The Heterogeneity Of Sex Offenders

As you can see, this conceptualization offers a range of relatively distinct but also interacting explanations for why those who sexually offend against children do what they do. Similar to and building upon other multifactor theories, the Pathways Model takes into account a number of characteristics or risk factors that appear to be common among sex offenders. What seems to set it apart from some of the other etiological theories is that it more fully considers the heterogeneity of offenders, rather than assuming that all offenders follow the same or very similar path to offending, and does so in a way that it makes more clear what some of the differing implications for interventions might be. And that further emphasizes one of the critical messages of this training—that one size does not fit all.

At the present time, the most plausible explanations involve a synergistic interplay among a number of variables across a number of domains, and they indicate that there is no single pathway that can be used to explain this behavior for all offenders. And again, this means that how we manage sex offenders must take into account their variability.

Large‐scale research indicates that sex offenders who receive treatment, in both prison and community settings have a lower sexual reconviction rate than those who do not receive treatment. Cognitive‐behavioural treatment is the most effective, especially if paired with pharmacological treatment e.g. hormonal drugs that reduce sexual drive. Other approaches such as: psychotherapy, counselling and non‐behavioural treatment generally have not been shown to reduce reconviction (Hanson, 2009). The most recent reviews (Hanson, Bourgon, Helmus, L. & Hodgson, 2009) have also found that sexual of...

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...are serving long sentences and to date not enough participants have been released to enable a proper evaluation of its impact.

The first study into probation programmes looked at 2‐year reconviction rates after treatment (Allam, 1998). 133 offenders who had received treatment had a lower sexual reconviction rate than a comparison group of 191 offenders who had not received treatment. The reconviction rates of 155 sexual offenders who started C‐SOGP have been compared with 55 offenders who did not receive treatment (Hollis, 2007). Those who took part in the programme had lower rates of reconviction for sexual offences than the comparison sample. Another reconviction analysis found that the actual 2‐year reoffending rate of sexual offenders who completed a community sex offender programme was significantly lower than the predicted reoffending rate for this group.