HARMFUL sexual behaviour amongst children and young people should be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal matter, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has said.
Scotland slashed knife crime rates by adopting a new approach to tackling violent offences.
Work began in Strathclyde and based on a successful US programme has shifted the focus from prosecution to prevention.
The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) was formed in 2005 when Scotland was the murder capital of Europe.
Almost 140 killings, including culpable homicide and murder, took place in 2004-05.
The figure fell below 60 last year, reaching the lowest number since 1976.
Now Yousaf says that will form the basis of new work to reduce sexual offences involving young people.
Yousaf said: “Facing up to sexual harm caused by children and young people is difficult, emotive and often troubling but as a society we cannot shy away if we are to tackle its causes.
“Scotland’s success in reducing violent crime among young people offers a blueprint for challenging underlying attitudes and changing behaviours. These issues are complex and require significant collaborative working between statutory authorities and professional disciplines – the justice sector cannot fix this alone.
“There is a duty for all adults – parents, neighbours, policy makers – to respond to this challenge and do everything we can to keep our younger generation safe.”
The call comes in response to a report by the expert group set up by the Scottish Government on the matter. It recommends more preventative activity for boys and young men and better support for parents and carers of young people.
The group’s chair Catherine Dyer said: “While the vast majority of children and young people relate to each other in a healthy and respectful way, it is important that we support them as they grow up and explore their sexuality.
“Harmful sexual behaviour among children and young people is a global challenge that Scotland needs to address at home through a number of actions, including further tackling causal factors and focusing preventative work on boys and young men.”
Yousaf made the announcement during a visit to Preston Lodge High School, Prestonpans, East Lothian, where specialist organisation Rape Crisis Scotland was delivering its national sexual violence prevention programme.
He said: “I am grateful to the expert group for their extensive work on this important issue which is affecting children and young people worldwide and I welcome their recognition of the progressive, preventative action already underway in Scotland.”
Solicitor General Alison Di Rollo QC, who established the expert group in 2018, was also present.
She said: “In my 30 years’ experience as a prosecutor I have too often seen the devastating effect sexual offending in young people can have. There needs to be changes in societal attitudes, awareness and behaviours to reduce this type of harm and prevent children coming into contact with the criminal justice system.
“I have long been convinced of the central importance of education in bringing about these changes. I welcome this report and am heartened to see the positive work being carried out in schools.”
Responding to the development, Victim Support Scotland chief executive Kate Wallace said: “Victim Support Scotland would want assurances that victims of crime receive adequate information regarding their offenders, in relation to 16-17-year-olds in the Children’s Hearing System, similar to the information available with adult offenders.
“There is currently little information given out when an offender is part of the Children’s Hearing System, rather than the criminal justice system. This raises safeguarding concerns for child victims of harmful sexual behaviour, who may still come into contact with the offender.”
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