About sexual offending
What sexual abuse is, how common it is, and why this register is published.
What sexual abuse is
Sexual abuse covers any sexual activity with a person who has not consented, or who cannot consent. It includes contact offences such as rape and indecent assault, and offences without contact such as exposure, grooming, and producing or sharing sexual images of children. A child cannot consent to sexual activity with an adult under any circumstances.
Who commits these offences
There is no single profile. People who sexually abuse others differ widely in background, age, and circumstance, and most are known to the person they harm. Research consistently finds that abuse frequently occurs within families, friendship circles, and positions of trust rather than between strangers.
Many offenders rationalise their behaviour, minimising what they did or shifting responsibility to the person they harmed. Many have difficulty with self regulation and impulse control. Understanding this is useful for prevention, but it does not reduce responsibility. Sexual offending is a choice and the law treats it as one.
How common it is
Sexual abuse occurs across every age, community, and income level. International research indicates that roughly one in four girls and one in twenty boys experience sexual abuse before the age of eighteen, and that young adults between eighteen and twenty four are among the groups at highest risk. Most cases are never reported.
Why the register exists
Publishing this information allows members of the public to make informed decisions about the people who have access to their children and their homes. It is one measure among many. It works alongside supervision requirements, reporting conditions, and the ordinary vigilance of families and communities.
The register is not a licence to act
Using the information published here to threaten, harass, or harm a listed person is a criminal offence and will be prosecuted. It also makes communities less safe, because it drives offenders out of contact with the authorities who supervise them.
Recovery is possible
People who have experienced sexual abuse can and do recover, particularly where they are believed early and supported well. The effects can reach into physical health, emotional wellbeing, relationships, faith, and work, and they change over time rather than following a fixed course. Support is available, and asking for it at any stage is reasonable, including many years afterwards.