Harmful S exual Behaviour

1. Harmful Sexual Behaviour The development of an operational framework for children and young people who sexually harm

2. Sherry MalikDirector ofChildren’s Services Development & Delivery,NSPCC

3. Innovation session • Brief research review – the problem of children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours • Co-ordinated partnership response – the development of an operational framework for children and young people who sexually harm • How it feels to work with these issues and a local response from Surrey County Council • Where are we now, next steps and how to get involved

4. The scale and evidence of the problemDez Holmes,Director, Research in Practice

5. Children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours

6. Scale of the problem • children and young people account for approximately a quarter of all convictions against victims of all ages (Vizard, 2004) • ...and a third of all sexual abuse coming to the attention of the professional system in the UK (Erooga and Masson, 2006) • …65.9%of the contact sexual abuse reported by children and young people was perpetrated by other children and young people under the age of 18 (Radford et al, 2011)

7. Evidence of system failure • "It would be hard to describe the current state of responses and services to families of young people who commit sexual assaults in terms other than disorganised, sporadic and unpredictable” • "Treatment with children and YP was fundamentally founded on a set of unproven assumptions drawn from theories about adult pedophilia... which had shaded into rigid dogma... had to led to juvenile treatment practices that were a mismatch for children and teens"

8. A contested area of policy and practice • Hidden nature of abuse makes recognition difficult • Stigma and shame may lead to under-reporting • Dual identities of perpetrator/victim conceptually challenging • Power of language • Currently no national strategy or overarching service delivery framework

10. A highly diverse group • Vast majority of adolescents with sexually abusive behaviours are male • Girls with abusive sexual behaviours come from particularly chaotic and dysfunctional family backgrounds, with higher levels of sexual victimisation and other abuse • Young learning disabled people = particularly vulnerable group

11. Young people with HSB • Highly problematic family backgrounds and multiple disadvantages and adversities • High rates of victimisation and trauma; social skills deficits; lack of sexual knowledge; social anxiety • Most target victims known to them, in many cases family members(intra-familial abuse) • Sexual behaviours online: YP with these behaviours may not share the backgrounds and risk profiles of those who commit contact sexual offences

13. Parents • Facing a child’s HSB can be a profoundly difficult experience and parenting competence and resources can be undermined. Many parents are lonely and isolated and face social stigma and hostility in response to their child’s behaviour • Attention should be given to identifying and building upon family strengths

14. Assessment and interventions

16. Coordinated responses • Lack of early intervention • Few examples of holistic, multi-agency assessments or interventions • Case management often compromised by poor communication and information sharing • So • No longer working together on HSB? • Role of LSCBs and MAPPAs? • Needs analysis

17. Developing an operational framework for HSBPat Branigan,NSPCC

18. The operational framework will:

19. The process so far

20. Development group

21. Where are we now • Communication plan • Implementation planning group • Framework development overview group • Framework development group • Piloting and feedback • Practice working group

22. Amanda Carpenter-JagoTeam manager ACT Surrey County Council

23. Current issues Responding to Harmful Sexualised Behaviours – feedback from our practice working group

24. How it feels to work in this environment Feedback from our practice working group “No clarity [regarding] agency roles and responsibilities” “Complete lack of support consistent quality supervision, de-briefing, consultation and appropriate counselling facilities for all professionals who work with children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours” “At times professionals are frightened of discussing allegations with children and young people” “Harmful sexual behaviour in children and young people must be viewed as an ongoing need, not a current trend or hot topic”

25. Surrey County Council’s Response During the period April 2013 and March 2014 ACT received over three hundred enquiries.

26. ACT – aims to….

27. Next steps

28. If nothing is done…….. • Importance of this work needs to be finally recognised nationally. • An operational framework is the first step towards a strategic, statutorily fully supported and consistent approach across all of the lead agencies responsible for safeguarding and care of children and young people. • Children and young people account for approximately a quarter of all convictions against victims of all ages and a third of all sexual abuse coming to the attention of the professional system in the UK. “We owe it to these children and young people to assist them to understand their harmful sexual behaviour and support them to hopefully move away from such behaviour and have a positive future. We also owe it to the potential victims of these children and young people they may create if their harmful sexual behaviour is not addressed as soon as possible” Professional who works with children and young people with sexually harmful behaviours

29. Questions • Based on what you have heard how might this help working in your local area on HSB issues? • What would be the barriers to adopting and embedding such an operational framework in your local area? • Are you interested in being kept informed and even being a pilot area for this framework in 2015?

30. Thank You Photography by Tom Hull. The children pictured are volunteers and models.