Introducing a contextual lens to assessment and intervention for young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviour: an Australian case study
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCS-06-2021-0024 |
| Published date | 03 November 2021 |
| Date | 03 November 2021 |
| Pages | 192-204 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Children's services,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Children/youth,Parents,Education,Early childhood education,Home culture,Social/physical development |
| Author | Susan Rayment-McHugh,Dimity Adams,Nadine McKillop |
Introducing a contextual lens to
assessment and intervention for young
people who engage in harmful sexual
behaviour: an Australian case study
Susan Rayment-McHugh, Dimity Adams and Nadine McKillop
Abstract
Purpose –Intervention for youngpeople engaging in harmful sexual behaviour has been largelybased
on individual-level conceptualisations and assessment. Prevention efforts reflect this individual-focus,
relying primarilyon offender management and justice responses.Risk of sexual abuse, however, is often
situated outsidethe individual, within the broader social and physicalsystems in which young people are
embedded. Lack of recognitionfor how contextual factors contribute to sexual abusenarrows the focus
of prevention and intervention,overlooking the very contexts and circumstancesin which this behaviour
occurs. This paperaims to demonstrate the utility of contextual practicewith young people who sexually
harm, and implicationsfor prevention.
Design/methodology/approach –An Australiancase study is used to showcase the ‘‘why’’,‘‘what’’ and
‘‘how’’of a contextual approach to assessment andtreatment of young people who sexually harm.
Findings –Contextual approachesextend the focus of clinical practice beyond the individualto include
the physical and social contexts that may contribute to risk. Adding a contextual lens broadens the
approach to assessment, affording new opportunities to tailor the intervention to local contextual
dynamics,and identifying new targets for primaryand secondary prevention.
Originality/value –This is the first known attempt to extendunderstanding of contextual approaches to
clinical assessment and intervention for young people who sexually harm, usinga case study method.
The case study showcasescontextual assessment and intervention processesthat challenge traditional
thinking and practicein this field. Importantly, the case study also revealsnew opportunities for primary
and secondaryprevention that emerge throughthis contextual clinical practice.
Keywords Prevention, Safeguarding, Harmful sexual behaviour, Peer-to-peer abuse,
Youth sexual violence and abuse, YSVA
Paper type Case study
Introduction
Young people are responsible for a considerable proportion of sexual abuse, including
against other children and young people (Radford et al., 2011;Finkelhor et al.,2009). They
may abuse children, peers or adults; on their own or in the company; and in domestic,
organisational, public or virtual settings (Smallbone and McKillop, 2016). The causes of
sexual violence and abuse by young people (SVAYP) are complex, and understood to
involve the collective interplay of individual, social and contextual factors (Smallbone et al.,
2008;Smallbone and Cale, 2015). Moreover, developmentally unique social ecologies
distinguish the onset of abuse carried out by young people, from abuse perpetrated by
adults (McKillop et al., 2018). Therefore, context matters in the etiology of SVAYP; and thus
it should also matter in the assessment, interventionand prevention of this behaviour.
Susan Rayment-McHugh,
Dimity Adams and Nadine
McKillop are all based at
the School of Law and
Society, Sexual Violence
Research and Prevention
Unit, University of the
Sunshine Coast, Sippy
Downs, Australia.
Received 4 June 2021
Revised 22 August 2021
Accepted 13 October 2021
The authors gratefully
acknowledge Queensland and
Australian Government funding
for the Griffith Youth Forensic
Service and the Griffith
Neighbourhoods Project. This
paper describes the author’s
work on these two projects. The
views expressed are the
responsibility of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect
the views of the Queensland or
Australian Governments.
PAGE 192 jJOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES jVOL. 17 NO. 3 2022, pp. 192-204, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1746-6660 DOI 10.1108/JCS-06-2021-0024
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