The criminology’s contribution towards the field of sex offending has remained relatively modest over the past years. Criminologists have been rather silent and have given cautious responses to sex crimes (Lussier, & Beauregard, 2014). Indeed, in many countires, sex offenders are treated as special groups, in which these offenders required additional and special attention because they seemed to be at high risk of re-offending (McGuire, 2001). Besides, sex offending can be discussed in various field like by psychologists, psychiatrists and biologists etc as paraphilia, terms like fetishism, voyeruism, sexual masochism (Beech, & Harkins, 2012); much more can be described in sociology and economic terms (Lussier, & Beauregard, 2014). In the …show more content…
I hold the same view that “sex was not the primary motivation and nonsexual motives like anger, power and control and desire for intimacy often played a key role in sexual abuse and sexual assault”. It is about the mental disorder and deviant mode of sexual gratification like fantasies and patterns associated with such fantasies that lead to sex offending. When researchers tried to make clarifications on the studies of sex offending, it is particularly hard to specifically identify which type of sex offenses one committed. For instance, cases reported about child sexual abuse do not soley focus on sex as a factor, but also symptoms like depression, anxiety, violence as well as personality disorder (Beech, & Harkins, 2012). Thus, I think that clear boundaries and definitions like the period of persisting deviant behaviour have to be made in order to distinguish the types of sex offenses one committed. Examples like exhibitionism, fetishism, frotteurism, having its own definitions and charateristics; instead of just categorizing into one general term of sex offending since it may affect the kind of treatment and …show more content…
Undoubtedly, criminological field has its own explanation, scientific knowledge, theoretical developments and policy recommendations. However, I suggest that in order to have an in-depth understanding towards this “special” group of offenders, sex offending can be discussed and investigated together with other fields like law enforcement agencies and clinicians. The above articles have raised the concern about explanations given to sex offending and the study of juvenile and adult sex offender’s continuation has actually shown weak linkage. Sex offenders do not necessarily have to be classified as high-risk and violence since not all types of offenses will result in such behavior. Different turning points like entering new school, job market and life events like marriage may affect the course of sexual offending (Lussier, Van, Bijleveld, & Hendriks, 2012). Therefore, as more exploration on sex offending is continuing, new insights and results will stand out; hence, the public can have a thorough understanding towards this group of people. The perception and labels from the public and professionals will make significant difference to their
Worling, J .(2012). The assessment and treatment of deviant sexual arousal with adolescents who have offended sexually. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 18(1), 36-63. doi: 10.1080/13552600.2011.630152
Successes and Failures of Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 was heralded as a response to shifting social attitudes, encompassing the broad libertarian approach towards sexual behaviour that has become increasingly dominant since the Act that preceded it whilst attempting to account for the myriad of more widespread sexual deviancies and abusive practices that were otherwise poorly regulated by existing statute. It was designed as a regularisation of the law on sexual offences giving a modern and consistent perspective upon the particular offences; one that would allow the courts to proceed on a fairer and less discriminatory basis, both in its prosecution of offenders and it in treatment of victims. Few statutes can have been subjected to the same level of public scrutiny as this Act, emerging from a climate of public concern over the adequate protection of their children and the proliferation of paedophilia. The abnormally low conviction rate for rape as well as socio-criminal phenomena like 'date-rape' or the effect of immigration on acceptable sexual practices were yet more facets of a many-handed debate about how the law should respond to a changing world. Understanding these issues is central to finding the coherent thread upon which different changes in the Act attempt to hang.
...aker, J. (2007). Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 7(1), 1-25.
In this essay, two theories specifically focusing on sexual offending against children are compared and critical evaluated. Finkelhor’s (1984) Precondition model integrates four underlying factors that might explain the occurrence of child sexual abuse and categorizes them into four preconditions: motivation to offend, overcoming internal inhibitors, overcoming external inhibitors and overcoming child’s resistance that occur in a temporal sequence where each is necessary for the other to develop. The Precondition model provides a framework for assessment of child molesters but is criticized for a lack of aetiological explanations and for paying to little attention to cognitive factors. Ward’s (2003) Pathways model suggest that clinical phenomena evident among child sex offenders are generated by four distinct and interacting mechanisms: intimacy and social skills deficits, distorted sexual scripts, emotional dysregulation and cognitive distortions where each mechanism generates a specific offence pathway. Both theories have been influential in providing treatment goals and informing clinical assessment of child sexual abusers.
