Round Table Discussions

Round tables offer debate about issues such as:

Sexualised behaviour in younger adolescent boys: assessing risk

This roundtable symposium will present a number of cases of sexualised behaviuor by boys in a number of settings, ranging from schools to residential care to public places. The behaviour  presented as problematic and has resulted in a number of punitive sanctions, with some young boys facing criminal proceedings. Contemporary understanding categorises any form of sexual behaviour demonstrated by boys and directed towards another person as deviant, possibly criminal and requiring sanction.

This roundtable debates the issue of what is developmentally normal in young pubertal boys and when is the line crossed between "normal' behaviour and "abusive" behaviour. The issue will be discussed from a clinical and legal perspective and will consider what are appropriate outcomes for this type of behaviour

Fitness to Plead in Children

Dr Teresa Flower, Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist, Victoria, Australia,  present a number of cases she has dealt with in the Victorian Children's Court and will consider the question of fitness from a developmental and legal perspective.

The Koori Court: Young Indigenous offenders in the Justice system in Victoria, Australia

Judge Paul Grant, President of the Children's Court of Victoria, will speak about the Court's management of criminal offending by Koori children and young persons, and the involvement of the Indigenous community in these decisions, and the outcomes for these young people and their community.