Members' Business — S6M-12918 Fulton MacGregor: Tackling Sibling Sexual Abuse in Scotland

That the Parliament commends the recent paper, Tackling Sibling Sexual Abuse in Scotland, published by the Cross Party Group on Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse; notes with concern the lack of Scotland-specific data regarding sibling sexual abuse (SSA); understands that SSA is the most common form of intra-familial child sexual abuse; acknowledges research that suggests that it is estimated that at least twice as many children are sexually abused by a child sibling than by a parent; recognises that many survivors who talk of their experiences of rape or sexual assault perpetrated by a sibling find that their abuse can be met by disbelief or minimisation by adults and professionals as "sexual experimentation" or "natural curiosity"; understands that SSA is less likely to be disclosed than other forms of sexual abuse, due to shame, fears of punishment or blame, or not being believed; further understands that the consequences of SSA may include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance and alcohol misuse, eating disorders and relationship difficulties throughout life; believes that there is credible evidence that SSA often goes unrecognised or is minimised by professionals, which it considers is adverse to the needs of survivors and their families; acknowledges what it considers the complex issue of SSA whereby perpetrators are often underage themselves and may be in need of additional support; notes the support for any measures to highlight the prevalence of sibling sexual abuse, its impact and what parents can do if they are concerned about sexual behaviour between siblings; further notes the belief that it is valuable to launch a reference group bringing together key agencies and those with lived experience to consolidate learning, identify best practices and steer future policy and practice so that scalable, proportionate and trauma-informed responses are available to address this issue, and notes the belief that it is beneficial to establish dedicated training courses for social workers and other safeguarding professionals, including those in the Coatbridge and Chryston constituency, specifically on disclosure and communicating with children when there are concerns about SSA.