The child behind the victim: Survivor experiences of children's harmful sexual behavior

Background

At least 50 % of child sexual abuse involves perpetration by children, referred to as “harmful sexual behavior”. Recently, the sexual abuse sector has focused, importantly, on the child behind the “perpetrator” to support developmentally-appropriate and trauma-informed practice. However, the experiences of victim-survivors of children's sexually abusive behavior are underexplored.

Objective

The aim of this study, funded by the National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse, was to describe the experiences of victim-survivors sexually abused by other children, including their profiles and those of children with harmful sexual behaviors. Also explored was what victim-survivors say about patterns of perpetration, cessation, and disclosure.

Participants and setting

Twenty-five victim-survivors of children's harmful sexual behavior participated. Twenty-one were female, three were male, and one non-binary. They were aged between 18 and 69 years, and from a range of Australian states.

Methods

The study was informed by the research question: What is the nature of victim-survivors' experiences of children's harmful sexual behavior? In-depth individual interviews were conducted between October 2023 and January 2024 and the data were investigated using Content Analysis. The purpose of this paper is to present a map of survivor experiences (not to provide in-depth qualitative analysis) to gauge their range and patterns, and to identify potential trends. Ethics clearance was obtained from the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (ID: 26926).

Results

Most victim-survivors reported that the sexual abuse by another child began in preschool and primary school, and more than half disclosed their abuse to one or more person. Victim-survivors identified 56 children involved in carrying out their sexual abuse. Eight perpetrators continued to abuse the victim into adulthood. Most harmful sexual behaviour (86 %) involved victimising intent, and physical coercion and violence (71 %). The most long-term and severe abuse was carried out by brothers and male cousins.

Conclusion

The findings are discussed in terms of dominant constructs and narratives about children's harmful sexual behaviour, and a model of “safe, problematic, and harmful sexual experience” is proposed to augment therapeutic practice. It is our hope that the voices of victim-survivors can be amplified in policy and practice so that the child behind the victim becomes as visible as the child behind the harmful sexual behaviors.