“Centrs Dardedze” often receives calls and questions about harmful sexual behaviour among children – sexual behaviour that is not age-appropriate and causes harm to the child themselves or to others involved. Many professionals at this point feel uncertain and do not know how to act, and the problem persists. What should be done?
In cases where a child displays harmful sexual behaviour, it is necessary to provide a comprehensive support service that is based on the child’s needs. The first step is to assess the child’s situation and understand the reasons behind their behaviour. Based on this information, psychological counselling should be provided both to the child exhibiting harmful sexual behaviour and to the child’s parents/legal guardians. These counselling sessions will help strengthen the child’s self-esteem, as well as their knowledge and skills to interact respectfully with other children. At the same time, by supporting parents or legal guardians, their knowledge and skills in creating an emotionally safe home environment for the child will be strengthened.
Considering that a child spends a large part of their day in an educational institution, in cases of harmful sexual behaviour it is also essential to support the staff of the educational institution in creating an emotionally safe environment for the child at school. Staff members need training on harmful sexual behaviour, digital literacy, and building respectful relationships. It is also necessary to strengthen school psychologists’ knowledge and skills in working with children displaying harmful sexual behaviour. Support for specialists in educational institutions also serves as prevention, reducing the likelihood of repeated cases of harmful sexual behaviour in the school environment.
During the project, “Centrs Dardedze” will provide a comprehensive, child-centred support service across all three levels of prevention, implementing the following activities:
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Developing a description of the support service by reviewing available literature on harmful sexual behaviour and incorporating the experience of professionals who encounter such cases in their daily work.
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Providing the support service to children with harmful sexual behaviour, as well as to their parents/legal guardians and educational institution staff. During the project, support will be provided to 10 children with harmful sexual behaviour.
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Evaluating the support service and creating an improved service description.
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Ensuring compliance with the project’s communication and visual identity requirements.
Planned project results:
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Development and improvement of the support service description (2 versions) and creation of guidelines (for 2 educational institutions) for working with children with harmful sexual behaviour.
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Provision of 200 psychological counselling sessions: 150 for children with harmful sexual behaviour and 40 for parents/legal guardians.
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Provision of 6 training sessions for school staff on responding to and preventing harmful sexual behaviour.
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Provision of 32 meetings (in both training and consultation formats) for school support teams, providing knowledge on harmful sexual behaviour in children.
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Provision of 2 training sessions for children, including those with harmful sexual behaviour.
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Provision of supervision for psychologists – 50 sessions.
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Implementation of the project’s communication and visual identity requirements.
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Implementation of the project’s management and operational activities.
Project implementation period:
From Q2 2025 to Q1 2027 (24 months in total).
Project costs:
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ESF+: EUR 97,059.88
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State budget funding: EUR 17,128.22
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Total eligible costs: EUR 114,188.10