Families' perspectives on services' responses to Australian children's harmful sexual behaviours
Date
2026
Authors
Mcinnes, E.
Ey, L.-A.
Tippett, N.
Editors
Advisors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Type:
Journal article
Citation
Journal of Sexual Aggression, The, 2026; 1-20
Statement of Responsibility
Elspeth Mcinnes, Lesley-Anne Ey and Neil Tippett
Conference Name
Abstract
Many agencies can be involved in responding to children’s experiences of harmful sexual behaviour (HSB). This research examines the effectiveness of services’ responses from families’ perspectives. Eighty-one Australian parents/carers of children and young people impacted by HSB were anonymously surveyed about their interactions with services and agencies responding to HSB. Fifteen further volunteered for single interviews to expand on their experiences. Participants’ children displayed and/or were affected by sexual behaviours not consistent with expected sexual development. Education and health services were the main agencies responding to HSB, followed by psychologists, sexual assault support services and police. Parents rated child mental health services as most helpful and police as least helpful in their responses to HSB. Parents wanted more information and resources. Cost, distance and availability were common barriers to accessing therapeutic services. Findings are discussed in relation to supporting families accessing services, and professional development directions.
School/Discipline
Dissertation Note
Provenance
Description
OnlinePubl
Access Status
Rights
© 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.