Background and Aims

Background

Australian research has established that children’s problem sexual behaviour is a rising issue of concern (Boyd & Bromfield, 2006; Bromfield, et al., 2017; Ey & McInnes, 2018; O’Brien, 2010; Pourliakas, et al. 2016; Shlonsky, et al. 2017). Sexual behaviour falling outside the age-appropriate range for children, is socially and developmentally unexpected, involves others or becomes compulsive, or is non-consensual or controlling is considered problematic or harmful (Hackett, 2011; Shlonsky, et al., 2017). The terms ‘problematic sexual behaviour’ (PSB) or ‘harmful sexual behaviour’ are used to describe such behaviours rather than other terms that potentially stigmatise children as ‘sex offenders’ or ‘perpetrators’. This not only recognises that often children with these behaviours are themselves victims of trauma, but also children under 10 years are not criminally responsible for their behaviours and often lack the capacity to understand the impact of their behaviour (Bonner, et. al., 1999; O’Brien, 2010; Shlonsky, et. al., 2017). Nevertheless, children who display these behaviours place themselves and others at risk of harm (see O’Brien, 2010; Shlonsky, et al., 2017). Meeting the safety and wellbeing needs of children displaying PSBs while also meeting the needs of other students to be safe from sexual abuse is a particularly challenging area of practice for schools. Given the extensive time children spend at school, primary teachers play a critical role in identifying and responding to PSB (Briggs, 2012). By exploring current responses to PSBs in schools, and whether there are opportunities to enhance collaborative practice, this project aims to develop a multi-agency collaborative framework that includes educators.

Aims

This project aims to:
  1. Identify existing school responses, needs and challenges in supporting children who display PSB in South Australian primary schools (i.e. how decisions are made about responses, what supports are offered, how responses are enacted and how policies are put into practice).
  2. Review current Education Department directives to support school responses to PSB. This will involve reviewing policy and procedure documents for: information and guidelines in detecting, responding and managing children who display PSB; reporting policy and procedures; and initial and ongoing/long term responses.
  3. Identify opportunities for collaboration, facilitators and barriers for inter-agency collaboration practices between schools and external agencies (e.g. knowledge of other agencies’ protocols, confidentiality and information sharing policies).
  4. Collectively identify strategies with education and inter-agency stakeholders and develop a framework to support collaborations between South Australian primary schools and external agencies.
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The project addresses the following research questions:
  1. How do primary schools currently respond to incidents of children’s Problematic Sexual Behaviour?
  2. What are some of the facilitators and barriers for schools in responding to and supporting the needs of children who display Problematic Sexual Behaviour?
  3. Could collaborative approaches help teachers, schools and other professionals involved in responding to children who display Problematic Sexual Behaviour better support children’s needs? Can an educator inclusive framework for collaborative multiagency responding to children displaying Problematic Sexual Behaviour in South Australia be developed?