Young offenders and sexual assault bibliography

This interview discusses the change to a more holistic approach in working with sexually abusive behaviour by children and young people. Helen Kambouridis is a Senior Psychologist at the Gatehouse Centre for the Assessment and Treatment of Child Abuse at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. In this interview, she talks about sibling sexual assault, the treatment for children and young people with sexually abusive behaviour, family-based therapy, the role of shame for perpetrators, and the impact on parents.

"[This book is a] guide on those offenders who are often assessed as being dangerous. Outlining, evaluating and commenting on specific methods, regimes and strategies for dealing with dangerous offenders throughout each chapter, this book begins by considering what a dangerous offender is and providing a brief historical account of how the label has been used for different types of offender over the last three or four centuries. The book examines sentencing policy in addition to early and current dangerousness legislation, evaluating the available sentences specifically designed for dangerous offenders and assessing their use and appropriateness. The role of risk and risk assessment tools is discussed, considering what risk assessment is, the way in which it works and how over recent times it has become more reliable and valid. It looks at the practical realities of how serious sexual and violent offenders are dealt with by the penal system in England and Wales. Finally, specific offender groups are considered, including female offenders, children and young people and mentally disordered offenders. Each chapter considers whether there are any differences in terms of policy, assessment and management strategies when sentencing and managing each distinct group; and if not whether any such modifications are required."

This report presents statistics on offenders in Australia, for the 2009/2010 year. It includes statistics recorded by police for offenders who were proceeded against by police during this period, for all states and territories. Statistics include: offender rates, principal offence, young offenders, age and sex, repeat offenders, Indigenous offenders, and police proceedings and court actions. Principal offences listed are homicide, acts intended to cause injury, sexual assault, dangerous and negligent acts, robbery and extortion, unlawful entry with intent, theft, deception, illicit drugs, weapons and explosives, property damage, public order offences, and offences against justice. The report also describes the criminal justice system in Australia and data collection issues.

This article compares the developmental pathways of three types of adolescent sex offenders - specialist sex offenders, versatile offenders, and short duration sex offenders. 108 adjudicated adolescent males attending an assessment and treatment service in Queensland were studied, regarding developmental characteristics, individual characteristics, and family functioning, including abuse histories, conduct problems, personality traits, externalizing and internalising behaviours, parental involvement, parental supervision, positive parenting practices, inconsistent discipline, and corporal punishment.

This article considers the impact on and therapeutic responses to families where there has been intra-familial sexual assault by an adolescent member of the family against another younger member of the family. In doing so, the article will specifically highlight the nexus between systemic family therapy ideas and an applied restorative justice response in the form of Youth Justice Conferencing, as experienced through working as a family therapist in the area of adolescent sexual offending.

This report presents statistics on offenders in Australia, for the 2008/2009 year. It includes statistics recorded by police for offenders who were proceeded against by police during this period, for all states and territories. Statistics include: offender rates, principal offence, young offenders, age and sex, repeat offenders, Indigenous offenders, and police proceedings and court actions. Principal offences listed are homicide, acts intended to cause injury, sexual assault, dangerous and negligent acts, robbery and extortion, unlawful entry with intent, theft, deception, illicit drugs, weapons and explosives, property damage, public order offences, and offences against justice. The report also describes the criminal justice system in Australia and data collection issues.

"[This book] is divided into five parts, presenting a European overview and covering the existing legal frameworks; abuse prevention and reporting; rehabilitation and social reintegration of victims; sexual violence on the Internet; and public and private partnerships against abuse. It also sheds light on the little-known problem of children who are sexually abusing other children. In addition to providing thorough information on the many facets of this complex subject, this publication also highlights new concepts, facts and recommendations. Foremost is the significant lack of data on the prevalence and nature of sexual violence in Europe, underscoring the need for co-ordinated pan-European research and information gathering, which are vital to effective policy making and programme design. It also sounds the alarm for urgent co-ordinated action in various fields to drastically improve child protection through awareness raising; targeted and specialised training, intervention and therapy programmes; sex education in schools; responsible family attitudes; and justice systems with tighter abuse laws and which take account of children's special needs as reliable witnesses."

This resource, for child protection and family services in Victoria, provides guidance for working with young people with sexually abusive behaviours and their families. The resource consists of two parts: an overview of issues for young people with sexually abusive behaviours, and a practice tool for guidance on working with these young people. This practice tool discusses information gathering, analysis and planning, treatment action, and reviewing outcomes.

This report maps the availability of therapeutic services children and young people with sexualised or sexual offending behaviours in Australia. It looks at community, youth justice, child protection, and therapeutic services designed to effect positive behavioural change and thus divert young people with sexualised behaviours from the juvenile justice system. The mapping report identifies several geographic and demographic gaps in service provision, including difficulties with eligibility criteria, referral pathways, funding arrangements and specialised workforce development. Chapters in the report include: definitions of behaviours; acknowledging that children with sexualised behaviours require specialised therapeutic care; the need for comprehensive education strategies; challenges for practitioners in the delivery of therapeutic services to young people with sexualised behaviours; youth justice: challenges to responding to young people with sexually abusive behaviours; and community-based services: the national context and general initiatives to address risk.

