PROTECTING CHILDREN - A SHARED RESPONSIBIITY
Appendix 4:REDUCING THE RISK - IMPROVING THE RESPONSE TO SEX OFFENDING
Relevant recommendations
Recommendation 1
The Scottish Executive, with local authorities, should issue guidance to ensure that each local authority has in place personal safety programmes that include addressing the risk from sex offending.
Recommendation 2
Learning and Teaching Scotland and Community Learning Scotland should prepare comprehensive personal safety materials that are specific to Scotland and include material which addresses issues of child sexual abuse and child safety.
Recommendation 3
As an important preventative measure and to assist early identification of and intervention with sexually aggressive behaviour, schools should provide information, education and support to pupils on safe and healthy relationships.
Recommendation 4
Young people looked after by local authorities should receive more targeted support. The Association of Directors of Social Work and the Scottish institute for Residential Childcare should convene a joint working group to develop a strategy for, and supporting materials on, safe and healthy relationships and assertiveness skills.
Recommendation 5
The strategy for early intervention with young sex offenders and those at risk of sex offending should take account of the needs of those young women who are particularly vulnerable to this group of sex offenders. These young women should also be a priority for more targeted intervention. For those vulnerable young women in a care setting, materials and a programme should be developed which promote healthy relationships and provide information about sexual health.
Recommendation 6
Remedial and more intensive programmes and materials should be developed separately for:
(i) children and young people looked after by local authorities;
(ii) children and young people with special educational needs or in special schools;
(iii) children identified as living with or affected by domestic violence.
Recommendation 35
The Scottish Executive should develop a national strategy for a specialist assessment and intervention service for children and young people who offend or who display sexually aggressive behaviour.
This service should include access to a robust and comprehensive risk and needs assessment and to offence-specific personal change programmes to be available both in the community and in secure and non-secure residential settings. The national strategy should specify the skills mix of staff which would be required to deliver the service and should set out rigorous standards for training, competence, supervision, continuity of professional development and programme content and evaluation.
Recommendation 36
All children and young people identified as at risk of sex offending or who are displaying sexually aggressive behaviour should have access to an appropriate personal change programme.
Recommendation 37
The Scottish Executive should produce a specialist resource pack following the review for use with sexually aggressive young people. This pack should be piloted in a few centres.
Recommendation 38
Local authorities should examine the interface between children and family services and criminal justice services to ensure that those children and young people who are sexually aggressive or at risk from sex offending get a service determined by their need and not by their point of access to the system.
Recommendation 39
There should be a national programme of training for staff in young offenders institutions and Secure Units who deliver personal change programmes. The programme should build on the proposed universal developments in schools and community education.