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Sociological theories associated with sexual offending
Several causes and theories on sex offenders
Several causes and theories on sex offenders
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Sex offenders. These people have sparked much debate in the years past and also quite a lot now in the present time. No matter where one could go, one will always hear stories and news reports of incidents of adults being involved with children in a sexual manner or of some poor woman being raped. An example of this could be a preacher touching the altar boys, a man forcing himself onto a woman he held at gun point in an alley, it may just be an average run of the mill creep offering kids candy at a playground hoping to get something in return, or unfortunately it could just be a drunk person seen urinating outside, but that is the day and age we live in. The list is endless unfortunately and these offenders some in a variety of shapes, …show more content…
The answer to this would possibly be that they do not choose. Some people are simply born with more inappropriate tendencies in their mind and if coupled with sexual abuse as a child from a parent or some other adult, then one would have a very scarred person that would eventually start committing heinous acts as well. Statistically, child sex offenders deceive and entice there victims into compliance instead of using physical force or violence to achieve their intentions. (Megan’s Law) This means that not only are they mentally ill, but they can also be very smart and manipulative, which is a deadly combination. It is also noteworthy that this is not limited to child sex offenders. Many adults that are arrested as sex offenders were involved with people they knew or had seduced; instead of the stereotypical brute that forces his or herself on their victim. No matter the methods employed in committing the crimes that they do, there is still the question, what drives a sex …show more content…
What causes them to want to pursue inappropriate relationships with children or forces themselves upon another? The answers to these questions are simple: it varies. Each person is different from the next, meaning whatever led them to committing whatever sexual crime they committed could differ greatly. One this to note is that it is impossible to say that only one factor contributes to creating a sex offender. It must be some form of combination of the biopsychosocial approach. A biological stand point is needed because some people are simply born mentally ill, leaning more towards the sexual inappropriate mind set, or have intellectual problems that could prohibit them from realizing the consequences of their actions. Another stand point is the psychological perspective. Dr. Stanton Samenow, a clinical psychologist and author, wrote an article in Psychology Today stating “The mental processes in pursuing a sex partner are similar to those involved in the commission of other crimes. The thinking in a bank robbery and a rape are virtually identical although the “target” is different.” (Samenow) The offender in both situations fantasizes, schemes, and determines how they are going to commit the crime all the while getting a great excitement from the whole process, from the planning to actually going through with the crime itself. He also states that for a rapist, “He spots his target,
Witt, P., Greenfield, D., & Hiscox, S. (2008). Cognitive/behavioural approaches to the treatment adult sex offenders. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 36(2), 245-269, retrieved from EBSCOhost
The following research will display an overview of the process in Texas on how sex offenders are registered along with the notifications that are followed after registration. Texas, as many other states, has a procedure which requires sex offenders to register with the local law enforcement agencies at the time of their discharge. In addition to registration, they must also comply with further probation regulations. Research has concluded that there are four basic phases of registration and notification. Beginning with offender notified, following the offender registration and community notified and ending with public notification
...aker, J. (2007). Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 7(1), 1-25.
Denial is so important in sex offender treatment because it encourages finding out or exploring why denial occurs and adoptions of better and more appropriate patterns and programming (pre-treatments) that will help the offender to learn and acquire information about the offender’s dynamics, defenses, etc. which will help him/her cope well during the treatment sessions. According to Alaska Dept of Corrections and United States of America (1996), some of the aspects dealt with in offender treatment are denial of harm, denial of fantasy or planning, denial of responsibility, denial of frequency of offending and denial of the need for treatment. Polygraph and the penile plethysmograph can assist treatment providers find out more about deviant
Generally, the public views women as nurturers, motherly and incapable of harming a child. Research indicates that female sex offenders capable of committing such acts have serious psychiatric and psychological problems. In comparison, research indicates male sex offenders are more callous, more antisocial, and promiscuous, involved in the criminal justice system, and have more victims (Miccio-Fenseca, 2012, slide 7). The consensus is that men commit their acts for sexual pleasure while women commit their acts due to psychiatric and psychological problems. Law enforcement, juries, and judges tend to empathize more when there are additional mitigating factors, such as emotional or psychological problems.
