Shocking report into sexually abusive behaviours in men shows need for safeguarding

Before engaging with this piece, readers should be aware that it contains references to child abuse and that the content may be confronting or disturbing. Support service recommendations have been provided at the end of the piece. 

• Just over 15 per cent of Australian men report sexual feelings towards children

• Around one in 10 Australian men has sexually offended against children (including technologically facilitated and offline abuse), with approximately half (4.9 per cent) of this group reporting sexual feelings towards children

• The 4.9 per cent of men with sexual feelings who had offended against children were more likely than men with no sexual feelings or offending against children to:
  • Be married, working with children, earning higher incomes
  • Report anxiety, depression, and binge drinking behaviours
  • Have been sexually abused or had adverse experiences in childhood
  • Be active online, including on social media, encrypted apps and cryptocurrency
  • Consume pornography that involves violence or bestiality.

• Safeguarding of children in environments that may be deemed particularly risky, including schools, day-care, social groups, clubs and any other activity in which children are present.
• Improving community understandings of the harm of child sexual abuse and challenging attitudes that support child sexual abuse.
• Building safety into online romance and dating sites to reduce offender access to single parents.
• Early intervention services for men with sexual feelings towards children who have not offended, and undetected offenders who want help to stop harming children, such as Stop It Now!.
• Supporting family and friends to identify problematic behaviours.
• The capacity for child protection, law enforcement and the criminal justice system to better target a cohort of men who are a chronic risk to children but are adaptive in their efforts to avoid detection and prosecution.