Supporting health staff to recognise and respond to harmful sexual behaviour: key principles and practical tools

Abstract Sadly, sexual abuse carried out by children and young people is not a rare phenomenon. It is estimated that around a third of all child sexual abuse offences in the UK are committed by children and young people, and this is now widely referred to as harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). Despite increasing evidence on the scale, nature and complexity of the problem, service provision to respond to this type of child sexual abuse across the UK remains patchy and relatively uncoordinated, with some beacons of good practice. Levels of professional confidence and competence to address this challenge are, at best, varied. Most children and young people encounter a range of health professionals, from primary healthcare through to more specific provision such as children and adolescent mental health teams. As such, health professionals are often also very well placed for early identification of sexual behaviour problems in childhood. This paper outlines a definition of harmful sexual behaviour and how to consistently recognize, respond and refer cases when necessary. It also promotes a range of resources developed specially for health professionals to increase their awareness of HSB and support their responses to this type of abuse.