Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved. [Churches Child Protection Advisory Service]
The complex and controversial issues surrounding the reporting of under-age sex has been hotly debated for several years by practitioners, professionals and parents alike, and all the more recently in light of tragedies such as the Soham murders. The under-age sex issue is highlighted in the revised government guidance ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006’. In this article Bill Stone explains what the new guidance says and considers how anyone working with children and young people (including those in the church) should respond.
During the Public Inquiry that followed the notorious Soham murders it emerged that Ian Huntley (the school caretaker who murdered Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman) had been involved in several sexual relationships with under-age girls when he lived in Humberside. Humberside police were aware of the concerns and held police intelligence about Huntley, even though he had not been convicted of any offences. This was due to the reluctance of the girl victims to press charges. When Huntley moved away from the area this information was not passed on and Huntley was able to get a job in Soham as a school caretaker. The rest of this tragic story is now very familiar. In his report following the Inquiry, Sir Michael Bichard recommended a tightening up of procedures, both around reporting under-age sex, and carrying out thorough background checks of individuals applying to work with children.
It is in this context that ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2006’ was published containing updated guidance on child protection. There is a section in ‘Working Together’ that deals with allegations of harm arising from under age sexual activity (p. 80-81) and this clarifies the current position on reporting.
Children under 13 years
Legally, the position is different for children under 13 than it is for 13-15 year olds. A child under 13 is not capable, legally, of consenting to sexual activity and any allegations should be taken very seriously. They should normally be reported straight to the police. Penetrative sex with a child under 13, carried out by an adult or older juvenile is classed as rape for which the usual sentence, on conviction, would be custody. Other less invasive sexual involvement will also be presumed to be harmful to the child and again should be reported to the police or social services unless there are compelling reasons not to. In any event the case should be discussed with a lead professional (CCPAS can perform this role for churches and groups) with a view to either making a child protection referral or fully documenting the reasons why the information is not passed on to the statutory authorities.
For any organisation, and particularly the church, this decision must be based on the nature and seriousness of the sexual activity and the harm it may be doing, not whether the leadership, for, say political fall-out/theological reasons, don’t want to involve the authorities. The priority must be for the welfare of the child/young person and the legality of what is/has been happening.
13-15 year olds
Any sexual activity between a 13-15 year old child and anyone else is also an offence. However, Working Together states:
“Where it is consensual it may be less serious than if the child were under 13, but may nevertheless have serious consequences for the welfare of the young person. Consideration should be given in every case of sexual activity involving a child 13-15 as to whether there should be a discussion with other agencies and whether a referral should be made to children’s social care.”
In short, a greater degree of professional discretion is allowed for in the case of 13-15 year olds. The guidance lists a number of factors that professionals need to take into account in deciding whether or not to report. These include, among other things:
The ‘Gillick Principle’
One of the things that has caused most discussion and debate amongst professionals is the tension between two contrasting, if not contradictory, principles. One very important principle in working with children and young people is that of confidentiality. Professionals owe a duty of confidence to those who share problems and concerns with them; children and young people as well as adults.
This principle is sometimes called the ‘Gillick Principle’ after the landmark ruling which decided that Victoria Gillick’s under 16 year old daughter had a right to confidentiality with respect to advice from her GP about contraception. It has now become established practice within health and social care and following this celebrated case back in the 1980s, the House of Lords ruled that young people under 16 who are fully able to understand what is proposed, and its implications, are competent to consent to medical treatment regardless of age. Subsequent Government guidance spelled out the implications of this for health professionals in the ‘Fraser Guidelines’ (view at: www.eau.ac.uk/law/resources/13-08.htm).
Confidentiality is particularly important to young people wanting advice about sex and relationships. Many will not ask for help at all if they do not believe that the service is confidential. This leaves them at risk of unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections as well as increasing the chances that abusive or coercive relationships will remain hidden (see ‘Getting Real’ by Hilary Cooling – page 8).
Having said this, professionals also have a duty to protect children from harm and this inevitably involves passing on information to other agencies in situations where children and young people need protection. This balance is not easy to find although the children’s minister Beverly Hughes, has put on record her confidence that the new guidance -
“strikes the right balance between respecting confidentiality and empowering professionals to act where a child is at risk of significant harm” (The Guardian April 7 2006).
How can the church get it right?
At CCPAS we are not infrequently contacted by church leaders and children and youth workers, worried about teenagers known to them who are thought to be sexually active. If these young people are under 16, whilst this is clearly a pastoral issue, it may not necessarily be a child protection one. The judgment to be made has to take into account the factors outlined above and, where there is an element of compulsion, e.g. where one partner is significantly older than the other, or when there are abuse of trust issues then this would always need to be referred to the authorities.
It is also possible, of course, to ring your local child protection team for advice about these sorts of matters without making a referral- although you need to be prepared to make a child protection referral if this is their advice. And there is always the CCPAS Helpline (0845 120 45 50) where you will get a considered response to your queries which will take into account the church setting if that is part of the context of your concerns.
The other question that youth leaders really struggle with is whether they should inform the parents of young people who are known to be sexually active. Our advice is that young people should be strongly encouraged to talk openly with their parents about sexual matters wherever this is practicable and/or appropriate. But, at the end of the day, the young person concerned has to make his or her own choices and do what they believe to be the best thing for them. Unfortunately, there are some parents who would react very badly to their son or daughter confiding in them in this way, and so it is only natural for them to fear that, were they to tell their parents, their predicament would become even worse. The consequences for young people of telling their parents need to be carefully thought through and, if they do want to tell, they may need help and support in doing this.
An example to follow
When churches connect with young people, whether they are young people from within the Christian community or from un-churched homes, the question of sex is bound to come up sooner rather than later. We live in a sex-saturated society and young people desperately need to understand and see modelled for them, respectful and biblically based relationships. Sex and relationship education which views sex positively within the context of biblical teaching on marriage needs to be on the agenda for teaching programmes for children and young people as for the wider church family. However, we must be realistic and compassionate enough to understand that for very many young people in our churches as well as outside them, the Christian ideal of sex within marriage and chastity outside of marriage is a world away from their actual lived experience. The casual misuse of sexual intimacy and the psychological and spiritual harm caused by it must be one of the biggest pastoral issues in the church today. The problem in fact goes much deeper and spreads far wider than reported sexual abuse which represents just the tip of an iceberg of pain, rejection, confusion and self doubt crying out for the healing ministry of the church.
Bill Stone has many years experience in social work and has carried out research for the NSPCC on parenting and child neglect. As well as working for CCPAS, Bill is also a university lecturer and acts as a Court-appointed Children’s Guardian
Under-Age Sex - Facing the Issues (Caring - Autumn 2006)