What Happens When We Look Beyond the Harm?
On 8th October 2026, we will be hosting The Child Behind the Harm, a conference focused on understanding the experiences and vulnerabilities that can sit beneath harmful behaviour in young people, and what it takes to create more compassionate, safeguarding-led responses.
Ahead of the event, we spoke to Carly Adams-Elias about why it's so important to look beyond risk and behaviour, see the whole child, and understand the role that trust, relationships and compassion play in helping young people thrive.
What does "seeing beyond the harm" mean in practice when working with young people affected by violence, exploitation and harm?
For me, seeing beyond the harm starts with seeing a child as a child. Too often, young people affected by violence and exploitation are viewed through a single lens and become defined by what has happened to them, rather than who they are.
When that happens, we can miss the bigger picture – the experiences, unmet needs, relationships and circumstances that sit behind the harm. We also risk labelling the young person as the problem, instead of recognising the harm they’ve experienced and the context they’re navigating.
Seeing beyond the harm means understanding the whole child: their strengths, interests, talents and aspirations, as well as the challenges they face. It’s about recognising how their experiences shape their trust in others and their sense of safety, while focusing on what they need to heal, grow and thrive.
Ultimately, it’s about helping young people move beyond what has happened to them and supporting them to build the futures they want and deserve.
Carly Adams-Elias
Systems can fail young people when they focus only on risk, behaviour or criminalisation because they miss what’s driving those behaviours in the first place.
How can systems fail young people by focusing only on risk, behaviour or criminalisation?
Systems can fail young people when they focus only on risk, behaviour or criminalisation because they miss what’s driving those behaviours in the first place. If we only respond to what’s visible on the surface, the support offered can feel disconnected from what a young person actually needs.
Too often, systems respond by restricting or removing things that are important to young people – excluding them from school, moving them away from their communities, or discouraging relationships that may be meeting important social or emotional needs. While these responses are often intended to keep young people safe, they don’t always address the underlying experiences, needs or harms that sit behind the behaviour.
At its worst, this can lead to young people being held responsible for the harm they’re experiencing, rather than being recognised as children in need of support. We know this can disproportionately affect children from Black or other racially marginalised groups who are more likely to be viewed through an adult lens and less likely to be seen as vulnerable.
When young people feel blamed, judged or misunderstood, trust in services can quickly break down. If they’ve had repeated experiences of not being listened to or supported, they’re less likely to engage with professionals when they need help.
By focusing too narrowly on risk or behaviour, systems can miss valuable opportunities to build trusting relationships, recognise strengths and respond to the whole child. That’s often where meaningful support and lasting change begin.
What are some of the vulnerabilities or experiences that might sit behind harmful behaviour in young people?
There’s rarely one simple explanation for harmful behaviour in young people. Often, it’s the result of a combination of experiences, relationships and circumstances that shape how a young person sees themselves and the world around them.
For some young people, previous experiences of harm, trauma, rejection or unmet needs can play a role. Others may be struggling with loneliness, isolation, difficulties at school, or a lack of positive relationships and support. A strong need for belonging, identity or protection can sometimes lead young people towards peer groups or relationships that adults see as risky, but which are meeting important needs for that young person.
It's also important to recognise that vulnerability doesn’t only sit within the individual. Sometimes it’s the environment around them that creates vulnerability. That might be a school, community or online space where harmful behaviours are normalised, challenged inconsistently, or where young people are being targeted or influenced by others.
That’s why it’s so important not to make assumptions. Understanding what’s sitting behind behaviour means being curious about a young person’s experiences, relationships, needs and strengths, rather than solely focusing on the behaviour itself.
Carly Adams-Elias
Compassion starts with remembering that young people who have caused harm are still children. That doesn’t mean minimising the impact of their behaviour, but it does mean approaching them with curiosity, care and a genuine desire to understand what’s going on beneath the surface.
How can professionals be compassionate when working with young people who may have caused harm to other young people?
Too often, safeguarding systems can become heavily focused on risk, procedures and managing behaviour. While those things are important, they can sometimes come at the expense of relationships. Compassionate practice means seeing the child first, listening to their perspective and recognising that their understanding of the world may be very different from our own.
For me, that means leading with values such as care, respect, trust and responsibility. It’s about taking young people’s experiences seriously, valuing their knowledge of their own lives and resisting the urge to define them by a single incident or label. Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with this young person?”, we should be asking, “What’s happened to them and what do they need now?”
Building trust is a key part of this. Young people won’t automatically trust professionals, particularly if they’ve experienced harm, stigma or repeated disappointment from services. Trust has to be earned through consistency, honesty and respectful engagement, whether you’re working with a young person for ten minutes or ten years.
Compassion also requires professionals to reflect on their own assumptions and biases. Taking time to consider how our own experiences, beliefs and emotional responses influence our practice helps us respond more thoughtfully and effectively.
Ultimately, compassionate practice is about remaining hopeful. We may not be able to change every aspect of a young person’s circumstances, but we can ensure they feel heard, respected and cared for. Often, that’s what stays with them long after the intervention itself has ended.
Seeing beyond the harm starts with seeing the whole child. To learn more about how compassionate, relationship-based approaches can improve safeguarding practice, join us at our conference on 8th October, where Carly will be presenting findings from her PhD research into compassionate-led safeguarding and supporting young people affected by violence and exploitation.
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