According to international studies, what percentage of assaults against children are committed by other children and young people? ​ Chapter 4 - Question 1 of 8 Next Previous Next A: About 80% B: About 30% C: About 10% Wrong. Correct! Studies show that between 30-50% of assaults against children are committed by other children and young people. We know this from self-reporting studies, criminal statistics and numbers from child welfare services and other agencies. Wrong. Avgitt svar

5. HARMFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR Harmful sexual behaviour is harmful both to the child exposed to it and the child inflicting it, and requires an immediate response from adults. ​ Harmful sexual behaviour is an umbrella term for behaviour we classify as non-normative and non-acceptable sexual behaviour. It is usually characterized as being excessive, secretive, violating, forceful, regressive or threatening. ​ In this chapter we give you insight into general statistics about harmful sexual behaviour, different causes of the behaviour, as well as suggestions on how to look after both affected parties. Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse PAGES IN THIS CHAPTER CHARACTERISTICS OF HARMFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WILL NOT REPEAT HARMFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS ALREADY KNOW EACH OTHER DIFFERENT CAUSES FOR THE BEHAVIOUR CARE FOR BOTH PARTIES INVOLVED REPORT AND INVESTIGATE HARMFUL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR ONLINE

4. MANAGING PROBLEMATIC SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR If any of the school staff suspects a pupil of displaying problematic or harmful sexual behaviour, they should bring this to someone’s attention right away. The concerns often begin with vague gut feelings and uncertainty about the violating behaviour. Discuss your worries with professionals as early as possible, so the correct measures can be speedily implemented at the school. ​ This way the school can investigate, observe and assess the situation to ensure the behaviour does not continue or escalate. While this is important, keep in mind that the goal is to help the child or young person have a healthy sexual behaviour. ​ In this chapter you will learn about “the Tolerance Window” and the part it plays during conversations with children about difficult subjects, professional advice on how to manage different problems, and be referred to several sources of information on the subjects. PAGES IN THIS CHAPTER SPEAKING WITH CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT DIFFICULT SUBJECTS BEING MENTALLY AVAILABLE DURING CONVERSATIONS CREATING A SAFETY PLAN WORKING WITH SEXUALLY DEGRADING LANGUAGE, ATTITUDES AND BAD CULTURE IN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT THE SCHOOL’S RESPONSIBILITY SUMMARY SUBJECT-RELATED QUESTIONS Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

3. PROBLEMATIC SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR Problematic or harmful sexual behaviour is what we consider unhealthy. This is behaviour with concerning intensity and frequency, or behaviour which does not correlate to the appropriate age- or developmental maturity. It can also be a discrepancy in dominance by one party behaving threateningly or attempting to coerce (by offering clothes or candy, for instance) the other party into joining sexual games. ​ In this chapter you will see a video lecture by Marita Sandvik on problematic sexual behaviour, a video lecture by Birgit Hegge on the Traffic Light as a tool of assistance, and a video lecture by Morten Jensås Lundgren on pornography. SIDER I DETTE KAPITTELET THE TRAFFIC LIGHT CAN HELP US DIFFERENTIATE – PART 1 THE TRAFFIC LIGHT CAN HELP US DIFFERENTIATE – PART 2 PORNOGRAPHY DUTY TO PROTECT EARLY EFFORTS PAY ATTENTION Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

SUBJECT-RELATED QUESTIONS, CHAPTER 4 ABOUT THE QUESTIONS Here you have the opportunity to test yourself in the subject you just finished by answering 8 questions. The questions will indicate if your answers are correct or not, and provide a deeper explanation once you have answered. ​ You do not need to register, and no user data will be saved. You can answer the questions as many times as you would like. Begin Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

1. PROFESSIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF CHILDREN’S DEVELOPMENT New research has shown that proper care stimulates children’s development, while bad experiences and trauma can lead to delayed or skewed development. ​ In this chapter you will see a video lecture on “the triune brain”, a video lecture on safety, relations and regulation, and a reflection on class leadership and theoretical subject matter – all available in both text and audio form. PAGES IN THIS CHAPTER THE TRIUNE BRAIN SAFETY, RELATIONS AND REGULATION SEXUALITY IN SCHOOL INTERAGENCY COOPERATION DUTY OF CONFIDENTIALITY DUTY TO INFORM AND DUTY TO REPORT DUTY TO AVERT A CRIMINAL OFFENCE Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

PORNOGRAPHY LECTURER Morten Lundgren is a specialist in clinical pedagogy. He works as a senior advisor in Bufetat. In addition, he is a university lector at the Regional center of knowledge for children and young people – mental health and child welfare (RKBU, Mid-Norway). Lundgren has, for many years, worked as a practitioner at BUP where he was responsible for assessing children and young people’s aggressive and violent behaviour as well as problematic and harmful sexual behaviour. He is in the Resource team for problematic or harmful sexual behaviour (REBESSA). Many young people are curious about sex, and use porn, as one of several sources, to find information on sexual activities. According to the Children and Media-study from 2020, 70% of boys and 25% of girls between the ages 13 and 18 have watched porn. The boys especially look up porn regularly, some from they are 10 years old. Most adolescents are able to separate pornography from reality, but others find it difficult. Younger children may find pornography very frightening. Looking up porn is a normal part of sexual development, but can at the same time affect attitude and sexual behaviour, sometimes concerningly so (Pratt, 2015, Save the Children 2020). Pornography is easily accessible, and some children and young people are in danger of developing a form of addiction to porn which can affect normal sexual development, developing a tolerance for “hardcore porn” which leads to needing more and more extreme stimuli to achieve sexual arousal. A frequently occurring aspect of addiction is a reduced ability to regulate emotions and mentalize. Watching violent pornography seems to increase the risk of sexual aggression compared to watching non-violent pornography. Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse “Porne” means “hore”, and “graph” means “illustration” or “depiction”. These two Greek words combined in 18th century France to create what we today understand as pornography. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary pornography is defined as “the depiction of erotic behaviour (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement”. We have discovered illustrations, statues and paintings from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire which may be examples of pornography, but could also have served other purposes – religious ones, for instance. If we skip to all the way to the 1960s, we see very different pornography from the 18th and 19th centuries. Denmark and Sweden were first to legalize porn, and were also the primary exporters of it, producing material like movies and magazines. This kept up until the 70s, when the USA took the lead – a lead they haven’t given up since. ​ The evolution of pornography from the 70s and until today is an interesting one. Looking at porn in the 70s, it turns out pornographic movies were made for cinema, and shown in public theaters. Then came the 80s, bringing video and revolutionizing pornographic content. What followed was an increase in so-called “home production”, where everything was more intimate, shown from several angles, and resulted in pornographic content changing yet again. This change continued with DVDs entering the scene in the late 80s and early 90s, and subsequently dominating the market until around year 2000. After that the internet took over, resulting in pornography changing even more. “Gonzo porn” appeared, a kind of pornography that was rougher, more brutal, and contained more violence and aggression, exemplified through choking, beating, lack of consent, and front and center a dominant man with a submissive woman who was never asked if she wanted any of it. Several studies have shown that mainstream porn contains violence against women in 90% of scenes. Use of pornography is pretty widespread. According to The Aim Project in England between 50-75% of men and women regularly use porn. Internationally, the porn industry has a turnover of around 97 billion dollars – more than Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft and Apple put together. This gives us an idea of the industry’s massive scale; there are 28 million internet searches about pornography daily. So we see that porn is extensive and far-reaching, but what are the consequences? Is this good and healthy, or are there downsides to such a wide-spread use of pornography, and the fact the porn industry is defining what we see as sexuality? We can confidently say we are born with a biological drive to breed, but our sexual practice or sexual behaviour is shaped by the culture we live in; norms and values affect us and our sexuality, as well as our arousal patterns after a while. Based on this we can reason that what is presented through pornography – especially the more brutal acts depicted – influences the sexuality of the viewers, particularly children and young people, who are usually in the phase where they learn the difference between right and wrong. In other words, pornography can be meaningful, especially to developing children and young people. The Norwegian Media Authority published a report in May 2020 which looked into the media habits of children and adolescents. 49% of adolescents between the ages 13-18 reported watching porn, which is an increase from 2018, when the number was 42%. This means even though we discuss pornography publicly and point out the positive and negative effects it has, the percentage of young people watching porn is increasing. The number of young people who watch porn increases with age, and more boys than girls report having done so. Of those having watched pornography, 57% reported doing it before turning 13. In the age group 17-18, 77% of boys and 39% of girls reported having watched porn on the internet. The majority of adolescents found it exciting and interesting, but a not insignificant percentage did not – instead finding it nasty and a bit disgusting. Looking at the genders we see that girls don’t like pornography as much, with boys liking it more frequently. In general we can say that watching pornography – the type called Gonzo porn from the year 2000 and upwards – shapes inner values, fantasies and what you imagine sex is. Save the Children published a study in May 2020 where they had asked children and adolescents about their thoughts on internet-related pornography. The study is called “A damaged picture of what sex is”. Is this affecting adolescents? The study reports: adolescents say they have very easy access to pornography, both what we call soft porn and the more hardcore type closer to Gonzo porn. Adolescents use pornography to learn about what sex is – they report it as not accurately depicting reality, but still being a source of information on what happens during sex. A survey in Australia questioned adolescents about their sexual behaviour, once in 2013 and a second time in 2015. In 2015 they found the percentage of adolescents