A report examined United Kingdom and international research findings on children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours. It said that: children and young people accounted for approximately one-quarter of all sexual abuse convictions against victims of all ages; underreporting was likely to be due to the stigma and shame surrounding the issue; in many cases, children and young people were both perpetrators and victims of abuse; many families of young people with harmful sexual behaviours were described as multiply troubled; and it was an issue that parents found difficult. The report discussed policy implications and said that, as most sexual abuse by children and young people did not come to the attention of youth justice services, provision should span the child welfare and criminal justice systems, with emphasis on early and positive interventions for children and their families.
Source: Simon Hackett, Children and Young People with Harmful Sexual Behaviours – A Research Review, Research in Practice
Links: Summary | RIP press release
Date: 2014-Jun