Young people who sexually abuse

Edited by Martin C Calder.
Russell House Publishing
£39.95
ISBN 1 898924 89 9

This collection makes an important
contribution to humane and effective practice. It is divided into
seven sections with chapters from England, Scotland, Wales, USA and
Canada, which explore every aspect of the young person’s life –
individual, family, practitioner, managerial and substitute care.
It puts a strong case for the young offender to be seen as a whole
person and points to the need for a vision beyond “traditional
professional polarities and approaches”.

The contributors add to our understanding of
developmental pathways to abuse, the complex inter-relationship
between victimisation and victimising, the personal impact of the
work, the needs of carers and a range of practice and managerial
issues. They set a standard for effective practice that will enable
existing programmes to evaluate their work, new programmes to
develop and child protection decision-making to be made more
effective.

The book is a companion volume to previous
works of Calder’s, but can stand alone. I recommend it not only to
those working with young people who abuse but also to the whole
field for its approach to an issue with which we all need to
connect.

Sue Richardson is an attachment-based
psychotherapist, trainer and co-author of Creative Responses to
Child Sexual Abuse (Jessica Kingsley Publishers,
2001)