Harmful sexual behaviours

What is healthy sexual development? 

The NSPCC explains,

"it's important to understand what healthy sexual development looks like in children as they grow. Children's sexual development is shaped by their environment, experiences and what they see.

Every child is different and may become interested in relationships, sex and sexuality at slightly different ages. But as children get older, the way they express their sexual feelings changes. It's natural for teenagers to show interest in sex and relationships for example, or for children to be curious about the changes that happen during puberty. 

Many sexual behaviours children and teenagers show as they grow up are normal and healthy, so long as they're not causing harm to others or to the children themselves."

 

The NSPCC provides further information about sexual development and behaviour at different stages of child development. 

The Hackett Continuum presents sexual behaviour as a range from 'normal' to 'inappropriate', 'problematic', 'abusive' and 'violent' (Hackett, 2010). 

It is important that we do not inadvertently sexualise children's behaviour where there may be another need driving the behaviour e.g. sensory seeking. It is vital that we always look beneath the behaviour to further understand the needs, feelings and experiences of the child or young person. 

What are harmful sexual behaviours? 

Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) describes sexual behaviours that are outside of what is developmentally appropriate for the child or young person. These behaviours can be directed at another child, an adult or towards themselves.

HSB can be face to face or online and may occur in different ways such as using sexualised language, engaging in sexual contact or using technology such as sexting or pornography. HSB can also be intrafamilial - where it occurs within a family sibling group or where the person experiencing HSB believes them to be like a sibling such as foster child or cousins. HSB should always be considered in a child protection context.

Here are some signs that a child's sexual behaviour could be unhealthy or inappropriate: 

• Inappropriate age-level behaviour: Displaying sexual behaviour that's not typical for their age. 
• Compulsive or frequent behaviour: Engaging in sexual behaviour as a compulsive habit or frequently. 
• Force, aggression, or pressure: Using force, aggression, or pressuring others in sexual interactions. 
• Behaviour that upsets others: Engaging in behaviour that upsets others involved. 

It is essential to address HSB promptly and provide appropriate support and intervention to prevent escalation. It is important that our responses as adults and professionals are appropriate and proportionate to the behaviours that have been displayed and that interventions are formulated to ensure that there is no guilt or shame implied.

Why is it important for schools and settings to be aware of harmful sexual behaviours? 

It's crucial for schools and settings to be aware of harmful sexual behaviour for several reasons: 

• Prevalence: Approximately a third of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by other children or young people. Recognising and addressing this behaviour is essential to safeguard children and young people. 
• Identification: Educational settings play a key role in identifying these behaviours. By being aware, schools and settings can intervene early and prevent escalation. 
• Balancing needs: Managing these situations without adversely affecting the education of both the victim and the perpetrator is challenging. Schools and settings need strategies to prioritise safeguarding whilst supporting children and young people to continue to access education. 

All staff working with children and young people are advised to maintain an attitude of 'it could happen here', this is especially important when considering child-on-child harmful sexual behaviours. 

Harmful sexual behaviours may, in some circumstances, constitute a prejudice-based incident which should be reported to the Local Authority. For more information on reporting procedures, please see the Prejudice-based Incidents One Minute Guide.

What signs should schools and settings be aware of? 

The signs that harmful sexual behaviours are happening are not always obvious, and a child or young person might not feel able to tell anyone what's happening to them. Sometimes, children or young people don't realise that what's happening to them is abuse. Children and young people more vulnerable to sexual abuse are children with special educational needs or disabilities, and those who are experiencing neglect or other forms of abuse.

Research has suggested a link between children and young people who display HSB and those who have experienced developmental trauma which can have wide reaching impacts on a child's development (Shonkoff et., 2012), including their sexual development (Wood et al., 2022). This could potentially impact their attachments and relationships, experiences of safe touch and consent, sense of identity, and knowledge of sex. We also know through research that children who have special educational needs and those who are in care are overrepresented within the HSB population. For example, sexual violence disproportionately impacts neurodivergent young people and children with cognitive deficits are 4.6 times more at risk for victimisation (World Health Organization, 2021), often displayed by other neurodivergent individuals (Griffiths, 2020).

Noticing one of these signs doesn't necessarily mean that child on child sexualised behaviours have occurred, but the presence of several of these warning signs suggests further investigation is needed. Here are some of the signs you may notice: 

• Changes in behaviour - a child or young person may become more forceful, more withdrawn, clingy, have difficulties sleeping, etc as well as avoiding the perpetrator. 
• Sexually inappropriate behaviour - children or young people may behave in sexually inappropriate ways or use sexually explicit language. 
• Physical symptoms  
• Difficulties with learning  
• Giving clues - children or young people may also drop hints and clues that something is not right without explicitly talking about it. 

If the sexualised behaviour is taking place online, these signs may be present: 

• Spending more time than usual online, texting, or gaming 
• Seeming distant, upset, or irritated after using the internet or texting 
• Being secretive about what they are doing online or who they are talking to 
• Having new phone numbers, texts, or messages. 

What does the law say? 

Schools and settings have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of their children and young people, and this includes addressing issues related to harmful sexual behaviours: 

• Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) emphasises that schools and colleges should respond to all signs, reports, and concerns of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment.  
• The statutory Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education curriculum teaches children and young people how to recognise if relationships are making them feel unhappy or unsafe, how to stay safe online, how to seek support as well as the importance of consent. It also teaches that each person's body belongs to them and the difference between appropriate / inappropriate touch.  

What support is available? 

National 

NSPCC

The NSPCC provides a range of resources to support schools and settings respond to incidents of HSB, including: 

• Online courses to help manage HSB in primary or secondary schools in the UK. 
• A video explaining why it is important to address all forms of HSB.  
• Information about the stages of typical sexual development and behaviour for different age groups. 
• A step by step approach, using the Hackett continuum to guide professionals to decide what kind of sexualised behaviour a child or young person is displaying to support appropriate responses.  

Brook

Brook delivers training about their Sexual Behaviours Traffic Light Tool that helps professionals to identify, understand and respond appropriately to sexual behaviours in children and young people.  

PANTS

PANTS resources for schools and teachers (NSPCC Learning) includes lesson plans and activities, a letter for parents, early years guidance as well as guidance on working with children and young people with additional needs including autism.  

NICE guideline

The NICE guideline on Harmful sexual behaviour among children and young people (2016) aims to prevent escalation of HSB in children and young people. 

CEOP education

The CEOP education programme by the National Crime Agency aims to help protect children and young people aged 4-18 from online child sexual abuse. They provide resources, training, and information for professionals working with children and young people. 

Lucy Faithful Foundation

The Lucy Faithful Foundation ECSA  toolkit aims to help develop professionals' understanding of child sexual abuse, and strategies to help prevent it.  

Anti-Bullying Alliance

The Anti-Bullying Alliance has created and curated tools to help professionals develop effective anti-bullying practice in relation to sexual and sexist bullying. 

Norfolk 

The NCC Harmful Sexual Behaviour team regularly provides training packages to professionals to professionals working with children or young people and can also provide staff consultations concerning individual children or young people.  

Key contacts  

Training can be accessed via the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP) training booking page and potential bespoke packages can be requested by emailing hsbproject@norfolk.gov.uk.  

Consultations (concerning individual children or young people) can be requested by emailing hsbproject@norfolk.gov.uk with a summary of what the consultation is for.