Transcript Girls with sexually harmful behaviour

Working with adolescent girls who
display harmful sexual behaviour
Denise Moultrie
The Taith Service
 Established in 2000
 Specialist service for children and young people with
 Sexually harmful behaviours, (8-21 years)
 Dedicated staff team and expert consultancy
 Work with circa 120 young people per year
 Over 1000 referrals
 The Taith Service accepts referrals across Wales
Girls with sexually harmful
behaviour
 11% referral rate Taith (2011/ 12)
 Big Innovation lottery funding 2012-15
Research
 Limited research available in regards to assessment of
adolescent females – however, growing body in
regards to
adult females – still small comparisons to adolescent
males.
 May be due to relatively fewer females reported to
display
sexually harmful behaviour as compared to males.
 Considerable variations regarding the numbers of
females
who display sexually harmful behaviour – ranging from
5%
(Hislop) 2001 to 40% (Risin & Koss)1987, males who
were incarcerated for sexual offences.
 Also socio-cultural resistance in acknowledging
females as
abusive as opposed to caring/ nurturing, or vulnerable
victims. May lead to under reporting
Problem definition
 Considerable information and models of why men,
women
and boys sexually assault others
 Currently no basic systematic information on girls who
sexually harm others
 Current interventions with girls based on models of
why
boys, particularly, commit sexual assaults
What do we think we know
about girls and SHB?
 Own victimisation may be higher
 Trauma, PTSD more prevalent-impact on mental
health
 Relational development is important
 Parental, particularly maternal relationship is key
 Exposure to domestic abuse, parental abuse leads to
negative beliefs about self/ relationships
 Early maturation, risk of increased sexualisation/
exploitation
 No one single motivation to offend
 ADHD/ conduct problems more likely to be
undiagnosed
 Relational or other aggressive behaviour present
Typologies
 Limited studies regarding typologies of adolescent
females
who display sexually harmful behaviour - (Matthew et
al )
1997 described 3 subtypes.
 Those who are acting out their own abuse for other
reason
other than to gain power/ control.
 Those who abuse out of curiosity
 Those who are psychosexually/ psychiatrically
disturbed –
usually high levels of trauma
 May also apply to males
One size does not fit all!
 Like adult male, adult female and adolescent boys,
girls who
display SHB are a heterogeneous group
 Assessment should be about this girl with good case
formulation
 Although… there may be some common risk and
protective factors
Assessment approach
STATIC RISK
Unchangeable factors in a young person’s life
DYNAMIC RISK
Factors that are changeable over time
Static factors
80%
70%
Adolescent Females
60%
Adult Females
50%
Adolescent Males
40%
30%
b
20%
10%
Domestic Abuse
Multiple Abuse
Emotional Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Physical Abuse
0%
Adult information (Beckett) 2006
0%
females
males
D amage
to
Propert y
Cruelt y t o
A nimals
Fire
Set t ing
Bullying of
ot hers
Fight ing &
A gression
20%
15%
10%
10%
5%
5%
Adolescent
Female
Adolescent
M ale
Adult Female
0%
Mental Health
25%
Eating Disorder
30%
Self Harm
35%
Drugs & Alcohol
Dynamic factors
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
Psychometrics
 Used with children and young people aged 12+
 Sufficient reading and comprehension
 Assess factors such as self esteem, emotional
loneliness,
general empathy, sexual knowledge, victim impact,
cognitive
distortions
 Attitudes towards females, endorsement of violence
 Standardised on non offending populations,
adolescent
males and adult females
0%
Victim Em pathy
Peer Abuser
Victim Em pathy
Child Abuser
Em otional
Congruence
Cognitive
Distortions
Em otional
lonliness
Self Esteem
Results taken from
psychometrics
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
Adolescent Females
Males
10%
Specific objectives of girls’
project
 Develop standardised assessment measures
 Develop treatment manual
 Evaluation of treatment manual
 Increased awareness through training of professionals
and
publication of project findings
Group task
We need your views!
Group task
 What aspects of sex education/ sex
and relationships education might girls
with sexually harmful behaviour
particularly benefit from?
 What other areas of health related
input might be particularly relevant?
 Feedback
 Any questions
 [email protected]
 Thank you