Ignorance, Sex Offenders and Public Policy
Posted by Joseph Doherty on Wed, Dec 21, 2011 @ 09:55 AM
What if we knew how to cure cancer. But what if some people had a stake in making sure the facts about this cure were distorted. What if everytime we got onto the Internet, turned on our TV's, read our newspapers or listened to the news on the radio we were bombarded with the "fact" that deaths from cancer were increasing, that, as a society, we were helpless or near helpless to combat this scourge? But what if a number of people were also talking about the decreasing number of deaths attributed each year to cancer, with the new "cure." We hopefully would end up listening to those telling the truth as opposed to those distorting it.
Unfortunately, it's not the same when the analogy is applied to sex offenders, be they child molesters, rapists, voyuers or frotteurists. Even though great strides have been made in evaluating, assigning risk and developing treatment for this population the public seems intent on living in ignorance - aided by the media and public officials.
The hysteria over sex offenders seems to have no bounds. "Studies" are quoted to show how high risk all sex offenders are; apps have been developed to locate offenders in our neighborhoods, states have their sex offender registries, etc.
But, what is the truth about this population?
We now know how to better evaluate sex offenders. Instruments have been developed and are being used to determine where their sexual interests lie - invaluable in separating out pedophiles from men who molest children but have no pedophilic interests.
Instruments such as the STATIC-2002 have been in use and are being improved upon to determine who may pose a greater risk to recidivate than those who do not.
New models of treatment - the Good Lives, Risk-Need-Responsivity, Harm Reduction and Psychodynamic models - are being used in addition to the Cognitive-Behavioral model which has been in place for several decades now.
So, what are some "truths" about sex offenders that the public seems to not want to hear? Here are some:
- Since 1995 sex offenses, world wide, have been decreasing
- The recidivism rates for sex offenders are low - 11% to 18%
- When sex offenders reoffend it is generally to commit an offense other than a sex offense
- In communities that have established Circles of Support and Accountability for high risk sex offenders the recidivism rate are below 10% (!)
- Recent research indicates that men who download child pornography are very unlikely to commit a contact offense with a child
Recently Gov. Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania is quoted as saying, when he signed a bill to revise the state's version of Megan's Law, "We can hope that by making our laws tougher, we can spare the pain and grief that has visited too many families."
Unfortunately the Governor has it wrong. We know what works in decreasing sex offender recidivism (it's not "tougher laws"), it's right at our fingertips, but we aren't implementing it.
Photo: thelilacsandtherain
