Assessing the risk, protecting the child

Reducing the risk of sexual abuse by working with adult offenders

Our 'Assessing the Risk, Protecting the Child' programme helps known or alleged child sex offenders who are not in the Criminal Justice System understand and change their behaviour.

Referred by local authority children services, we work with men who have significant contact with a child and:

may have been accused of sexual assault, or
have a historic conviction for a sexual offence, who also have significant contact with a child.

They are not currently facing criminal proceedings but may still pose a risk to children.

We need to assess this risk and treat the suspected offender if necessary, to reduce the chance that they will go on to sexually assault children.

Addressing inappropriate behaviour

We believe that in-depth discussions with and analysis of the known or the alleged offender, their family and the children in the family put together the best possible picture of family circumstances and current risk.

We have a series of meetings with the known or alleged offenders to discuss the way they think and behave.

The child's parent or carer also meets with us, so we can assess whether they need additional help to protect the child. Importantly, we also meet with the child to best understand their thoughts and wishes.

From these evaluations, we pass on in-depth knowledge, contained within an assessment to the referring professionals who will make decisions about the safety and welfare of the child.

Where appropriate, further post-assessment treatment can also be undertaken with the aim of reducing any assessed risk and therefore protecting children.

Follow-up meetings take place after three and five years to check that the approach has achieved lasting success.