INDEX OF QUOTES
 |
Over the last few years guidelines and materials for working with adolescent abusers have been developed and circulated. Barnardos (Cook and Taylor, 1991) produced a report of a project which includes a detailed programme of work and Alix Browne has provided a lot of ideas based on their work in Shropshire. Gracewell have also adapted material used with adults. The spread and use of these materials have been limited in part due to the attitude of many staff. Those working with victims of abuse become angry with the perpetrators — quite justifiably so — and in some ways it is appropriate that they do so. However, this can lead on to the demonising of abusers — "They’re animals", "they’re scum," "they should be shot," etc. This in turn makes it more difficult for the same staff to admit that children in their care (who have suffered abuse) may now be involved themselves in unacceptable behaviour. Another reason why staff find it difficult to face sexualised behaviour is that they still have to face attitudes from families and the public that often blame the victims of abuse for what happened. The victims themselves have usually internalised a sense of guilt — often deliberately reinforced by the perpetrator. So workers must continually repeat messages to the child that "this is not your fault — you are not to blame." It is difficult at first to reconcile this message with unacceptable behaviour on the child’s part without either excusing such behaviour or confirming the child’s self-image. It can seem like a betrayal to confront known victims about their own abusive behaviour. There is naturally an understanding as to why the children are behaving in a sexual way but this can be combined with a tendency to minimise and excuse the behaviour as "just a reaction" to what they suffered, a natural consequence of it. We agree that much sexual activity among adolescents who were previously abused is a natural consequence of their abuse but this does not mean that it should be tolerated or in some way excused. If a child in care or known to have been previously abused is discovered to be involved in sexual activity this fact needs to be carefully assessed both in terms of the extent of the sexual behaviour and in terms of its meaning for the child or young person. Many have begun to treat adolescent abusers as if they are a totally separate group from other adolescents. On the contrary, their behaviour lies at one end of a continuum of sexualised behaviours. There are a number of benefits to be gained by recognising this fact. The first advantage is that by conceptualising a progression or a continuum of unacceptable sexual behaviour, ranging from mildly reprehensible to totally intolerable, we can identify where an individual’s behaviour fits and accept the need to intervene to prevent any further deterioration. Secondly, the idea of a continuum will make it easier for some workers to look at the extent of problematic behaviour displayed by an individual. Thirdly there are many useful ideas which were developed for work with adolescent abusers which can he used with cases of sexualised teenagers. Finally, using these techniques and this general approach should de-mystify working with more difficult cases of sexualised behaviour. |
 |
|
Cook, Sue and Taylor, Jill (1991) Working With Young Sex Offenders. Ilford: Barnardo’s.