ABSTRACT
Most clinicians will accept that young sex offenders, bullies and young perpetrators of violence have often been themselves the subject of abuse. On occasion they have been the subject of specific abuses that they later perpetrate in a similar way. We live in a society that is attempting to cope with a constant increase in violence. Crimes against the person (for all ages) increased by about 73% in the period between 1981 and 1995 (Audit Commission 1996). We know that two out of five offenders are under the age of 21 years, but in fact the overall juvenile crime rate has decreased. However, the violent crime rate has increased in the 10-to 17-year-old group especially in girls (Home Office 1992). Our society has probably become less outraged by images of the perverse and at times celebrates discourses on expressions of ‘art’ which portray the abuse of children (Burchill 1997).
