Background

HSB has been defined as ‘sexual behaviours expressed by children and young people under the age of 18 years old that are developmentally inappropriate, may be harmful towards self or others and/or be abusive towards another child, young person or adult’. These behaviours can be between similar-age children in the context of intimate relationships, between children within the same family, between older and younger children, online and/or face-to-face, and in the context of gangs or child sexual exploitation. There is some overlap with violent behaviours as some abusive incidents may be acts of sexual violence.

There are no officially published statistics on the prevalence of HSB, its causes, or the characteristics of young people who display these behaviours. However, from the total number of referrals made to local authority children’s services in England during the year 2021/22 where sexual abuse was assessed to be a concern, 40 per cent involved HSB.

Summary of the evidence

Children’s backgrounds and characteristics

HSB by children and young people can be displayed to anyone including children and adults. However, it most commonly involves children who are known to each other, including family relatives. Both boys and girls can exhibit HSB or be the victim and suffer harm from such behaviours, but boys disproportionately cause the harm and girls are disproportionately the victims (with girls who are victims of HSB being younger than boys on average). Studies also suggest that children who engage in HSB in online contexts are predominantly White boys.

Children who display HSB often have other complex underlying concerns, such as having experienced trauma, witnessing domestic violence, or parents with mental health or substance abuse issues. Due to these traumatic experiences, children who display HSB ought to be viewed as susceptible to continuing risk for other issues such as mental health problems, substance abuse, and self-harm. Children who exhibit HSB can also have a varied range of psychological issues such as poor self-esteem, poor emotional intelligence, poor self-control, and deficiency in social networks.  Most children who display HSB also struggle with learning difficulties. Social isolation is often a pertinent risk factor prevalent in the lives of young people during the times they perpetuate HSB.

Research findings also indicate differences in profiles across types of HSB, with differences between children who: harm young children and those who harm peers; engage in contact and non-contact offending; only commit sexual crimes and those who commit non-sexual offences and other offences; and those who engage in sexual offending on their own and those who engage in this behaviour within a group.

Differentiating behaviours

Distinguishing between experimental childhood sexual behaviour and more concerning or harmful sexual behaviour can be a complex task. It requires practitioners to have an understanding of child development and healthy normative behaviour, as well as issues of informed consent, power imbalances, and exploitation. Some sexual behaviour is normal for adolescents, although it is concerning in younger children, and context is always vitally important.

A continuum model has been developed to demonstrate the range of sexual behaviours presented by children, and to help professionals to avoid over- or under-reacting.

Responding to HSB

Research shows that early targeted intervention with problematic behaviours can reduce the escalation of HSB, even for those children and young people where there are higher risks – although more research about interventions for children who engage in HSB is required. Just as there is a continuum of behaviour, there needs to be a continuum of potential responses, ranging from broad educational input on consent and relationships, through to multi-agency public protection arrangements to manage those who commit serious sexual offences and who present a risk of harm to themselves or others.

In the video below, produced as part of an NSPCC Learning expert insights series, a safeguarding practitioner explains why it is so important that harmful behaviours are addressed.

Disclaimer: an external platform has been used to host this video. Recommendations for further viewing may appear at the end of the video and are beyond our control.

The most appropriate response will depend on interacting considerations relating to risk, impact, age, and context, with interventions needing to be proportionate to the nature and extent of the behaviour, and to the child or young person’s age and developmental stage. Comprehensive assessment and multi-agency risk management can assist in identifying individuals who may be at higher risk of continuing these behaviours into adulthood without the provision of appropriate supports.

In all actions and decisions, the primary professional consideration must be to safeguard and promote the wellbeing of all children involved. A holistic, joined-up and individualised child-centred approach that considers the child across all the systems within which they exist – family, education, peers, and community – is required. Practitioners should holistically consider all the child’s needs and mitigate any safeguarding concerns beyond the HSB. The research evidence further indicates the importance of the following:

• developing therapeutic relationships built on trust
• involving parents and carers
• providing trauma-informed interventions, given that many children and young people displaying HSB have themselves experienced abuse
• employing strength-based or resilience-based approaches
• targeting social isolation, which is often a pertinent risk factor, to establish viable protective social structures in the child’s life
• avoiding punitive approaches which are likely to be counterproductive and can deter disclosure.

In determining appropriate interventions for children who have harmed in online contexts, professionals need to assess the full range of the child’s behaviours – both online and offline – and to try to understand the reasons for them. Simply restricting or limiting children’s access to devices will not be effective, as this can make them feel isolated, different from their peers, and vulnerable.

Future offending

The majority of children who engage in HSB do not go on to commit sexual offences in adulthood. However, due to insecure interpersonal attachments resulting from negative childhood experiences, young people can develop poor sexual boundary management as they grow into adulthood. Older adolescents who sexually abuse younger children, and young persons whose HSB involves violence, are more likely to commit further sexual offending.

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Last updated: 19 July 2024