who had performed anal sex had increased from 0% in 2013 to 10%. And you start to wonder what could have caused this; lessons at school? Talking to a neighbour? Watching pornography? It is definitely easy to stumble across porn containing both abuse and violence. A lot of people find it uncomfortable, and there are doubts about if girls understand that it does not reflect reality. Similarly, there are doubts about if boys manage to separate fantasy from reality, or if they conflate them and want to try out their fantasies in real life, only to find reality very different from the porn they watched online. The adolescents themselves report both negative and positive effects from watching pornography. One aspect is the excitement, provocation and arousal. Another aspect is finding porn scary and disgusting, and thinking “wow, is that what it’s really like”. The adolescents do question if porn can give someone false expectations of what men’s and women’s sexuality is. Children and young people are of the opinion pornography increases interest in sending and looking at nude photos. They also think it goes further – that watching porn leads to wanting to see more brutal sex. Someone who often watches porn will, after a while, not be satisfied by what used to be normal, instead craving more and more brutal porn. This is proven to be correct! Adolescents think children should be shielded from pornography. They also seek adults who can talk about it openly and free of judgement, so they can explore what it actually is, what you can and can’t say. Another thing adolescents want are teachers and teaching arrangements to help them find good analyses or observations, and methods of evaluation and determining what is alright and what isn’t alright. I have a personal story as a practical example, as I have visited quite a few grade 11-classes to speak to them about mental issues. One of those was a mixed-gender class with some tough footballer boys, and a few girls. We were talking about different kinds of emotions, and a tough guy in the back row shouted “horny”, to which I replied “THAT is a good feeling, we’ll talk about it after”. The class went silent. So I talked about being horny, about adolescents and sexuality, and pornography. The class had been rowdy before I started speaking about it, but when I asked them if they watched porn, what porn depicts, what are some good and bad things about porn? It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. These are important subjects for all adolescents, and may even affect the arousal patterns and sexuality for all of our society. Porn affects us all in many other ways, too, like how the porn industry is a big proponent of technological advancement; video, DVD, internet, high resolution, etc. were all invented in part because of the demand created by the industry. Virtual Reality – where you put on special glasses to experience being in another world – is apparently being integrated into the porn industry as we speak. Some version of this already exists, but is now being developed further into a product where you can walk into virtual rooms and choose what happens. You feel like you are actually inside the room. The main point of this section of the talk is to establish how extensive pornography is. Adults watch porn and children and adolescents watch porn; porn affects us all to some degree. The next subject I want to bring up is: does pornography contribute to sexual assaults and violations committed by children and young people against other children and young people? One answer is some types of porn under some conditions may be harmful to some people. When it comes to adolescents, those who have violated others report having seen more pornography. Comparing adolescents who have violated others sexually to those who have committed normal crimes – very broadly defined – finds that those who have committed sexual crimes have watched more pornography. Exposure to the more brutal types of porn will, for some people, lead towards recreating things from the videos in real life. An Australian study asked 193 therapists world-wide who had worked with adolescents, especially boys, who had committed sexual assault, whether the adolescents had watched pornography, and if this was impactful to their crime in some way. The answer was yes. The adolescents had watched a lot of pornography, and over 60% had recreated an assault from mainstream porn in real life, either against someone random or a family member. The Aim Project points out how watching porn negatively affects adult men and adolescent boys with a masculine hostility. They like to control, humiliate and dominate women, and porn pushes them in the wrong direction. But you can also ask: is this the chicken or the egg? On behalf of us men, I’d like to point out how not all of us become sex offenders, but there is a small group with those bad attitudes. Pornography only exacerbates and validates those attitudes and values through its fantastical depictions of sex, which leads these people closer to committing a sexual assault. Regularly watching porn containing hostile masculinity, impersonal sex and degradation of women may lead to becoming less aware of others’ feelings, experiences and boundaries. This kind of pornography is especially effective with vulnerable children, who might not have had a great childhood, or trusted adults, or had problems academically, and makes them more liable to violate others. Now, we know those who violate others are a heterogenous group of people, but within it one of the largest groups is comprised of those with learning difficulties combined with other challenges and risk factors. It’s all about “where do I end and others begin”, and if someone has trouble understanding it already, expecting them to understand it in a sexual context is unreasonable. Especially so when they learn from the internet with no adult supervision, and no way to correct what they see and talk about. The