bearing on the power relationship. Aggression, threats, coercion, secrecy and bribery are features of an abusive relationship.
- The nature of the alleged act(s)
Physical contact does not have to have occurred for an act to be sexually harmful, but a harmful act would contain sexual implications involving sexual parts of the body or sexual language which is offensive or makes explicit sexual suggestions. If the activity shows excessive sexual knowledge in relation to the perpetrators and/or victims ages, the likelihood that harm has taken place is increased. An identifiable pattern of abuse or “modus operandi” should increase the suspicion of abuse.
- The effect on the victim
Emotional and behavioural change is consistent with having been abused, but not diagnostic of it. The effects of abuse will vary dependant on the nature of the abuse, duration and relationship with the abuser. A crucial factor for victims is to feel that they are believed and not held responsible for their own abuse.
- What is age-appropriate sexual behaviour?
The greater the departure from “normal” sexual activity, the stronger should be the suspicion of abuse.
Pre-school children (0-5 years) commonly:
They rarely:
School-age children (6-12 years) commonly:
Older children in this age range are also more likely than pre-school children to use sexual words and discuss sexual acts, particularly with their friends They rarely:
Adolescents (13-16 years) commonly:
NB. About one-third of adolescents have sexual intercourse before the age of 16. They rarely:
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5. Sources of further help and advice
The NSPCC sexually harmful behaviour Team will offer advice and consultation to any professional or member of the public where there are concerns about the nature of a child’s sexual behaviour.
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