Childhood sexuality is a contested terrain and is one not easily measured or researched. It is notable that the predominant research focus on the topic is that of child sexual abuse. As child sexual abuse has become mediated by the internet, claims of moral panics and talk of crises have strengthened (Jewkes and Wykes, 2012). Strong arguments against cultures of childhood sexualisation prevail in the public domain (Papadopoulos, 2010). A key question that needs to be addressed to deepen understanding of OCSV is whether any connection between sex and childhood is bad, wrong or abnormal. Some argue that it is, the American ‘abstentionists’ for example, while others maintain that current discourses on childhood and sexuality, now magnified through the digital world, both deny the everyday sexual behaviours of children and fail to offer them safety from harmful social practices (Robinson, 2013; Carmody, 2015).

What is appropriate or inappropriate sexual behaviour in childhood continues to defy consensus. For example, in a Delphi study of 24 professionals in the UK, there was agreement that children up to the age of 10 should not be referred to as abusers (Vosmer et al, 2009). Between 90% and 100% agreed that the following were not appropriate for children: penetration of ‘private parts’, oral sex, watching pornography, sexual contact with pets, preoccupation with sex including masturbation, ‘engaging in sexual acts beyond their physical/cognitive age’ and ‘engaging in behaviours which elicit complaints from other children’. A majority (over 80%) considered that using secrets to engage in sex acts and demanding to ‘be touched in a sexual manner by adults’ (96%) were inappropriate (Vosmer et al, 2009, p 280). Significantly, even among professionals who work with children, there was no consensus on what acceptable child sexual behaviour and suggestions might be, with widely different views.

In the first part of this chapter, we address the ways in which childhood sexuality has been researched in historical, clinical and academic studies outside the rapid evidence assessment. We find that, first, recognition of childhood sexuality is evident in all three fields.