Juvenile Sexual Offenders

Abstract

Thiseditorial describes theethical and systemic issues relevant to work with young sexual offenders against other children and outlines a proposed model for assessment. The need for assessment and treatment provi sions for children who sexually abuse other children has become increasingly apparent with greater understanding about the extent of sexual abuse carried out by juveniles (NCH, 1992). The picture from clinical work and from research studies suggests that the earliest possible intervention with abusing behaviour is needed to prevent escalation of the problem (Vizard, 1995). A semi-structured interview format has been designed to assist clinicians in the task of assessing risk, dangerousness and the treatabiity of juveniles who sexually abuse other children and young people. Active techniques have been developed to help overcome resistance and denial in young sexual offenders and to map patterns of sexual arousal. This model was developed from the psychiatric assessment of 80 young abusers between the age of 8â€"21years (mean age 14.7 years) who were referred to a specialist outpatient unit. Ethical issues Many professionals are reluctant to have labels such as ‘¿ sex offender', ‘¿ abuser' or ‘¿ perpetrator' attached to their child clients. Such important ethical considerations are closely connected to the major definitional issues surrounding work with young sexual abusers of children (Vizard et a!, 1995). The crux of the debate about definitional and ethical issues is whether it is the child who is being labelled or the behaviour. The behaviour itself may

Severe personality disorder emerging in childhood: a proposal for a new developmental disorder

“…Data from a subgroup ( n = 141) of the YAP cases indicates high levels of developmental difficulties (51%), conduct disorder (60%), mild learning disability (42%), zoophilia (10%) and cruelty to animals (18%). Within these cases comorbidity was a predominant feature with an average of 3-5 Axis I DSM IV diagnoses being recorded (Vizard et al, 1996: Duffield et al, 1998Bladon et al, 2003).…”

Donald Winnicott and the foundations of child psychotherapy

“…Naturally, Winnicott pioneered a vast number of other areas within the broader discipline of child psychotherapy, such as the increasingly important field of forensic child psychotherapy (cf. Campbell, 1994Campbell, , 1996Sinason, 1996;Vizard, Monck and Misch, 1995;Vizard et al, 1996), which involves work with children who commit sexual crimes or other crimes of violence. Although Sigmund Freud, August Aichhorn, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein and John Bowlby had all broached the subject of the violent child, none of these investigators wrote about the acting-out child with as much courage and persistence as Donald Winnicott had done; indeed, his papers on this subject fill an entire edited volume, Deprivation and Delinquency (Winnicott, 1984a).…”

Cycles of abuse: a case study

“…Assessment and treatment of adolescent offenders has been powerfully influenced by experience of adult offenders. It is, however, essential to consider the origins of sexually abusive behaviour within a developmental model (Vizard et al, 1996). A significant proportion of adult offenders first experience arousal to children during adolescence (Longo & Groth, 1983).…”