Why do children
display sexually worrying/concerning behaviour?
As there is such a range of
concerning and harmful behaviours and due to the diversity of children and
their experiences there is no definitive and concise answer to this question.
There are many contributing factors which lead to sexually concerning
behaviour. We provide some context to this in the resource pack and state that:
Young children my display these
sorts of behaviours for a number of reasons, such as children
· Accidentally viewing inappropriate material and
then ‘trying out’ or copying the behaviour
· Being dared or encouraged by other similar aged
children
· Being upset or worried about a change in their
lives such as moving home or school, the arrival of a new sibling, the
bereavement of a relative or pet, the arrival of a new adult in the home and/or
their parents separating
· Dealing with the onset of puberty causing
confusion. Having learning difficulties and/or attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and/or being on the Autistic Spectrum perhaps prompting impulsive, inappropriate behaviours.
· Issues around poor attachment and trauma
experiences
· Being a victim of sexual abuse themselves
It is unlikely that such reasons
will be clearly evident or revealed by the children themselves and questioning
children as to ‘why’ they are doing something will not be helpful since they
will more than likely be unable to vocalise their reasons or understand their
behaviours.
Where a child is displaying more adult
like and harmful behaviours such as penetrative behaviours using force or
coercion then a referral to a specialist service would be necessary and any
concerns about neglect or abuse or domestic violence will need to be
investigated.
Further reading
Hackett, S. (2004) What
Works for Children and Young People with Sexually Harmful Behaviour?’,
Barkingside, Barnardo’s.
Hackett, S. (2001) Facing
The Future: A Guide for parents of young people who sexually abuse, Lyme
Regis, Russell House Publishing.
Is it mainly boys who
display sexually concerning behaviour?
A much higher percentage of boys
display sexually concerning behaviour than girls, however this does not mean
that girls do not display the behaviour. Research published by the Taith
Barnardo’s service in Wales found that referrals had increased from around 8%
to between 11 and 13% and there has been an increase in referrals of girls to
specialist services nationally.
The increase can be attributed to
previous under reporting and more awareness of the issue affecting girls. The
rise could also be due to the accessibility to pornography too as we know that
a high percentage of young people are accessing pornography either accidentally
or seeking it out to learn about sex.
The research regarding girls who
have displayed more serious/harmful sexually concerning behaviour shows that
girls are more likely to have been victims of sexual abuse and experienced
significant levels of adversity.
Our resource pack is aimed at
younger children with LOW LEVEL sexually concerning behaviour and the
activities and methods used are appropriate to use with girls and boys.
Useful reading-
Moultrie, D. and Beckett, R.
(2011) Taith Service: 10 Year Review, Barnardo’s.
Office of The Children’s
Commissioner (2014) Basically Porn is
Everywhere: A Rapid Evidence
Assessment on the Effect that Access and Exposure to Pornography has on
Children and Young People, London, Office of The Children’s Commissioner.
Masson, H., Hackett, S., Phillips, J. and Balfe, M. (2012)
Developmental markers of risk or vulnerability? Young females who sexually
abuse – characteristics, backgrounds, behaviours and outcomes, Child and Family Social Work,
How best can we work
with children who have learning needs to learn safer behaviours?
Children with learning needs are
overrepresented in referrals to services for sexually concerning behaviour.
Reasons for this are that young people with learning needs can often be
overlooked in sex education, they may not understand the onset of puberty and they
may struggle to understand the sexual feelings they are experiencing and have
less capacity in terms of social and cognitive skills etc.
Children and young people in this
situation need a lot of support in terms of addressing these issues and require
visual and pictorial resources to support their learning. Social stories can be
useful to increase understanding and they also help to remind the young person
of safe behaviours. There are examples of these within our resource pack.
We cannot emphasise enough that,
in our experience, children and young people with learning needs will require
ongoing help from the adults in their lives to remember the learning from an
intervention and that a ‘one off’ piece of work is not likely to be sufficient
to prevent further problems. Safety plans will useful which can provide a child
friendly frame of reference for the child and family/care setting/foster home.
Again there are examples of these within the resource pack which can be
designed to the child’s favourite things/TV programmes and hobbies.
Useful resources
Gray, C., White, A. and McAndrew, S. (2002) My Social
Stories, London and New York, Routledge.
Do children who
display worrying sexual behaviour go on to become sex offenders?
There is a commonly held fear
that when a child displays some sexually concerning behaviour he or she will
continue to display this behaviour and it can escalate to more harmful and
abusive behaviour. There is also a fear that the child will go on to become and
‘sex offender’. Whilst a very small percentage of children/young people do
repeat the behaviour (around 4/5%) research shows and current expert opinions
held are that the majority of children and young people do not go on to repeat
the worrying behaviour.
Factors that are important which
help young people move on to safer behaviours are:
- Appropriate and timely interventions
- Not pathologising the child/young person
- Building on strengths and increasing ‘social anchors’ such as feelings of belong to a family, community, friendships.
- A consistent relationship in the life of the child
- Hope for the future
- Social activities/interests/hobbies
Our resource pack and
accompanying story book provides useful activities and a programme of work to
undertake with young children and can provide an early intervention
incorporating the evidenced good practice above.
Useful reading
Hackett, S. (2004) What
Works for Children and Young People with Sexually Harmful Behaviour?’,
Barkingside, Barnardo’s.
Bateman, J. and Milner, J. (2015) Children and Young People Whose Behaviour is Sexually Concerning or
Harmful: Assessing Risk and Developing Safety Plans, London, Jessica
Kingsley Publishers.
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