Harmful sexual behaviour among children and young people

Why this is important

Longitudinal evidence spanning the life-course of children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour is needed to understand when to intervene. This is particularly true for children and young people whose sexual behaviour does not warrant an intervention from harmful sexual behaviour services or the criminal justice system.

There is a lack of evidence on thresholds for intervening, including evidence on modifiable risk and protective factors that prevent the behaviour escalating. We also need evidence on quality-of-life measures.

As a result, we should be able to avoid mislabelling younger children as 'sexual offenders' and subjecting them to intrusive and stigmatising interventions.

Why this is important

Most of the evidence on interventions is inconclusive. It comes from small clinical populations of adolescent males convicted of sexual offences. More research is needed on the effectiveness of current interventions and to understand how to avoid children and young people who display sexualised behaviour being taken into the criminal justice system. This includes research on:

Evidence on interventions for looked-after children needs to include those in non-family-based settings and in unstable foster care. For this group, there is also a lack of evidence on interventions to promote placement stability and permanence, as well as on interventions specifically relating to harmful sexual behaviour. The former is needed because a stable home life may help reduce the risk of harmful sexual behaviour.

Evidence of effective interventions could help target resources more effectively and ensure programmes are tailored to meet children and young people's differing needs.

Why this is important

Evidence on effective interventions for families and carers of children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour is equivocal. Evidence of effectiveness for the 2 most common approaches – cognitive behavioural therapy and multisystemic therapy – and other therapies is very limited. Further research is needed to help practitioners tailor interventions according to need.

Why this is important

There is a need for more evidence on what is effective in diverting children and young people away from further harmful sexual behaviour at the earliest stages of its development. Research is needed on missed opportunities to intervene and what the trajectory has been for those children and young people who were missed. Such evidence could help ensure children and young people receive timely support to prevent an escalation of the behaviour.

Why this is important

Assessment is at the heart of effective intervention planning and risk management. Without good assessment models, levels of risk may be misclassified. To date, risk assessment tools have mainly been used on small clinical populations of adolescent males who have sexually offended and there is a need for assessment tools for other groups of children and young people. Assessment results are also a basis for needs assessment and decisions about therapeutic interventions, treatment placements and care plans.

For those in the criminal justice system, an assessment provides a clear guide to sentencing and multiagency management (for example, multi-agency public protection arrangements).

Lack of evidence on current assessment models means that we know little about:

Why this is important

The reasons behind the growth in online grooming, the viewing of online pornography, and the making and distributing of sexual images is poorly understood. There have been few studies into the links between aggressive behaviour, sexual offending and the use of electronic media.

Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the impact electronic media has on sexual behaviour and on the general values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour of children and young people. Research is also needed on its long-term impact on children and young people's social and psychological development. Such research could provide evidence on how best to assess, intervene and manage the risks associated with the use of electronic media in this area.