knowledge we have on pornography and its effect on sexuality and sexual violations are not causal explanations, but rather implied connections, which is an important distinction to make in this context. There lives a wise old woman named Gayle Ryan in Colorado, who said that adolescents who sexually violate others are confused about their own sexuality, and also have the potential to do so. I at least know one thing for sure: adolescents are confused by the porn industry, the internet and pornography. We can therefore speculate on how this leads some vulnerable individuals to being deluded, and then violate others more or less “knowingly”. What do we do about this? The porn industry is staying put, yielding large sums and earning a lot of people good money. Adolescents watch porn increasingly, as shown by the study from the Norwegian Media Authority in May 2020. Maybe we should offer the adolescents – and children, too – more realistic depictions of sexuality which focus more on relations and emotions, consent and safe exploration. Finally, we want to describe how the fantasies depicted by porn and other internet-related mediums aren’t representative of what normal sex between people who love each other, or meet under equal circumstances, is like. Our children and adolescents need to hear that. They need a description of realistic sexuality; what happens to them, what happens between people. We are in this case referring to consent, safe environments, the ability to say no at any time, and choosing freely to participate without any external pressure or expectations, like from the internet. Morten Jensås Lundgren, Klinisk pedagog. Vis teksten Spilletid: 17:10 Listen to a read-aloud version of the text on this page 3.3 Pornography RVTS Mid 00:00 / 01:25

Write a short title If a 3-year-old is fiddling with their genitals, I view it as... A: Typical of their age-group Correct! In situations where others are bothered, have the child do another, more appropriate activity like drawing or playing with a ball. B: Atypical of their age-group, and tell the child to stop doing it Wrong. It is natural for a 3-year-old to fiddle with their own genitals, but in situations where others are bothered, have the child do another, more appropriate activity like drawing or playing with a ball. Children need to be taught boundaries, even for a natural sexual activity. C: Typical of their age-group, and the child should be able to do this unobstructed no matter the situation Wrong. It is natural for a 3-year-old to fiddle with their own genitals, but in situations where others are bothered, have the child do another, more appropriate activity like drawing or playing with a ball. Children need to be taught boundaries, even for a natural sexual activity. Avgitt svar A preschooler’s knowledge about body and sexuality is usually… A: Concrete and simple Correct! Preschoolers have a simple and concrete understanding of body and sexuality, like that girls and boys look different or that mothers give birth to babies and fathers help make them. B: Extensive and precocious Wrong. Preschoolers have a simple and concrete understanding of body and sexuality, like that girls and boys look different or that mothers give birth to babies and fathers help make them. A more reflected and mature understanding of their own body and sexuality is developed throughout the adolescent years. C: Reflected and modern Wrong. Preschoolers have a simple and concrete understanding of body and sexuality, like that girls and boys look different or that mothers give birth to babies and fathers help make them. A more reflected and mature understanding of their own body and sexuality is developed throughout the adolescent years. Avgitt svar Mark the answer you associate with healthy sexual playing A: Voluntary, spontaneous, can happen between all genders, characterized by curiosity, ends when one is tired of playing ​ B: Characterized by secrecy and discomfort, girls are mainly “just along for the ride” ​ C: Playing happens often and lasts for a while, is characterized by feelings of shame, anxiety, pain and compulsion ​ Avgitt svar The median age of girls having intercourse for the first time is… A: Age 16 It is age 17, meaning half of girls over the age of 17 have not had intercourse. B: Age 17 It is age 17, meaning half of girls over the age of 17 have not had intercourse. C: Age 18 It is age 17, meaning half of girls over the age of 17 have not had intercourse. Avgitt svar The median age of boys having intercourse for the first time is… A: Age 16.5 It is age 17.5, meaning half of boys over the age of 17 and a half have not had intercourse. B: Age 17.5 It is age 17.5, meaning half of boys over the age of 17 and a half have not had intercourse. C: Age 18.5 It is age 17.5, meaning half of boys over the age of 17 and a half have not had intercourse. Avgitt svar How many boys aged 13-14 report having seen porn on the internet? A: 10% Wrong, the correct number is 50%, and taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. B: 50% Wrong, the correct number is 50%, and taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. C: 80% Wrong, the correct number is 50%, and taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. Avgitt svar How many girls aged 13-14 report having seen porn on the internet? A: 10% Correct, the number is taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. B: 50% Wrong, the correct number is 10%, and taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. C: 80% Wrong, the correct number is 10%, and taken from the Children and media-study from 2020. Avgitt svar What genre do you think porn is first and foremost? A: Tragedy or comedy Wrong: We believe porn is entertainment, made first and foremost to get people sexually aroused. This makes porn unqualified to provide reliable information on what sexuality and sexual relations actually are. B: Entertainment Wrong: We believe porn is entertainment, made first and foremost to get people sexually