NCJ Number
52387
Date Published
1978
Length
22 pages
Annotation
AN OVERVIEW OF SEX OFFENSES AND SEX OFFENDERS IS PRESENTED, TOGETHER WITH RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT.
Abstract
A DEFINITION OF SEX OFFENSES IS QUOTED, AND SEX-RELATED ACTS COMMONLY PROHIBITED AND PENALIZED ARE LISTED. VARIOUS TYPOLOGIES OF SEX OFFENSES ARE NOTED, AS ARE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF SEX OFFENDERS. POSSIBLE CAUSES OF SEX OFFENSES ARE EXPLORED, AND DATA ON THE INCIDENCE OF SEX OFFENSES IN THE UNITED STATES ARE CITED. CHARACTERISTICS COMMONLY FOUND IN SEX OFFENDERS ARE OUTLINED, WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE PUBLIC'S MISCONCEPTION OF THE SEX OFFENDER AS OVERLY IMPULSIVE, AGGRESSIVE, AND LIKELY TO REPEAT HIS OFFENSE. ADVANCES IN THE TREATMENT OF SEX OFFENDERS ARE REVIEWED. IT IS NOTED THAT MORE RESEARCH ON TREATMENT METHODS IS NEEDED, AND THAT THE RISKS INVOLVED IN INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT OF SEX OFFENDERS SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED. THE MAIN CONCERN ABOUT SEX OFFENSES AND OFFENDERS, AS WITH ALL ANTISOCIAL OFFENSES, IS SAID TO BE PREVENTION RATHER THAN CURE, AND TWO OPPOSED SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT ON THE SUBJECT OF PREVENTION--CONSERVATIVE/PUNITIVE AND LIBERAL/REHABILITATIVE--ARE IDENTIFIED. THE TWO SCHOOLS ARE DESCRIBED AS RATHER EXTREME IN THEIR VIEWS AND UNWILLING TO RECOGNIZE THE POSSIBILITY THAT NOT ALL SEX OFFENSES AND SEX OFFENDERS SHOULD BE DEALT WITH IN THE SAME WAY. RECOMMENDATIONS ARE OFFERED RELATIVE TO DECRIMINALIZING CERTAIN SEX ACTS, REWRITING SEX OFFENSE LAWS, PSYCHOLOGICALLY EVALUATING CONVICTED SEX OFFENDERS, PROVIDING PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENT TO PSYCHOLOGICALLY DISTURBED OFFENDERS, DISCOURAGING THE VIEW OF THE SEX OFFENDER AS A VICIOUS PERSON WHO MUST ATONE FOR HIS SINS, AND IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF SEX EDUCATION. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)