One-third of all child sexual abuse in Ireland is committed by teenagers, and some adolescents commit very serious sexual offences, a conference in Dublin was told yesterday.
Most sex offenders begin offending in their teens and not in adulthood, presenting a "powerful argument for early intervention", according to Ms Joan Cherry, director of Dublin's Northside Inter-Agency Project (NIAP), which provides therapy to young people who have sexually abused.
Some young people target children, others abuse peers and adult females. Some young people have long histories of delinquent behaviour, while others have histories of social isolation and maltreatment, Ms Cherry told a conference entitled "Assessing and Managing Risk with Young People who have Sexually Abused".
"The majority of young people who have sexually abused will not continue to do so into adulthood if they receive appropriate intervention," she said.
Provision of services for young people who sexually abuse in Ireland has been "patchy" and lacks co-ordination, according to Ms Cherry, and is usually the result of a local initiative by interested professionals rather than by Government departments.
Not all young people who are identified as perpetrators by a local assessment unit receive treatment, she said. This was either due to denial on the part of the abuser or pressures on health board staff. This lack of services means that young people who abuse are not being picked up and will offend into adulthood, she said.
At present there are two specialised treatment programmes in Dublin, and one in the process of being set up in the midlands area.
"The difference between adults who sexually abuse and children who sexually abuse is that a lot of adults may have a sexual orientation to children. We know that young people don't usually fall into this category. They abuse for many reasons including anger, revenge, loneliness or a search for intimacy," Ms Cherry told The Irish Times.
Nearly one in eight of those attending NIAP's programme have experienced some form of emotional or physical maltreatment or abuse but, significantly, not sexual abuse, she added. Nine times out of 10, young people who sexually abuse are male, according to Ms Cherry. Sexual abuse by women is the "last taboo", and professionals often find it very hard to identify or acknowledge, she said.
Unlike young males, most are victims of sexual abuse themselves and their own history of abuse often goes unacknowledged during treatment, she explained.
The primary goal of treatment is to prevent further sexual offending through early intervention involving the young people and their families, said UK expert, Ms Julie Henniker, who works in the Manchester area.
Although it is important not to label children as abusers, particularly those under 10, it is important to identify the problem and "give the clear message that this type of behaviour is not acceptable", she said.
Treatment is "very effective", she said, and pointed out that it was generally accepted that only 7 to 14 per cent of those who receive treatment re-offend.