This research briefing provides an overview of the current literature reporting on young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviours. Workers at the front line of practice have known for decades that these behaviours are a problem. It is only relatively recently, however, that researchers have investigated in any detail those harmful sexual behaviours committed by young people and distinguished young people from adults who offend. Recent studies have focused on understanding the antecedents of these behaviours and classifying them, as well as identifying the backgrounds and demographic profiles of young people with these behaviours and the perspectives of those who engage in treatment.

This briefing covers eight topics:

1. What are harmful sexual behaviours?
2. When should we be concerned?
3. How common is this problem?
4. What do we know about these young people?
5. Harmful sexual behaviours in residential care
6. What are young people telling us?
7. Messages from intervention research
8. Key take-away messages