aroused. This makes porn unqualified to provide reliable information on what sexuality and sexual relations actually are. C: Educational Wrong: We believe porn is entertainment, made first and foremost to get people sexually aroused. This makes porn unqualified to provide reliable information on what sexuality and sexual relations actually are. Avgitt svar What effect does masturbation have on preschoolers? A: It has a calming effect Correct: Masturbation usually has a calming effect on young children. As children grow up they will begin to feel more desire in relation to masturbation. B: It has an arousing effect Wrong: Masturbation usually has a calming effect on young children. As children grow up they will begin to feel more desire in relation to masturbation. C: Masturbation can lead to aggression in young children Wrong: Masturbation usually has a calming effect on young children. As children grow up they will begin to feel more desire in relation to masturbation. Avgitt svar When should you not worry about an adolescent masturbating? A: When they masturbate in inappropriate situations Wrong B: When they masturbate so that their genitals become sore At times adolescents masturbate both often and a lot, which makes it difficult to say what we definitively think is the correct amount. Therefore, we are the most concerned with whether the masturbation negatively impacts the adolescent’s normal life, like relations with family and friends, school and after-school activities. One also needs to see if the adolescent uses poor technique and becomes unnecessarily sore, or if there is coercion involved. There are some adolescents who masturbate in inappropriate situations and places, and these are important to address. C: When they masturbate 5 times a day At times adolescents masturbate both often and a lot, which makes it difficult to say what we definitively think is the correct amount. Therefore, we are the most concerned with whether the masturbation negatively impacts the adolescent’s normal life, like relations with family and friends, school and after-school activities. One also needs to see if the adolescent uses poor technique and becomes unnecessarily sore, or if there is coercion involved. There are some adolescents who masturbate in inappropriate situations and places, and these are important to address. Avgitt svar View More SUBJECT-RELATED QUESTIONS, CHAPTER 2 ABOUT THE QUESTIONS Here you have the opportunity to test yourself in the subject you just finished by answering 10 questions. The questions will indicate if your answers are correct or not, and provide a deeper explanation once you have answered. ​ You do not need to register, and no user data will be saved. You can answer the questions as many times as you would like. Begin Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

THE TRAFFIC LIGHT CAN HELP US DIFFERENTIATE – PART 2 LECTURER Birgit Hegge is a clinical social worker with a master’s degree in social subjects. She is also an educated specialist in sexological counselling, with approval from the Nordic Association for Clinical Sexology (NACS). She specializes in violence and sexual assault due to her many years of experience with mental health and child welfare. Hegge is a proponent of the prevention aspect of good sexual development and health. Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse The Traffic Light is a framework for understanding sexuality, sexual development and how this is expressed in children and young people. In other words, the Traffic Light is meant to raise awareness of sexuality being an important part of children’s development – as important as language, for instance. It is also a tool to help us differentiate between healthy and problematic expressions of sexuality. Why is this important? In my experience, sexuality in children makes adults uncertain. We’re uncertain of what we see, what we should say, and how to react in the face of a child’s sexuality. We might just say nothing, reject or scold the child, resulting in the child not receiving the support and guidance they need. When it comes to sexuality, children need guidance and support just like in other aspects of life, and help to develop good sexual health as well as a healthy view of their own body. How does the Traffic Light help? Well, many adults report just reading it helps clarify what behaviours are acceptable. The Traffic Light is divided like the name indicates; in the colours green, yellow and red. The green light is the “go”-signal in traffic, and in this framework describes what a natural, healthy sexuality looks like. Now, if the child doesn’t show their sexuality, this is okay too. We are all different people, and not all children put their sexuality on display. At the green level, the child requires positive attention and support from you. The yellow light in traffic tells you to slow down or stop – or to get ready to drive. The same applies to yellow sexuality; you need to figure out what is happening. Are all the children fine? Do they find what’s happening acceptable? You have to find the answers to those questions; speak with the children, help them figure it out, ask them about their thoughts. Sometimes children need help with figuring out different ways to do things, and sexuality is no exception. Help them to adjust, find other ways, be more aware of everyone else’s boundaries. They need help with understanding and recognizing if they themselves are okay with what is occurring. If children don’t learn to recognize and enforce their own boundaries, they may have difficulties understanding how others can be uncomfortable. The red light means “stop”, both in traffic and in regard to sexuality. If the behaviour is red, you, the adult, must intervene immediately. This is why many people actively use the Traffic Light, either with fellow personnel or other acquaintances; they get to talk about it and read through the different categories, both colour and age group. The Traffic