Sexualised behaviour in a child when maltreatment should be suspected

Inappropriately sexual behaviour in children includes:

• drawings with sexual content
• knowledge of adult sexual behaviour in a young child or young person with learning difficulties
• apparent sexual approaches to adults
• promiscuity at an early age

NICE states that child maltreatment should be suspected (and in particular sexual abuse), if a pre-pubertal child displays or is reported to display

• repeated or coercive sexualised behaviours or preoccupation
  • for example, sexual talk associated with knowledge, drawing genitalia, emulating sexual activity with another child
• suspect past or current child maltreatment if a child or young person's sexual behaviour is indiscriminate, precocious or coercive
• sexual abuse should be suspected if a pre-pubertal child displays or is reported to display unusual sexualised behaviours
  • examples include:
    • oral-genital contact with another child or a doll
    • requesting to be touched in the genital area
    • inserting or attempting to insert an object, finger or penis into another child's vagina or anus
• for the purposes of this guideline, NICE state that to suspect child maltreatment means a serious level of concern about the possibility of child maltreatment but is not proof of it

Reference:

• 1. NICE (July 2009). When to suspect child maltreatment