Understanding harmful sexual behaviour

Pat Branigan from the NSPCC examines how we can recognise harmful sexual behaviours that are displayed by children and young people in this short video. He looks at how we can get the balance right between risk and need and avoiding the labelling of children.

Talking points 

This video looks at: 

• The balance between risk and need. 
• Recognising contributing factors. 
• Working with children with learning difficulties. 

Related resources 

• Children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours: Executive Summary 
• Children and young people with harmful sexual behaviours: Research Review 
• Problematic and harmful sexual behaviours – continuing the journey in Gwynedd 
• That Difficult Age: Developing a more effective response to risks in adolescence: Evidence Scope 

Reflective questions 

Here are reflective questions to stimulate conversation and support practice.   

1. What strategies do you have in place in order to balance risk and need when working with children displaying harmful sexual behaviours? 
2. What can you do to effectively support and work with children with learning difficulties?