It is a common stereotype that all sex offenders have some form of psychopathy, and therefore they cannot be treated, however most sexual offenders do not have major mental illness or psychological maladjustment (Ward, Polaschek and Busch, 2006), therefore it is not impossible to treat them. Finkelhor’s (1984) precondition model was made with the assumption that the psychopathology of an individual will only take us so far in explaining sexually abusive behaviour, Finkelhor states that 4 stages of preconditions must exist before sexual abuse can take place, these are; Primary motivation to abuse a child sexually, overcoming of internal and external inhibitions and dealing with a child’s resistance to sexual abuse, for each subsequent precondition to occur the previous one must be achieved. Finkelhor argues th...
Sex offender legislation has been encouraged and written to protect the community and the people at large against recidivism and or to help with the reintegration of those released from prison. Nevertheless, a big question has occurred as to if the tough laws created help the community especially to prevent recidivism or make the situation even worse than it already is. Sex offenders are categorized into three levels for example in the case of the state of Massachusetts; in level one the person is not considered dangerous, and chances of him repeating a sexual offense are low thus his details are not made available to the public (Robbers, 2009). In level two chances of reoccurrence are average thus public have access to this level offenders through local police departments in level three risk of reoffense is high, and a substantial public safety interest is served to protect the public from such individuals.
Sex offenders have trouble reintegrating into society and are often harassed by those who become aware of their status. The sex offender management tool restricts where the offender can live and sets boundaries of how close they can be to children. Research has shown most of these restrictions are viewed as more of a stress to the offender and it is not clear how the public is ensured.
The first theory is the psychodynamic theory, which looks at three ways of classifying the purpose of the act. The first is an aggressive purpose, which is to humiliate, dirty and belittle the victim. This purpose usually shows that the men usually have a lot of trouble in heterosexual relationships. The second is a sexual purpose where the aggression is in the service of sexual wishes, which means that the rapist has a fantasy that he wants lived out. The third is tied in with the second which is the aggressor has a sadistic aim where he feels that some violence must occur for there to be sexual pleasure. (Hollin, p. 41)
...scrimination against sex offenders. If people took the time to actually listen to their story and figure out what happened they would see that a vast majority of the registered sex offenders are far from dangerous. The government also needs to implement a ranking system that allows sex crimes to be rated from most severe to least harmful, this way people can differentiate between those who are bad and those who just made a bad decision.
In today’s society, juveniles that commit a sexual assault have become the subject of society. It’s become a problem in the United States due to the rise of sexual offenses committed by juveniles. The general public attitude towards sex offenders appears to be highly negative (Valliant, Furac, & Antonowicz, 1994). The public reactions in the past years have shaped policy on legal approaches to managing sexual offenses. The policies have included severe sentencing laws, sex offender registry, and civil commitment as a sexually violent predator (Quinn, Forsyth, & Mullen-Quinn, 2004). This is despite recidivism data suggesting that a relatively small group of juvenile offenders commit repeat sexual assaults after a response to their sexual offending (Righthand &Welch, 2004).
Cashwell, C. S. and Caruso, M. 2014. Adolescent Sex Offenders: Identification and Intervention Strategies. [e-book] Sage Publications. 1. http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/C_Cashwell_Adolescent_1997.pdf [Accessed: 14 Mar 2014].
In the United States there are 747,000 registered sex offenders. (Snyder) While most sex offenders are male, sometimes sex offenses are committed by female offenders. Sex Offenders who are released from incarceration are required to register in the sex offender registry. The sex offender registry is a system in various states designed to let government authorities keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. (Wikipedia) Even if the offender has done their time they are still required by law to register, making it hard for the offenders to leave their past and return to everyday life. My paper will make you ask yourself should all sex offenders be required to register or are they deserving of a new path.
There are several identifiable psychological factors that increase the likelihood an individual will demonstrate deviant sexual behavior. One of the most important contributing factors is physical or sexual abuse endured as a child. According to Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012), sex offenders are twice as likely to report being sexually, emotionally, or physically abused as a child in comparison to other offenders. There are also other factors besides abuse that must be taken into consideration. A recent study on female sex offenders by Roe-Sepowitz and Krysik (2008) states, “the data reveal that many of the 118 female juvenile sex offenders came from chaotic and disorganized families and had poor parental supervision and serious school and mental health problems”. As Becerra-García, García-León and Egan (2012) discuss further, there are also personality traits that sex offenders are likely to possess, which makes it possible for psychologists to distinguish general characteristics of sex offenders. These personality traits can be identified using the Five Factor Model, which scales an individual’s level of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.
Seto, M. & Barbaree, H. (1999). Psychopathy, Treatment Behavior, and Sex Offender Recidivism. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 14, pp.1235-1248