Understanding the Needs of Individuals at Risk of Perpetrating Child Sexual Abuse: A Practitioner Perspective

Abstract

Research estimates that as many as one in twenty children in the UK have been a victim of child sexual abuse. The scale of this problem motivates prevention efforts, however there is an apparent absence of preventative intervention for those individuals who are concerned about their sexual preference for children, including those who have not committed an offence. Due to the sensitive nature of child sexual abuse and stigma surrounding paedophilia, individuals who are concerned about their sexual interests in children are unlikely to willingly participate in research. By investigating the experiences of staff that are employed by an organisation offering an anonymous helpline for people who experience sexual thoughts and behaviours towards children, this research aims to develop understanding of the needs of those individuals, in order to establish how child sexual abuse might be prevented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five practitioners from a sexual abuse prevention organisation and thematic analysis revealed three main themes; Moving service users forward, Barriers to intervention and Prevention: Missing pieces. The first theme identifies ways in which practitioners may help service users to identify their problem, associated risk factors and how they might begin to move forward. The second theme addresses certain factors that prevent service users from accessing or engaging with primary interventions. Finally, the third theme discusses the ways in which primary prevention could be built upon, by considering participants experiences that are shaped by their work in the field of primary intervention, and their experience of service users. This is the first time the needs of those who may benefit from primary prevention in the UK have been explored in this way; therefore each theme is discussed in relation to primary prevention of child sexual abuse.

“We do exist”: The Experiences of Women Living with a Sexual Interest in Minors

“…Reports of negative experiences within the MAP community leads to an inherent mistrust of professionals, leading to a reluctance to seek support if or when it is needed (Dymond & Duff, 2020;Grady et al, 2019). This means that there is a need to develop mechanisms by which MAPs can feel comfortable to seek help or disclose their sexual attractions in a safe way and without judgment or persecution (Goodier & Lievesley, 2018;Grady et al, 2019;Levenson et al, 2017;Lievesley & Harper, 2021). We believe that the successful design of such mechanisms is contingent on having input from MAPs themselves, as understanding their experiences and needs should produce more responsive and effective therapeutic practices.…”

Primary health professionals’ beliefs, experiences, and willingness to treat minor attracted persons

“…Such stigma is associated by MAPs to an incongruence with therapist treatment goals, and an increased likelihood of being reported to legal authorities based solely on their sexual attractions (Grady et al, 2019;Levenson & Grady, 2019b). These barriers are also recognized by professionals who are employed specifically to work with MAPs in preventative settings (Goodier & Lievesley, 2018;Parr & Pearson, 2019).…”

“…As will be explored, there is a desire and need among MAPs to access support within the community for several reasons. According to surveys of MAPs (B4U-ACT, 2011) the primary focus of this population when seeking support is related to coping with mental health issues that stem from a combination of social and self-stigmatization (Goodier & Lievesley, 2018;Grady et al, 2019;Jahnke, 2018;Levenson & Grady, 2019b;McPhail et al, 2018). As such, in this paper we present what we believe to be the first systematic analysis of the beliefs, knowledge, and decision-making processes of primary (i.e., non-specialist) healthcare professionals in relation to working with patients who disclose sexual attractions to children.…”

“…As such, in this paper we present what we believe to be the first systematic analysis of the beliefs, knowledge, and decision-making processes of primary (i.e., non-specialist) healthcare professionals in relation to working with patients who disclose sexual attractions to children. Although other work has predominantly explored the views of psychological professionals and specialists working in the field of sexual abuse prevention (Beggs Christofferson, 2019;Goodier & Lievesley, 2018;Levenson & Grady, 2019a;Parr & Pearson, 2019;Stephens et al, 2021), or students about to emerge as professionals in social work or psychotherapy (Walker et al, 2021), here we focus on those who work in primary healthcare with no specialism in MAP treatment or the prevention of sexual abuse. This is important as we know that many MAPs approach their family doctor or a private psychotherapist about related issues before accessing services that are specifically targeted at them (Levenson et al, 2019).…”

Humanizing pedophilia as stigma reduction: A large-scale intervention study

“…seeing people with such interests as individuals at different stages of their journeys toward understanding and living with their sexual preferences, and creating services within which practitioners allow them to feel safe, it is possible to encourage active and open engagement with preventative support services (Goodier & Lievesley, 2018). As a subsequent effect of such engagement, these services afford the opportunity to work through treatment priorities that people with pedophilic sexual interests self-report as wanting to address, such as general mental health concerns (B4U-ACT, 2011).…”