Into the conceptual “sin bin”: the contested positioning of children who display harmful sexual behaviours

Harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) in childhood is a complex and contested field of practice. While traditionally viewed through criminological and risk-oriented lenses, contemporary scholarship increasingly recognises that such framings inadequately capture the developmental, relational and social contexts in which children’s sexual behaviours emerge. This paper critiques the enduring dominance of forensic paradigms in the conceptualisation and management of HSB, arguing that these approaches risk casting children into a conceptual “sin bin” that obscures their status and rights as children. Drawing on insights from childhood studies, developmental psychology and critical social theory, the paper repositions HSB as a phenomenon of disrupted childhood. It advocates for a reframing of policy and practice that foregrounds children’s agency, social ecologies and developmental trajectories, while resisting reductive narratives of risk and recidivism. The paper concludes by proposing a rights-based, developmentally informed framework for understanding and responding to HSB that recognises both the complexity and humanity of the children involved.PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT This paper applies insights from childhood studies to reframe harmful sexual behaviour as a problem of disrupted development rather than criminal deviance. It calls for proportionate, trauma-informed interventions that strengthen developmental pathways, rebuild relationships and foster children’s long-term wellbeing, rather than simply interrupting behaviour.