There are many topics nowadays that are still hard to talk about openly. Though we’ve opened the door on many controversies, some of the simplest parts of life can be the hardest to discuss. For most of us, sex in particular can be a taboo topic, which may be the reason why so many children and teens are misinformed on the inner workings of sexual relationships and how they develop as we grow and mature. For some adolescents, this can lead to an unhealthy fixation on the concept of sex, and in some cases, lead them to take action on a situation they do not fully understand. Sexual offenses are perceived as some of the most heinous crimes, but how could our views be affected if those acts were performed by a teenager? We may sometimes consider that they are the same as adult sex offenders; however our judgment can often be clouded by our lack of understanding. Adolescent sex offenders are different from adult sex offenders, are treated in a different way, and often have very different circumstances of their crime.
This topic leads us to question what an adolescent sex offender really is. According to Health Canada, an adolescent sex offender is considered to be “a youth, from 12-17 years of age, who commits any sexual act with a person of any age, against the victim's will, without consent, or in an aggressive, exploitative or threatening manner.” Though this description seems to envelope all sex offenders and simply change the age range, the actions of a juvenile sex offender can be very different. The adolescent has a very low chance of their sexual offenses being a repeat offense. Most often, the sexual act is a one-time deal, though they are prone to have participated in other delinquent acts, such as vandalizing, truancy a...
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Works Cited
1. 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].
2. Hal Arkowitz, S. O. L. 2014. Once a Sex Offender, Always a Sex Offender? Maybe not.. [online] Available at: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/misunderstood-crimes/ [Accessed: 14 Mar 2014].
3. Nyap.org. 2014. Sex Offender Treatment Service - National Youth Advocate Program. [online] Available at: http://www.nyap.org/sex-offender-treatment-service/4576110432 [Accessed: 27 Mar 2014].
4. Ryan, G., Leversee, T. and Lane, S. 2014. Juvenile Sexual Offending: Causes, Consequences, and Correction. [online] Available at: http://books.google.ca/books?isbn=0470646942 [Accessed: 14 Mar 2014].
Yates, P. M. (2005). Pathways to treatment of sexual offenders: Rethinking intervention. Forum on Corrections Research, 17, 1-9.
...aker, J. (2007). Public perceptions about sex offenders and community protection policies. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 7(1), 1-25.
The Recidivism Rate of Juvenile Sex Offenders between Uses of Legal Sentencing as Adults or Utilizing Psychological Treatment
Expert Opinion Revisiting the “Irreconcilable conflict between Therapeutic and Forensic Roles Implications for sex offender specialists” Christmas Covell, Ph.D & Jennifer Wheeler, Ph.D;
The United States Bureau of Justice Statistics (2011) reveals an estimated 747,408 sex offenders were registered in the United States as of 2010. This number shows an increase of over seven thousand from the previous year. According to Vivian-Bryne (2004), therapeutic treatment for sex offenders is one approach to address the issue of sexual offense and reduce numbers. Although the idea of therapeutic treatment for sex offenders can raise skepticism, a myriad of therapeutic treatment models are available (Polizzi, MacKenzie & Hickman, 1999). This paper will establish the important complexities surrounding therapeutic treatment of sex offenders, including treatment effectiveness, challenges of treatment schemas, and recidivism. Peer reviewed articles regarding therapeutic treatment for sex offenders will be reviewed and the validity of these sources will be discussed.
There is much debate as to whether a sex offender should be released into the public, this debate stems from the idea that a sex offender cannot be treated and that they are a danger to the public as they are ‘purely evil’ (Burke, 2005), however there is much evidence that sex offenders can be treated and re-introduced into society as a productive member. Sex offender is a general term used to refer to any person who has been convicted of crimes involving sex, from rape and molestation to exhibitionism and pornography distribution. There are many theories which try to explain why people are sexual offenders, these theories along with treatments for sex offenders will be looked at to help explain why people sexually offend and to help evaluate whether sex offenders should be released.
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 context of the crimes being committed by adolescent girls has been most dramatically impacted in the areas of both aggravated and simple assault. While boys still r...
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).
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
Vandiver, D. M., & Teske, R. (2006). Juvenile female and male sex offenders a comparison of offender, victim, and judicial processing characteristics. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 50(2), 148-165.
Many resources go into the prevention and management of sex offenders. However, very few effective programs exist that decrease the likelihood of reoffending. Through the use of meta-analyses, Seto and Lalumiere (2010) evaluated multiple studies that examined sex offenders. Emphasis was put on etiological explanations in the hopes of identifying factors associated with sex offending. Seto and Lalumiere’s (2010) findings help in creating effective programs to decrease recidivism rates.
Sex offenders have been a serious problem for our legal system at all levels, not to mention those who have been their victims. There are 43,000 inmates in prison for sexual offenses while each year in this country over 510,000 children are sexually assaulted(Oakes 99). The latter statistic, in its context, does not convey the severity of the situation. Each year 510,000 children have their childhood's destroyed, possibly on more than one occasion, and are faced with dealing with the assault for the rest of their lives. Sadly, many of those assaults are perpetrated by people who have already been through the correctional system only to victimize again. Sex offenders, as a class of criminals, are nine times more likely to repeat their crimes(Oakes 99). This presents a
There are far more males serving for statutory rape within prisons than females. There are hardly any females reported being charged with statutory rape or being sued for the same crime. The law does state that males and females have the same punishment for statutory rape (Christopher, 2012). However, in many cases young boys do not report the crime because they look at it as an act of becoming a man to have sexual relations with not only young girls but older women as well. There are several cases in which young boys are charged with the crime of statutory rape even when all parties are involved and gave their consent. For example in one case, a fourteen year old boy was charged with statutory rape for being involved in sexual activities with three girls who were younger than the boy, two of th...