23.8 ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUALLY HARMFUL BEHAVIOUR MADE AGAINST CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE LOOKED AFTER AWAY FROM HOME
23.8.1 Staff and carers of children living away from home need clear guidance and training to identify the difference between consenting and abusive, and between appropriate and exploitative peer relationships. Staff should not dismiss some abusive sexual behaviours as ‘normal’ between young people, and should not develop high thresholds before taking action.
23.8.2 If a child or young person makes an allegation of abuse against a fellow resident, it is important that the matter is referred swiftly to Cumbria Children’s Services, so that a planning meeting can be held as quickly as possible. During this period of time it will be important to ensure that the child or young person who is the subject of the allegations of displaying sexually harmful behaviour does not have any unsupervised contact with the victim(s) or potential victims. Workers can face difficulties in making decisions about placements when allegations of sexually harmful behaviour are made from another child within a residential unit/placement but it would be best practice not to remove the child or young person making the allegations as they are the alleged victim. This may mean that the child or young person accused of the abuse could be temporarily removed from the unit, to ensure he/she has no direct contact with the alleged victim, at least until the initial assessment is completed.
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