Light describes the different levels of age well, including what to expect and what sexuality in those ages looks like. However, such a framework can’t account for everything, and talking to other people reveals how humans are all different people with different boundaries. Adults are no exception, and we all react differently in the face of others’ sexuality – especially the sexuality of children. If you discuss it – preferably with your staff group – you can find out what this all means to you at your kindergarten/school/place of work, and how your institution should operate. You can together decide where the boundaries are, and why. What do you react to, and what don’t you react to? What keeps you from reacting in situations where you should have? If this has been discussed beforehand you can also create a strategy for how to act if a child expresses their sexuality in an unacceptable way. In addition, you can agree on a method of speaking to the child about sexuality. When we discuss the validity of our thoughts we become more assured, more open, and we appear more concise to children – and if we are clear and concise, children become assured as well. They receive the guidance, training and support they need to develop a healthy sexuality. This is the foundation of good sexual health; positive development, lots of joy, and healthy sexual common decency. Birgit Hegge, høgskolelektor VID, fakultet for helsefag. Vis teksten Spilletid: 7:15

APPENDIX 6 Listen to a read-aloud version of the text on this page 7.7 Appendix 6 Sexual offences RVTS Mid 00:00 / 02:05 SEXUAL OFFENCES According to the Norwegian Penal Code (2005, Sections 302, 304 and 305) sexual behaviour, sexual activity, sexual relations with and sexual assault of children under the age of 16 are all punishable by law. The terms describe the different degrees of severity of sexual activity. (Ministry of Justice and Public Security, 2008-2009, p. 211). Sexual acts and relations committed against children under the age of 14 is counted as sexual assault (the Penal Code, 2005, Section 299). Sexual assault is the most severe form of sexual activity according to the Penal Code (Ministry of Justice and Public Security, 2008-2009, p. 215-216). Several actions that defined as problematic and harmful sexual behaviour are therefore affected by the Penal Code and are defined as criminal offences. The minimum age of criminal responsibility is 15 years of age in Norway (the Penal Code, 2005, Section 20 a), which means children under 15 who commit criminal actions are not criminally liable. The Police is still able to investigate cases committed by children older than 12, and can often be the first agency to be informed of harmful sexual behaviour committed by children. Interrogations usually take place in a Children’s Advocacy Center (Statens Barnehus), as they can coordinate further assistance for the child. ​ The age of consent is 16 in Norway, meaning children under 16 cannot normally give their consent to sexual relations. Therefore, the prosecuting and judicial authorities will, when a child under 16 has been reported, consider mutuality and equanimity of age, maturity and cognitive functioning before a potential trial. Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse

WORKING WITH SEXUALLY DEGRADING LANGUAGE, ATTITUDES AND BAD CULTURE IN A CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT Using genital words, degrading language, and sexual orientation jeeringly creates an unhealthy classroom environment. Some may feel excluded and harassed, or the slang could be adapted and accepted as normal. Both have negative consequences for building respect and the correct attitude toward each other. This use of language can, in many cases, lead to physical touches that cross personal boundaries, for instance feeling up breasts, slapping the butt, etc. ​ It is important to have a common understanding of this and how to manage it between the staff. Ensuring the parents and pupils have the same understanding needs to be worked on over time. ​ Other professional advice: ​ Teach boys and girls separately. A male teacher should talk to the boys to avoid accusations of “feminist propaganda” or “prudishness”. Be aware that not everyone will feel exposed or shy by the behvaiour discussed. This should all be in addition to combined lectures where the goal is a common understanding of the subject and obligation to behave properly. Give the class a common understanding of the subject, discuss “how do we want our class to be” and make a set of rules for use of language and physical touching. Hold a parent-teacher conference for all parents and inform them of how you have approached the subject in class, and what rules for use of language and physical touching the pupils have compiled. Encourage the parents to also focus on the subject at home. Contact other agencies for cooperation, e.g. the Child Welfare Service for counselling and assessment of the class environment, and the Educational Psychological Counselling Service (PPT) for assessment of pupils and work with systemic change. Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse Listen to a read-aloud version of the text on this page 4.4 Working with sexually degrading.... RVTS Mid 00:00 / 00:50

