A state-run therapeutic program in New South Wales is treating children and adolescents who have sexually harmed other children, offering bespoke therapy to address harmful behaviours and prevent further assaults, as a 2024 analysis found teenagers had overtaken adults as the most likely perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
The state-run program operates 12 centres providing therapeutic interventions for children and adolescents who have sexually harmed another child or teen. New Street Services is for 10 to 17-year-olds, while SafeWayz serves children under 10. None of the participants has been prosecuted for sexually related offences, mostly because they have not met the burden of criminal responsibility.
Demand for the service has grown since it opened in 1998. The program’s lead, Adjunct Professor Dale Tolliday, said: “The day that we opened our doors on July 1, 1998, an hour later, we had to close for referrals – we were just flooded,” he said from the program’s head office at Westmead Children’s Hospital.
The program’s approach separates a young person’s behaviour from their emerging identity, with more than 60 clinicians working with participants. Treatment can take six months to two years. Crucially, it incorporates the perspective of the victim-survivor throughout treatment.
Dr Gemma McKibbin, a University of Melbourne child sexual abuse prevention researcher, said there was a “massive increase in children being sexually exploited, either by their peers or by adults.” She said a lack of sufficient funding and large geographical areas without services meant most families who would benefit could not access them. “If they’re supported therapeutically, then there’s a lot of potential that they can cease carrying out sexual harm, and can become good and protective citizens,” she said.
A 2014 analysis of New Street Services found 89 per cent of adolescents who successfully completed the program had stopped their inappropriate behaviours by the time they left. The effects on the remaining 11 per cent were not known.
Young people in the program set treatment goals, with parents encouraged to play a key role. Therapy is tailored to each case: a child with a disability who used online content as an instruction manual would require a different approach to a teenager who themselves had been sexually abused by a family member.
“We might see a young person who's a school leader, an achiever people look up to, but he's got attitudes that are centred around entitlement,” Tolliday said. “So we've got a different pathway we've got to follow with exploring that.”
The program is considered complete when a young person has reached goals focused on safety, wellbeing and restitution, which may include acknowledging their behaviour to help the person harmed understand that what happened to them was not their fault. “Facing the reality of their behaviours takes a lot of time and effort,” Tolliday said. “They need to have a narrative about themselves … which does not deny that they did this, but that they can step aside from and say: ‘This is something I did in X time in my life when I had these influences. This is not who I am, and I’m behaving differently’.”
A NSW Health spokesperson said funding for New Street Services had more than doubled from $5 million in 2018-19 to $10.3 million in 2026-27.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The program addresses a growing need: a 2024 analysis of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study found 18.2 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds reported sexual abuse by an adolescent peer, compared with 11.7 per cent who experienced abuse from an adult.
- Success rates are high: 89 per cent of adolescents who completed the program stopped their inappropriate behaviours, showing the potential for therapeutic intervention over punishment.
- Funding has doubled to $10.3 million, reflecting government recognition of the issue, but researchers say large areas still lack services.
Background
The New Street Services program was founded in 1998 at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney. It treats children and adolescents who have sexually harmed others but have not been prosecuted, typically because they are below the age of criminal responsibility. The program uses a therapeutic, tailored approach rather than a one-size-fits-all model, and involves parents and victim-survivor perspectives.
Key Perspectives
Adjunct Professor Dale Tolliday (program lead): The scale of need was huge from day one, and the program helps young people separate their behaviour from their identity, with some staying in touch into adulthood. He acknowledged personal cost but said the benefit was “seeing the remarkable changes in people's lives over time.”
Dr Gemma McKibbin (University of Melbourne researcher): There has been a massive increase in peer-on-peer exploitation, and while the program can help children become “good and protective citizens,” insufficient funding and large gaps in geographical coverage mean most families who could benefit cannot access services.
What to Watch
- Whether the NSW government expands the program's geographic reach to underserved areas, as researchers say vast regions lack services.
- Future analysis of the program's long-term outcomes, particularly the 11 per cent of participants whose effects were not known in the 2014 study.
- Whether similar therapeutic programs are adopted in other states or countries, given the rise in peer-on-peer child sexual abuse.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe story is about a New South Wales program for children who have sexually harmed other children.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “But inside the state-run service, they never use those words.”
- SupportedNew Street Services provides therapy to young people who have sexually harmed another child or teen.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “The Children and Young People’s Sexual Safety Program is among only a handful of services in the world that provide therapeutic interventions for children and adolescents who have sexually harmed another child or teen”
- SupportedThe program aims to prevent further sexual assaults.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “with the aim of preventing further sexual assaults.”
- SupportedA 2024 analysis found teenagers had overtaken adults as the most likely perpetrators of child sexual abuse.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “Teenagers have now overtaken adults as the most likely perpetrators of child sexual abuse, a 2024 analysis of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study found.”
- SupportedTolliday said the program closed for referrals an hour after opening on July 1, 1998, because it was flooded with referrals.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““The day that we opened our doors on July 1, 1998, an hour later, we had to close for referrals – we were just flooded,” Tolliday said”
- SupportedMcKibbin said there had been a massive increase in children being sexually exploited by peers or adults.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““We’re seeing [a] massive increase in children being sexually exploited, either by their peers or by adults.””
- SupportedMcKibbin said therapeutic support could help young people stop carrying out sexual harm and become protective citizens.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““If they’re supported therapeutically, then there’s a lot of potential that they can cease carrying out sexual harm, and can become good and protective citizens,” she said.”
- SupportedTolliday described a young person who was a school leader but had attitudes centred around entitlement.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““We might see a young person who’s a school leader, an achiever people look up to, but he’s got attitudes that are centred around entitlement,” he said.”
- SupportedTolliday said young people need a personal narrative that acknowledges their behaviour while recognising they can change.Brisbane Times - Latest News: ““They need to have a narrative about themselves … which does not deny that they did this, but that they can step aside from and say: ‘This is something I did in X time in my life when I had these influences. This is not who I am, and I’m behaving differently’.””
- SupportedNew Street Services has 12 centres, serves 10-to-17-year-olds, and SafeWayz serves children under 10.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “At the program’s 12 centres”
- SupportedNone of the participants has been prosecuted for sexually related offences, mostly because they have not met the burden of criminal responsibility.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “None of the participants has been prosecuted for sexually related offences, mostly because they have not met the burden of criminal responsibility.”
- SupportedA 2014 analysis found 89 per cent of adolescents who successfully completed the program had stopped their inappropriate behaviours when they left.Brisbane Times - Latest News: “A 2014 analysis of New Street Services found 89 per cent of the adolescents who successfully completed the program had stopped their inappropriate behaviours by the time they left.”