When the three-path model was tested, the pattern in relations among traits in adults and juvenile sexual offenders was consistent (Knight & Knight, 2005). The proposal is that three personality traits define the three paths that lead to violent sexual behavior: sexual drive/ preoccupation, anti-social behavior, and callousness/unemotionality. These traits are amplified by early childhood physical/verbal and sexual abuse. In one path, early childhood physical/verbal abuse strengthens the development of arrogance, deceitfulness, and emotional detachment. In another path, early childhood physical/verbal abuse augments aggressive and antisocial behavior, sensation seeking, impulsive acting out, and alcohol and drug abuse. The individuals who fit in this category typically commit multiple offenses that are not exclusive to sexual violence. Still, a third path is influenced by childhood sexual abuse and leads to sexual preoccupation and compulsivity that increases the risk of aggressive sexual fantasies and behavior. While a combination of risk factors and biological predispositions are causal to criminal offending, abuse is merely one of those factors but it does frequently show up in the background of sex offenders (Bartol & Batrol, 2014, p.
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.
Stinson, Jill D., Bruce Dennis. Sales, and Judith V. Becker. Sex Offending: Causal Theories to Inform Research, Prevention, and Treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2008. Print.
In conclusion, it would be in our best interest to incorporate, cognitive-behavioral approaches, psycho-educational approaches and standardized testing into effect in order to treat and lessen the chances of future sex offending.
problem for the public, as potential victims, and the legal system which is entrusted by the public for protection. It would be irresponsible for the legal system to ignore the criminal class of sex offenders, for they are subject to a recurring physiological urge that requires the use of effective restraints that would curb the habitual repetition of episodes producing the harmful consequences to the public(Schopf 95). In light of this realization, steps beyond treatment have been taken to reduce the recidivism rate of sex offenders. Notification laws, special supervising techniques by parole officers, and both surgical and chemical castration are techniques used in various forms in this country and abroad with success. However, notification laws and both forms of castrations
Sexual offenses are considered to be one of society’s gravest issues. Like all crime, it is a complicated issue to solve. It is an issue that is even harder to understand. Legislators and researchers have spent countless resources trying to discover the underlying cause of why sex offenders first commit the offense and continue to reoffend. Researchers and professionals of the judicial system have begun to understand sexual offenders and their motives through the sexual offense cycle. As described in chapter four of Sexual Offenses and Offenders by Karen Terry (2006), the sexual offender cycle purpose is to demonstrate how the interaction of the offender’s thought, feelings, and behavior allow the offender to
This idea will be discussed later in the paper, but many victims meet a specific typology for offenders. There are specific traits that are preferable to offenders: children coming from single-parent families, children with school issues, poor relationships with adults, and other vulnerabilities that can be exploited (Kloess, 128). These are going to be children that lack social controls, such as family and community. Children that have home issues will not have that immediate social control that will dictate that sexual behavior with an adult is wrong due to the lack of involvement of the family unit. The deviant behavior will become rationalized due to the grooming of the offender and come off as the norm, just as crime would be the norm in a highly urban
For a behaviour or action to be labelled as deviant, it will need to violate a social rule or norm, and invoke a negative reaction in the community (Goode 2014). The behaviour associated with paedophilia invokes a negative reaction in majority of Western cultures, as it disregards the accepted structures of a relationships and sexual orientation. For the purpose of this project, this behaviour was observed through a documentary called Danielův svĕt (2014), which follows the life of a self-proclaimed exclusive paedophile and his struggle in the community. Currently, there are various theories to explain the cause of the behaviour but as each theory is unable to give a full explanation; there is no definitive answer.
According to Charles Scott, author of the journal The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Outline, sexual victimization of children and adults is a significant treatment and public policy problem in the United States (Scott, 2003). In addition, the journal explains that in order to reduce sex offender recidivism, nine states in the United States have passed legislation authorizing surgical castration. Even though it might cause arguments in the future in t...
There are plenty of explanations on why individuals commit sexual offenses. Several theories have been developed for the purpose of determining why sexual offending occurs. However, each theory has beliefs that some characteristics are more prone to sexual offending than others. Each theory has its own center of focus regarding sexual behavior, but there is not one single theory that is able to explain the etiology of sexual deviant behavior. Overall, these theories focused on physiology, psychology, psycho-social factors, and cognitive behavioral factors.
Sex crimes are extremely serious among the criminal justice system. Sexual offenses are defined as criminal sexual acts such as when a person forces or threatens another individual to contribute in undesired sexual activities (FD, n.d.). Laws regarding sexual offenses have gone through necessary reforms to adapt to modern society norms. Although changes have been made, sexual offenses continue to be a problem in society and a challenge for the justice system to protect the people from sexual offenders. Sexual offenses can be classified in a variety of types and austerity.