NCJ Number
177035
Journal
Child Abuse Review Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: Jan-Feb 1999 Pages: 55-62
Date Published
1999
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a small-scale study of social work reflections on previous intervention with young sex abusers.
Abstract
A large number of perpetrators who sexually abuse children are themselves juveniles. Previously, professionals could classify sexual abuse issues into abusers (who warranted treatment, punishment or both) and victims (who required protection and treatment). Evidence that a large proportion of juvenile abusers have themselves been victims of abuse makes that dichotomy less tenable. The article claims that sexual offending by juveniles must be treated differently from other types of offending behavior, and discusses ways to improve practice in working with juvenile sexual abusers: (1) make abuse by juveniles a focus for Area Child Protection Committees dialogue; (2) emphasize earlier assessment and treatment of young abusers; (3) improve practitioner access to knowledge and research about new issues in child protection; and (4) ensure that practitioners feel confident about facing new challenges in child protection. References