Children who sexually abuse are among the “most marginalised” and stigmatised children and must receive treatment and support, the Ombudsman for Children Niall Muldoon has said. Speaking on Friday at a conference on a new Tusla programme targeting children exhibiting sexually harmful behaviour, he said the vast majority had suffered trauma, neglect or abuse themselves. He said: “This is how Ireland has treated our different children, our awkward children, our bad children. “She needs to look at support for the victims of sexual abuse and support for the perpetrators where they are children.”Judy McCarthy, a Niapp national trainer, said it was “an incredibly traumatising experience for families” to find that their child had sexually abused. Mr Matthew said it took him a year to gain the child’s trust before he could begin to address the underlying causes of the boy’s sexual behaviour.

Source: The Irish Times October 20, 2018 00:00 UTC