Harmful Sexual Behaviour
Children and young people are most likely to be at risk of sexual abuse within their family and community. But not all sexual abuse is carried out by adults. Around one third of child sexual abuse is thought to be carried out by under 18s.
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has developed a toolkit for parents, carers and professionals to help them be aware of the risks of harmful sexual behaviour in children and young people, so that they know what they can do to prevent. It contains advice, information, resources and links to useful organisations and further support.
The toolkit is available to view and download from The Lucy Faithfull Foundation website.
A Children’s MARS Harmful Sexual Behaviour basic awareness presentation for schools is also available on the training page of our website.
Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service
SWGfL and The Marie Collins Foundation has created a support service for professionals working with children and young people in tackling harmful sexual behaviours, funded by the Home Office and in collaboration with the Department for Education.
The support service is available for anyone in England working with children and young people, particularly, designated safeguarding leads within primary and secondary schools and alternative provision. Support is also available to early years provision, colleges and wider safeguarding professionals (including police, social workers and health care professionals). If children within your care have been displaying or are affected by specific incidents of Harmful Sexual Behaviour, the support service can provide initial support and signpost to further resources and advice.
The Harmful Sexual Behaviour Support Service will provide:
- Advice on individual cases or incidents of harmful sexual behaviour, to ensure an appropriate response both for children displaying this behaviour and others affected by it
- Guidance on policy development on tackling harmful sexual behaviour
- Relevant resources, best practice and contacts around harmful sexual behaviour, both locally and nationally
The telephone and email support is available Monday – Friday, 8am to 8pm.
Call: 0344 255 0623 Email: hsbs@swgfl.org.uk
More information can be found on their website
Technology assisted harmful sexual behaviour – NSPCC Podcast
This podcast focuses on the prevalence of TA-HSB in children and young people, the challenges for professionals and resources to manage incidents.
Listen here – https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/news/2021/november/podcast-technology-assisted-harmful-sexual-behaviour/