An introduction to sibling sexual abuse & behaviour

The CSA Centre estimates that half a million children are sexually abused each year, under the age of 18, in England and Wales. In fact, research suggests that the majority of sexual abuse is most commonly carried out by people known to the child, by family members, uncles, fathers, mothers – and by brothers and sisters.

We know that most professionals working with children will have concerns of sibling sexual behaviour at some stage of their career. Recognising and responding to incidents of sibling sexual abuse can be difficult for professionals, not least because it often challenges commonly held conceptions of what sibling relationships are like.

The Understanding and responding to sibling sexual behaviour and abuse half-day CPD-certified online course equips all professionals working with children with an understanding of how to identify and respond to sibling sexual abuse and how to provide effective support to both the children involved, and their parents or carers.

Who is this course for?

This course is for all professionals working with children, young people and/or their parents or carers. This may include roles across education, health, children’s social care, youth offending, police, fostering and adoption services.

Who will run the course?

This course will be led by an expert trainer who has significant experience in working with sibling sexual abuse, as a practitioner, manager and trainer.

What can you expect to gain?

Following the course, you can expect to have:

• A greater understanding of the prevalence of, and possible pathways to, sibling sexual abuse.
• Greater confidence in identifying and responding to sibling sexual abuse.
• Greater confidence in developing robust and effective safety plans to manage sibling sexual abuse.
• Greater confidence in adopting a whole family approach to support families affected by sibling sexual abuse.

This will be extremely helpful in my role as I know feel more equipped to recognise and respond to sibling sexual abuse.
 
Children in care team member

Consultation Package Extension

For an additional £150 per hour, we now offer dedicated post-training consultation sessions facilitated by qualified professionals. These sessions will support practitioners to apply their learning to cases of sibling sexual abuse that they are encountering in practice. In the event that participants do not have a case to discuss, case studies will be provided.

To support this course, we would recommend three or six consultation sessions lasting two hours each, over the course of three to six months.

These sessions will focus on:

• utilising what we know from the research about pathways into sibling sexual abuse.
• applying our Sibling sexual behaviour and abuse guidance to planning and decision-making.
• safety planning advice.
• assessing risk.
• and considering appropriate interventions for both the child and their family.

Email training@csacentre.org.uk for more information.