Theories of Sexual Offending

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Sexual assault is one of the most offensive and depraved crimes that exist in our society today. The physical and psychological toll that this act has on its victims is as incalculable as it is incomprehensible. A sexual assault in Canada is defined as all incidents of unwanted sexual activity, including sexual attacks and sexual touching. Victims of these acts reported feeling angry, confused, frustrated and fearful.

The General Social Survey (GSS) on Victimization shows that young women and girls are at a greater risk for victimization, making them especially vulnerable between the ages of 15 and 24. It is important to note that the GSS does not include information on anyone under the age of 14.

According to Statistics Canada, only one in ten sexual assaults are reported to police, making the prevalence of sexual assault in Canada difficult to quantify (Statistics Canada, 2004). According to a National Crime Victimization Survey, 512 200 rapes or sexual assaults occurred in the 12 months preceding 2004, making an incidents rate of 1977 per 100 000 people (Bennell et al., 2011).

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is another valuable source used to quantify the scope of sex offending in Canada. The UCR survey not only refers to all crimes that are reported to the police in a given year, but they also take into account the characteristics or severity of the crime and separate them into categories and by province. Results from the UCR survey show a median of 73 incident reports per 100 000 across all provinces with P.E.I being the lowest at 58 and Saskatchewan the highest with 138. As is evident with the comparison of the GSS and the UCR, only 10% of sexual offences are being reported.

According to the GSS, the m...

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...aviour, 288-290.

Howitt, D., & Sheldon, K. (2007). Sex offenders and the internet. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=-XO_wPs6a-gC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false, 60-61.

Randall, P. (2008). Psychological profiles of clerical and non-clerical men who have sexually abused children. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Hull.

Statistics Canada. (2008). Sexual assault in Canada, 2004 - 2007. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/85f0033m2008019-eng.pdf

Statistics Canada. (2008). Sexual assaults in Canada, highlights. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85f0033m/2008019/hl-fs-eng.htm

Thornhill, R., & Palmer, T. (2000). A natural history of rape: biological bases of sexual coercion. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Rape-Biological-Coercion/dp/0262700832

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