FAMILY SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO WORK WITH YOUNG SEX OFFENDERS

In this paper it is argued, with reference to research conducted at Gr eat Ormond Street, that the assessment and treatment of young sex offe nders is most usefully conceptualized within a systemic framework. Fro m this perspective abuse is viewed as occurring within the context of a trauma organized system which includes the perpetrators and victims of sexual abuse and may also include members of their family, social a nd professional networks. Members of trauma organized systems collude in denying the abuse and both silencing and blaming the victim. A syst emic approach to intervention which aims to disrupt the processes of d enial and silencing begins with crisis intervention. This is followed by comprehensive family assessment. The capacity of families of adoles cent sex offenders to respond to treatment may be assessed as hopeful, doubtful or hopeless depending upon the degree to which the perpetrat or accepts responsibility for the abuse, the parents accept responsibi lity for failing to protect the victim and the family shows a capacity to engage in treatment. Treatment programmes conceptualized within a systemic framework involve individual or group therapy for the perpetr ators, victims, siblings and parents with concurrent family interventi on involving both dyadic sind whole-family sessions. Individual or gro up work for perpetrators focus on the perpetrator's denial, abuse of p ower, personal trauma experiences, and personal attachment disruption, since our research shows that many adolescent perpetrators have thems elves been exposed to physical or sexual violence and have experienced disrupted attachments. Concurrent family work focuses on protection o f victims and siblings, role clarification, fostering parental support of both the perpetrator and the victim and facilitating the perpetrat or in making a full apology to the victim. Victims participate in conc urrent trauma and self-protection work to prepare them for engaging in the apology process. Planned family reunification is the final stage of systemic intervention. This is only appropriate in those cases wher e there is clear evidence that the trauma organized system has been re placed by a system of family and professional relationships in which t he well-being of the victim and siblings is safeguarded.