Risk and Protection? The lived experience of young men with harmful sexual behaviours: Towards a contextual understanding.

With the ongoing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,
sexual violence perpetrated by children is a significant social
concern currently. This qualitative research study will develop
understandings of the social contexts of young men who have
displayed harmful sexual behaviours (HSB) to better understand
how their behaviours are shaped sociologically and contextually.
Looking beyond individual offender characteristics, which has been
the approach of much research on this topic to date, this study aims
to understand how the interplay within and between social contexts
enhances risk or protective processes in the lives of young men.
Utilising principles of Participatory Action Research (PAR), young
men who have in the past been denied a voice in social research
will be actively involved in the co-production of new knowledge.
Close collaboration with Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU)
will strengthen engagement and participation with young men as
research partners with 'expertise through experience' and will
maximise impact given the Scottish Government's call for social
change on the issue of HSB. Through collaboration and
dissemination with SVRU, the knowledge exchange generated
from this study has significant potential to inform a shared public
agenda to prevent and respond to HSB, conceptualise a contextual
understanding of HSB that can inform safeguarding policymakers
and key stakeholders and contribute to the development of
contextually sensitive preventative strategies to reduce sexual
violence by young people.