THE TRAFFIC LIGHT CAN HELP US DIFFERENTIATE – PART 1 It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between healthy sexual playing, and when the sexual behaviour is problematic and harmful for both the child inflicting it, and the child exposed to it. Knowledge about normal development, and signs of behaviour changing negatively is therefore important. Sexual behaviour can also have different motivations and meanings for children in different developmental stages. ​ “The Traffic Light” is a nice tool for adults to use when identifying and assessing sexual behaviour causing concern. LECTURER Marita Sandvik is a social worker with a master’s degree in mental health care. She is also a cognitive therapist with experience working with violence and sexual crimes at St.Olav’s Hospital, Brøset department (Central professional unit for committal to care, Center for safety-, prison- and judicial psychiatry) and Trondheim Prison. ​ At the moment she works at RVTS Mid with raising competence around problematic and harmful sexual behaviour in children and young people. Sandvik is especially a proponent of prevention of assault by professional development and establishing access to treatment and following-up for adults and children in danger of committing sexual violations. She is in addition a coordinator for the Resource team for problematic and harmful sexual behaviour (REBESSA). Listen to a read-aloud version of the text on this page 3.1 The traffic light can help us differentiate part 1 RVTS Mid 00:00 / 00:39 Previous Next Innholdsfortegnelse Sometimes a child’s sexual exploration and playing can become too boisterous, intense and violating, to the point where it is problematic for both themselves and those around them. For this reason we need to not only focus on healthy, natural sexual development, but also be able to discern when a child’s sexuality becomes problematic or directly harmful. Being a good caregiver means reacting when the child is overstepping boundaries, including sexual ones. Adults are supposed to provide protection and prevent injury by intervening, as well as help and supervise those who need it. It can be hard to discern whether children’s sexual behaviour is suited to their age group, or if it’s problematic and potentially harmful. Simon Hackett uses a continuum to define these terms, illustrating with arrows pointing in both directions that sexuality can slide between healthy, problematic and harmful. In other words, when assessing the behaviour we need to take into account the context surrounding it. Healthy sexual playing is characterized as being reciprocated, fun for both parties, consensual, and pleasurable. There should be no power imbalance between the participants, meaning no significant difference in age, physicality, status or cognitive function. Some examples of problematic sexual behaviour are: acts not befitting of the situation or relation, acts which are not age appropriate, and impulsive acts. These sexual acts can be influenced by peer pressure, or the child’s way of regulating difficult thoughts and feelings. A child’s behaviour should not frighten others, or scare them into keeping quiet about what happened. We move to the “harmful” category when children are scared, frightened, or threatened into participation and keeping quiet. Harmful sexual behaviour is harmful both toward the child exposed to and the child inflicting it. It is characterized by power imbalance between the participants, fear and sometimes anger, and is difficult to distract from or stop entirely. Discovering when sexual acts become problematic is of great importance. It will provide adults the opportunity to help the children involved get the help they need, break their behavioural patterns, and return to a healthy sexual development. This is how we can prevent the initial problems from becoming harmful. A guide has been developed to help identify, assess and respond to sexuality that causes concern – it is called “The Traffic Light”, and uses the colours of a traffic light to represent healthy, problematic and harmful sexual behaviour. The Traffic Light reflects the divisions of the continuum, and give examples of healthy, problematic and harmful behaviours in different age groups. Acts which are normal for a 13-year-old require a different response if performed by a 5-year-old, after all. Some are at greater risk of developing problematic sexual behaviours, like children and young people who have themselves experienced sexual assault, violence or neglect, children with a skewed development or socialization, or children that are greatly impulsive or aggressive. A few examples of problematic behaviours are: an 8-year-old masturbating together with others a 10-year-old sharing nude photos on the internet a 14-year-old obsessed with sex and pornography to the point where it disrupts normal development a 14-year-old utilizing very aggressive language A few examples of harmful behaviours are: an 8-year-old masturbating consciously in front of others for attention or to frighten a 10-year-old sending other children sexually threatening messages a 14-year-old obsessed with violent pornography, or performing sexual acts with animals (sexual activity with animals is illegal) It is imperative to put an immediate end to harmful actions. We will through early discovery and following up on both the victim and perpetrator be able to prevent such actions from happening again. After learning what problematic and harmful sexual behaviour between children looks like, one might ask: “Is this really a problem here in Norway?” To find the answer we need to look at studies reporting on the frequency of sexual violations between children and young people. International studies report the frequency of sexual violations as 10-50%, and on average about 30% of all sexual violations are committed by children. What about in Norway? To find out, let’s look at several self-report studies and criminal statistics of how many minors have been reported to the Police for sexual violations: 1. “Young violence – 2015” (“Ung vold-undersøkelsen – 2015” (NOVA)) is a self-report study by upper secondary-graduates in Norway, and reported that: 3 out of 10 girls had experienced at least one form of sexual violation 1 out 10 boys had experienced at least one form of sexual violation When asked about rape, students reported that: 1 out of 10 girls had experienced being raped 1 out of 100 boys had experienced being raped Half of the assaults against girls were committed by boys in their peer-group or slightly older. 