This report examines the effectiveness of sexual assault services for children and youth in the Northern Territory, and makes recommendations for reform. It reviews the availability of prevention services and respectful relationships education programs, resource allocation and coordination, the promotion of child welfare through Child Impact Statements and Analyses, and the impact of reporting and the justice system on victims. The report is based on interviews with service providers, experts and victims/survivors, focus groups and forums, and literature reviews.

This report presents statistics on offenders in Australia, for the 2007/2008 year. It includes statistics recorded by police for offenders who were proceeded against by police during this period, for all states and territories except Western Australia, as available. Statistics include: offender rates, principal offence, young offenders, age and sex, repeat offenders, Indigenous offenders, and police proceedings and court actions. Principal offences listed are homicide, acts intended to cause injury, sexual assault, dangerous and negligent acts, robbery and extortion, unlawful entry with intent, theft, deception, illicit drugs, weapons and explosives, property damage, public order offences, and offences against justice. The report also describes the criminal justice system in Australia and data collection issues.

Juvenile delinquency is a relatively new concept, with children tried by the adult courts until the start of the 20th century. This book explores key patterns of juvenile delinquency in Australia and how the state and the criminal justice system have responded. Drawing on Australian studies and international trends, the book looks at such themes as policing socially marginalised 'at-risk' children, cyber-bullying, violence and sexual violence related to sport, and the rise in violent crime by girls. Chapters include: Reformatories, training schools and institutions for neglected and delinquent children; The emergence of juvenile justice; Theories of sex, youth and crime; Girls and juvenile justice; Boys and juvenile justice; Aboriginal youth and the juvenile justice system; Youth, sex and violence; Ethnic gangs, riots and the policing of young people; and Youth conferences, diversion and restorative justice.

This report presents data on young people's contact with the criminal justice system in the different states and territories of Australia, excepting Tasmania. It includes data on children as victims of crime, as alleged offenders in contact with the police, and as young offenders in the justice system. It compares data by age, gender, Indigenous status, and offence type. Data is also included on sentencing outcomes and supervision orders, incidence of child abuse, deaths in custody, and deaths in motor vehicle pursuits. The collection, limitations, and gaps of data in Australia are also discussed.

Sexual abuse of children by other children or adolescents constitutes approximately 40 to 90 percent of sexual offending against children. This paper examines the nature and causes of adolescent intrafamilial sex offending and which treatment approaches are likely to be successful. Using the results of a four-year study in Western Australia, it provides an overview of intrafamilial adolescent sex offenders (IASOs), what is known about them and how they can be conceptualised. Findings show that IASOs have greater developmental trauma and family dysfunction than adult sex offenders. They also demonstrate greater levels of various behavioural difficulties associated with conduct disorders than do extrafamilial and adult sex offenders and the general population; most commonly ADHD and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Adolescent sex offender programs are based on those developed for adult offenders, with cognitive behavioural therapy the dominant model. However, these programs lack appropriate focus on developmental issues and the influence of family on offending patterns. Programs that combine a variety of treatment modalities show more promising outcomes. It is recommended that a need to understand adolescent sex offending as a health issue, rather than a moral one, allows for interventions that have the best possible chance of changing sexually inappropriate behaviour and ending the intergenerational transmission of abuse. (Publisher abstract)

"The evaluation of risk for sexual re-offense in children and adolescents is quite different from risk evaluation with adult sexual offenders. Sexually abusive youth are persons-in-development, and, as such, must be understood in the social and developmental contexts of their lives, having the potential to change from year to year in their capacities, attitudes, sense of self and others, and neurobiology. With this perspective as its foundation, [this book] helps [the reader] become more sensitive and better informed in understanding, assessing, and treating this unique population."

"Why do some men commit sex offenses? This is a simple question with a very complex answer. In this book, the authors review and critique existing theories and the supporting literature addressing the reasons adolescent and adult males commit such acts as child molestation, rape, voyeurism, indecent exposure, and other violent offenses against adults and children. Chapters explore numerous theories of etiology, including biological, cognitive, behavioral, social learning, personality-psychodynamic, and evolutionaty theories, as well as those that incorporate two or more of these viewpoints. The authors then present their original integrative theory of sex offending and describe how it may influence future research endeavours as well as prevention and treatment efforts with these populations."

