Felix Lopez Sanchez was Professor in Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Salamanca. He did his training at the Complutense University of Madrid and at the University of Salamanca, but also at the Sexology Department of the University of Quebec in Montreal (Canada). Among his other international experience belongs the two months teaching at the University of Durham (United States) with Dr. David Finkelhor. His interest in the area of abuses began in 1978, when doing a research among 87 children from the Casa Cuna of Salamanca, where he was going one day per week with some of his students. Together with this experience, the release of Bowlby’s work significantly influenced the future direction of his work. In 1981 he published his first title, [López, F. (1981): Los orígenes de la socialización. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 15, 7-18], where he was openly criticizing the prevailing behaviorist thesis that socialization was understood as a process of conditioning. The next year, he released another work [López, F. (1982): Niños en Casa Cuna. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 16, 529-547], which highlighted his experience if working with the children of the Casa Cuna. In the following years he released more publications on ​​children who live in the Casa Cuna which were focused on "strange situation", showing the differences compared to those children living with their families. Among his most significant publications belongs: López, F (2008): Necesidades en la Infancia y Adolescencia. Madrid: Pirámide; López, F. Carpintero, E. Del Campo, A., Lazaro, S. y Siriano, S. (2006): Bienestar Personal y Social (programa de intervención). Madrid: Pirámide; López, F., Carpintero, E., Del Campo, A., Lazaro, S. y Sortianbo, S. (2011). Menores Infractores: programas educativos y terapéuticos. Madrid: Pirámide.

We have to stress the fact that Mr. Sanchez’s research was the only one made in the field of sexual abuses in Spain with a national sample. His kind of work has always addressed the issue using a threefold approach: basic research, development of new theories and development, implementation and evaluation of intervention programs.

Regarding your long career as an expert on Psychology of Sexuality, and with more than 30 years of teaching and researching experience concerning the relationship between sex and affection, which crucial elements in the development of young people's sexuality do you think are the most important?

• The experience and the loving relationships modeled between parents and their attachment. They acquire a world of representations and basic experiences with them.
• The information or the lack of them.
• Attitudes learned in the family and among the peers, etc…
• The positive or negative (traumatic) sexual experiences.

According to your contribution into the recent publication of OPTION Chile 'Treatment Program to control sexual aggression CAS-R', what aspects or fundamental therapeutic targets have to be taken into account when working with young sex offenders?

• They have to learn how to relate to the others in sexual and emotional way. Sex education is positive. It is not only to prevent recidivism, but to make them happy.
• Learning to be in control of their emotions, which also means to be able to accept that other person doesn’t feel the same desire and sexual attraction.
• Acquisition of an ethics of loving relationships. The ethics of consent.
• Developing cognitive and affective empathy towards others, before becoming a potential sexual offender.

During the years 2009-2011 the European Commission supported the IJJO in the development and coordination of a project " European Comparative Analysis and the Knowledge Transfer on Mental Health Resources for Young Offenders" (MHYO)*. Thanks to this study it becomes real that there is a lack of appropriate treatment as well as specific strategies and policies for young offenders with mental health problems. Are there any other innovative programs that are being developed in the field of prevention and intervention with adolescents committing sexual abuses?

I would like to mention our own programs: Félix López  et. al (2011). Fewer offenders: therapeutic and educational programs. Madrid: Pirámide.

Bearing in mind the need and lack of training for professionals in the prevention and treatment of mental health problems of young people in conflict with the law, one of the results of the MHYO Project is a "Manual for the improvement of knowledge and professional skills and development of promotional programs". In this sense, what are the needs identified by professionals in contact with young sex offenders and what are the existing training tools for these professionals?

They are not informed at the university and there are usually no specific graduate training programs.
This is a great necessity. The solution could be to associate the training with the education and therapy centers.

What type of measures and legal reforms, do you believe, would be more effective in dealing with cases of sexual abuses by young people and why?

• Having a common age of consent in a globalized world: 14 or 15 years.
• Adding also a certain asymmetry of age for minors between 14 to 18 years and their possible relationships with adults.
• Having a rehabilitative approach to juvenile offenders.

What mechanisms or strategies should be developed in order to promote greater awareness among society of issues such as sexual-affective education and behavioral treatment of adolescents who commit sexual abuses? In which way could we ensure better education in order to achieve a greater respect for gender equality and better prevention of domestic violence?                                                           

• For sex education: Among the school to generalize and promote sexual education according to biographical-professional model - Lopez F. (2005): Sex education-Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva. Clarify the role of family, school and health.
• With offenders: to make offenders familiar with the fact there will be consequences of their acts, on one hand, but also to promote possible rehabilitation on the other. It isn’t true that they don’t have solution and always reoffend.

Results of the recent research conducted in the area of young offenders reveal the effectiveness of Multisystemic Therapy, based on integrated interventions in the community and in the family. In this sense, what other treatment models, best practices and references of interest can you recommend to our partners and professionals interested in this field?

Our proposals are written and are compatible with this multisystem orientation.

What progress has been achieved by the professionals in recent years and what challenges exist for experts, institutions and organizations involved in this matter?

Progress: the awareness of the problem and increased number of reported abuses.

Faults: no proper sex education or professional training. The training is managed by private sector, such as masters, and the evaluation is undemanding.