2. In 2019 NKVTS published a self-report study on “Adolescents’ childhood experience with violence and assault” (Ungdoms erfaringer med vold og overgrep i oppveksten”). The sample size was around 9000 (9240) adolescents in the ages 12-16, and they reported that: 1 out of 5 had experienced one or more sexual violations by peers, and girls vastly outnumbered boys in this statistic The frequency of sexual violations committed by peers increase drastically when entering teenage years, and girls were affected disproportionately The perpetrator is most often acquainted with the victim In 2 out of 3 cases the perpetrator is a boy 3. A self-report study from 2007 sampling students in the ages 15-19 reports that: At the question “Have [you] convinced, pressured or forced someone to participate in sexual activities?” 9,5% of boys and 1,5% of girls answered yes. (The victims were mostly girls in the ages 10-14.) Looking at criminal statistics, the Norwegian NCIS (Kripos) published a report titled “Minors reported for sexual assault in 2016” (“Mindreårige anmeldt for voldtekt I 2016”), which tells us that: The number of minors reported for sexual assault is increasing 225 minors were reported for sexual offences in 2016 Of everyone reported to the Police, around 1 in 3 were under the age of 15 A significant percentage of young people are reported by several different people In other words, YES, this is worth our attention as a society, as parents and as school staff. Studies from Januscenteret in Denmark – which treats and follows up children who have violated others – show that 30% of the sexual violations were committed at and around school; in the schoolyard during recess, in the toilet stalls, in wardrobes, on the bus, and on the way to and from school. This makes schools an important arena for prevention! But who are these children and adolescents who commit sexual violations? They are usually children and young people who deal with difficult things in other areas of life. They can be children who have experienced or witnessed violence and assault, or who aren’t taken care of where they live. They can be children who feel very lonely, and have trouble managing push-back and stress. They can be children who have trouble forming connections and don’t trust others. They can be children who have a bad experience with sexual activities, or children who use aggression to get what they want, or who is just overstepping many different boundaries. They can also be children who struggle with social skills and are bad at interpreting social signals, or who are very impulsive, but don’t comprehend the consequences of their actions. ​ However, some children and young people who commit sexual violations do not otherwise struggle – instead they may have experimented irresponsibly with sexuality, or imitated pornography they found on the internet. Do remember that these children and young people are still developing, and primarily need help and guidance to avoid injuring others, change their behaviour and achieve positive development. We also have to be very careful not to put stigmatizing labels on children, which are hard to get rid of. There is, luckily, a growing awareness of the many and complex reasons why children and young people exhibit harmful sexual behaviour. For example, the child’s condition and inner workings aren’t the only factors; the surrounding environments are incredibly influential. Factors like if they’re cared for, their network or other influences, like the internet or social media. Cooperation between several professions and authorities are required when managing harmful sexual behaviour. Never be alone with these cases; discuss with colleagues and management, utilize the Traffic Light, and contact agencies with the relevant expertise. Studies show that around 9 out of 10 children will not, given a proper response, repeat harmful actions. Proper responses can be: Correction/enforcing boundaries Explaining Counselling and training for a healthy sexuality Some children need more extensive measures and treatment to change their unfortunate behavioural patterns, ensure positive development and the safety of other children. To help children who need assistance with their violating behaviour you should assess: The underlying cause of the act committed The child’s living situation Other vulnerabilities/issues the child might have And last but not least: resources, strengths and protective factors in both the child and surrounding environments The goal is to gain an understanding of the child’s behaviour, and then use this understanding to decide what measures and treatment are needed. There might be a need for assessments on psychological and cognitive function as well as risk and the chance of repeat offenses, in which case referral to BUP or Habiliteringstjenesten are good options. BUP, in cooperation with other authorities (like school), also offers customized treatment and following-up with the patient. As part of my master’s degree a few years ago I interviewed adolescents who had been convicted of sexual assault. Their answers when asked if their harmful actions could have been prevented were valuable to our work, in my opinion: “My harmful sexual actions could have been avoided by being better educated on sexuality, consent, the age of consent and reciprocity.” “It is important to inform of the consequences for both the victim and the offender, in addition to how pornography can affect us.” “I wish I had someone to talk to about this.” “This” meaning sexuality, body and his attraction to younger children. Young people need someone they can talk to when sexuality becomes difficult or, in the worst cases, harmful. Children and young people often trust one of the school staff, resulting in this person being the first to hear about or themselves observe negative interactions between children. School staff are therefore in a great position to educate and provide guidance on the subject of sexuality, as well as ensure those who need it receive help. Marita Sandvik, vernepleier og fagrådgiver ved Brøset kompetansesenter. Vis teksten Spilletid: 14:56