This paper examines the families of intrafamilial adolescent sex offenders attending a community-based treatment program. Qualitative and quantitative data were used to measure family functioning before and after 12 months of treatment. Families were characterised as disorganised, uncommunicative and adversarial. Most of the young offenders, many of whom were themselves victims of abuse, came from step-, blended or foster families. Seventy-four per cent had no, or minimal, contact with at least one biological parent. Conflicts between family members were rarely resolved satisfactorily. After treatment, interviewees reported better family communication and fewer conflicts; there were also significant improvements on a measure of family functioning. Adolescents and their parents reported improvements in self-control, social skills and emotional regulation. Improvements were more likely when at least one parent was engaged in treatment. These findings emphasise the need for treatment to target parents as well as the adolescent offender when intrafamilial sexual abuse occurs.

This article describes the work of the Australian-based Court Support Program, which offers support to young people who have been charged with committing a crime or have been a victim of crime. The program helps young people understand the criminal justice system during the three stages of pre-sentencing, sentencing and post-sentencing. To describe the program's work in detail, the author presents her work with a young man charged with sexual offences, using a range of narrative practices during each of these three stages.

The impact of sibling sexual abuse (SSA) has been culturally and therapeutically minimised and has received scant research attention. Furthermore, prior research has focused upon the separate experiences of the victim or the offender, or upon seeking family dysfunction explanations. In contrast, this qualitative study attempts to understand the experiences of all family members (victims, offenders, parents and other siblings) when SSA is disclosed. The pathway to recovery for each family member is identified. A systemic analysis of these (often conflicted) pathways of recovery provides some surprising findings and contributes to an understanding of the difficulties facing families in this situation, the constraints on family support and connectedness, validation for the victim and offender accountability.

The reasons for inclusion of a paper by a former sex offender, Brian Oliver, in the same issue of the journal are explained in this article. The article sets out the three steps recommended in Oliver's paper for reducing juvenile sex offences: telling young people about to enter puberty that sexual relations with a young child is a crime and young children can never consent to sexual relations; telling young people about to enter puberty that they should seek help if they have recurring sexual thoughts about young children; and, that adults should be better educated about the warning signs that may be exhibited by adolescents at risk of sexual offending. The article highlights and discusses an important point in Oliver's paper: that a high percentage of sex offences against children are committed by young people under the age of 21. The article argues that since it is known that many adult sex offenders commence this behaviour when they are juveniles, there needs to be a greater research focus on the role of juveniles as child sex offenders, and on early detection and prevention in this population.

This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study of 19 women on the reactions of those the women encountered in their everyday lives - family, professionals and community members - when they became aware that the women were survivors of sibling sexual abuse. The study asked whether negative attitudes towards sibling sexual abuse were as harmful as the abuse experience. Data were collected from three focus group discussions and taped transcripts were analysed in terms of themes in public discourse on sibling sexual abuse. The aim of the study was to increase understanding of the impact of people's attitudes and responses to this phenomenon. The findings highlighted the harmful impact of negative attitudes that are reinforced by public discourse that generally fails to problematise the issue and the need for education in professional, community and school settings.

Current research and practice on understanding and responding to young people who have committed acts of sexual abuse is summarised. The paper describes normal sexual behaviour for adolescents and discusses how common sexual abuse by young people is, who young people offend against, at what age young people sexually abuse, demographics and characteristics of young people who sexually abuse, whether young offenders are victims of sexual abuse, whether young offenders continue abusing as adults, reactions of family, sibling sexual abuse, supervision and monitoring of offenders and victims, where young offenders live after disclosure and assessment, treatment for victims and offenders, and the roles of police, child protection authorities and schools.

"How does sexual deviance develop in childhood and adolescence? What are the characteristics of youths who perpetrate sex-related crimes? And how can society respond effectively to treat and prevent these highly destructive behaviors? Research and clinical practice in the area of juvenile sexual offending have advanced considerably over the last decade, and the revised and expanded second edition of this comprehensive work brings the field fully up to date."

Male sexual violence against women and children continues to be a significant social problem in Australia, with increasing attention being given to prevention and treatment of sexual offending. This paper on sex offender treatment programs critically examines how theoretical explanations of sexual violence have shaped intervention and community responses, by examining the influence of the predominant perspectives that focus on the psychopathology of sex offenders. Prevalence and definitions of sexual violence are examined critically to show that sexual violence is a relatively common experience for many Australian women. The paper also provides a critical analysis of the different treatment paradigms used in Australia. The authors assert that, in general, the responses to sexual violence are not comprehensive and intersectoral, nor do they prioritise accountability to victims. This can be attributed to the distinct theoretical influences in treating sexual offenders, sexual violence prevention and support for victims. The authors conclude by examining the ways in which both treatment and prevention strategies can better address the widespread occurrence of sexual violence in Australia.

"Professionals working with youth who have sexually abused increasingly find themselves asked to make decisions about risk. However, there are no simple answers or empirically validated means for accurately predicting the future behavior of young people ... This book summarises what is known and what is not, and offers suggestions for how to cope with this most unenviable task."