- The research I have done and the research that is available on young people who have been abused is unequivocal in that they do not need to be kept in custody, they do not need some generally decent help but they need a treatment that thematizes the problem they have, says Cecilia Kjellgren.

Cecilia Kjellgren is associate professor of social work at Linnaeus University and has for several decades researched in the area of ​​violence and sexual abuse committed against and by children. In her most current research project, she delves into the treatment of children and young people who have committed sexual abuse and she sees that these young people need specialized care.

- Some of these young people who are included in my studies as well as in international studies may have a lot of other difficulties, cognitive difficulties, developmental disorders or some type of neuropsychiatric diagnosis. They need to talk about sexuality, the abuses and the boundaries to not repeat it. I've met young adults who wondered why they didn't get that help when they were 15 but instead talked about other things, school and how it was at home, they never got to talk about what was the problem, namely that they committed sexual abuse and continue to do so.

BUP not enough

Placing young sex offenders in very common treatment homes for young people, so-called HVB homes, is not enough. Not even if the young person gets support in child and adolescent psychiatry, BUP, says Cecilia Kjellgren.

- In some cases, BUP may have some pieces that are a bit specialized and can do this and it is possible that you can have a call contact. But what these young people need can be training from waking up in the morning, gaining new skills, training in being with others, exercising where the boundaries go and not crossing them. One hour a week is probably not enough. The young people who are in specialized treatment describe that it goes on all week, that everyone who works at the department can do this, everyone knows what I have done, everyone knows that there is a risk of thinking in certain paths or doing certain things. These young people become confident of not being able to get away, says Cecilia Kjellgren.

"No easy fix"

In an article in the Journal of Sexual Aggression, Cecilia Kjellgren has presented a number of examples in support of her conclusions. Consistently, the young people who received specialized treatment were satisfied with the treatment, while those who did not receive specialized treatment to a large extent express disappointment.

- There is no experience of having a call a week plus some general good care. You have to work much more intensively. Many of the people I have met have been in treatment homes for several years and say that things are going slow. They need to say things several times, need to train and train several times so that the behavior sits. There is no easy fix. You need to go in depth and have to repeat and repeat. It will not be time for an hour a week.

Today there are a handful of treatment homes in Sweden that specialize in treating children and young people who have committed sexual abuse. And that's where the young sexual offenders belong, says Cecilia Kjellgren.

- The specialized units have built up a certainty that the young people are not left themselves and you cannot be in each other's rooms. This is to protect other children from being exposed but also to protect the teen who is in need of community support. That is why you are taken care of, because you need a well qualified treatment. In my study, I have followed up teenagers who have been abusive and met them as young adults. There, it becomes very clear that they are disappointed, critical and angry at the social services and the community that did not give them the support they needed, she says.