Sexual Offenders: Types of Treatments There have been hundreds to thousands of treatments that have been conducted, some similar and others drastically different. In this paper, I will go over just a few of the more important types of treatments. Brown et al, (2017) demonstrates three types of treatments. Pharmacological treatment, behavioral therapy, and most importantly cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). With pharmacological treatment’s their purpose is to reduce sex drive. The most common types of drugs used are antiandrogen, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and gonadotropic releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists. to go into more detail antiandrogen’s like cyproterone acetate (CPA) and medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) …show more content…
Third, the sample size is incredibly small, with only one individual. Lastly, but not least is CBT. It combines the elements of cognitive and behavioral treatments in addressing psychological problems and abnormal behavior, in this case sexual offenders. The Good Lives Model-Comprehensive (Ward & Gannon, 2006) is a good representitive for CBT, as it combines the original Good Lives Model of Offender rehabilitation and the Integrated Theory of Sexual Offending. Both of which have been the prior use to helping sexual offenders. However, not all of these treatments are effective and have limitations. (Maletzky & Steinhauser, 2002) conducted a 25 year follow up on 7275 sexual offenders who were in a CBT. The results show the treatment generated long-lasting, positive results by reducing recidivism and risk to the community. Now that the types of treatments have been explained, the next section goes into the existing literature of those treatments on sexual offenders and what’s the best/worst. Sexual Offenders: Existing literature reviews In 2005, Lösel & Schmucker conducted a meta-analysis of sexual offender treatment. Featuring 69 studies containing 80 independent comparisons between treated and untreated offenders. treated offenders showed 37% less sexual recidivism compared to the control groups. Organic treatments such as
Chemical castration is a reversible treatment for those with urges to commit sex crimes, as well as those who have had a history of convicted sex crimes. This drug treatment helps to lower sex drives and decrease aggressive and violent tendencies. There are side effects to this drug just as there are for every other medicine on the market. Although it was not created for men, they suffer no extra side effects than the women. Chemical castration is an exceptional alternative to prison time or it works as a stepping block for integration back into society. It is a more cost effective alternative as well as being more efficient in correcting the problem as opposed to locking it up. With strict guidelines and continual use it can be the most effective course of action for sexual offenders today.
About 43.9% of sex offenders identified both male and female perpetrators as opposed to 9.6% of nonsexual offenders. These individuals were exposed to more severe forms of victimization with a longer duration. Sex offenders endured an average of 5.6 years of abuse while nonsexual offenders experienced 3.9 years. Through the use of logistic regression analyses, Burton, Miller, and Shill (2002) concluded that method of operation and gender of abuser accurately predicts whether an individual will sexually offend. The analysis correctly predicted and placed 78.3% of the sex-offending males into their correct groups.
Rehab is not effective treatment for sex offenders. North Carolina prison system has developed rehab program for sex offenders called SOAR (Sexual Offender Accountability and Responsibility). The program is only at medium and minimum custody level camps. The program was developed to try to correct sex offender’s behavior by teaching the offenders appropriate social and sexual behavior. One of the requirements to meet the program criteria is to admit that they are guilty of the sexual offense. Also, the inmates have to rein act their crimes. Offenders that complete the program are given reduced sentences, and those who have life sentences are granted parole with the stipulation that they must return to the prison to help teach the SOAR program. (Robert A. Carbo, 2000) According to officers at prisons where the SOAR program is implemented, 60% of the inmates re-offend even after completing the SOAR program. North Carolina should
Many of us were raised knowing the story of Daniel Morcombe, the thirteen year old boy snatched from a bus station found murdered with the intention of rape, 8 years laters. Before the murder of Daniel, Brent Peter Cowan was a known child sex offender who had two previous offences with minimal penalty. In an interview with police Cowan stated “I never got to molest him or anything like that. He panicked and I panicked and grabbed him around the throat and before I knew it he was dead.” Daniel is one of many innocent and trusting children who have fallen victim to these vicious repeat offenders. Outside of the family, the first people thought to be responsible when a child is murdered, raped or abducted tend to be sex offenders in the area, so why must a child endure such a heinous act before this information is revealed to the public? I firmly believe that communities should be notified if and when a known predator on the paedophile and sex offenders registry has entered their neighbourhood. (Quite engaging, with a strong contention.)
1. What has been the primary factor in the growth in the number of individuals under correctional supervision over the past twenty years? The primary factor in the growth of individuals under correctional supervision in the past twenty years has been due to tougher laws, correctional supervision also has a broader scope of people under supervision and there are more offenders that are sentenced with drug and property offences. Correctional supervision also includes people out on bond, probation and parole.
Barbaree looked at 224 sex offenders. Of those men, 33 committed a new offense of some kind for a general recidivism rate of 14.7 percent. Even more interesting was the study did not support the idea that good treatment behavior, as in positive or appropriate behavior in group sessions, good homework assignments, and positive ratings of motivation, could be associated with a less of a chance for recidivism. They gave two possible reasons for this finding. Sex offenders, by the very nature of their criminal behavior, are masters of manipulation and exploitation. These individuals can exhibit behavior that contributes to favorable assessments. The second possible reason is these skills are learned, or enhanced, in the treatment setting. Data from a program
“Prosecutorial Remedies and other tool to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act “were passed in 2003. This Act allowed people to search different state borders for information on sex offenders in other cities and states. Some effective community notification strategies are alerting the public through News, press releases, newsletters, and sometimes door-to- door warnings of the sex offenders in the area serves a good purpose. Now days states are mandated by the Federal government to put the sex offender registry online so that anyone web access can stay notified.
Sex offender treatment programs target factors for sexual reoffending they include cognitive distortions and schemas, emotion dysregulation, deviant sexual behaivor, and deficities of interpersonal skills and empathy (Schaffer, Jeglic, Moster, & Wnuk, 2010).
I believe there should be a law requiring registration for convicted sex offenders. This includes the convicted sex offenders to check in with police when they move and submit details about their living arrangements. Law enforcement agencies with parole officers, mental health and medical professionals, and other applicable agencies should be working together to supervise convicted sex offenders. The registry should be mandatory and for official criminal justice purposes only.
The purpose of this literature review is to discuss the importance of sexual offender treatment, to compare and contrast research points regarding treatment, and to address the validity of the peer reviewed articles. Every year 6,000 sex offenders enter treatment (Waldram, 2008). Various therapeutic treatment options are offered, and the primary focus is to rehabilitate and change behavior. The body of research reveals different therapeutic treatment models and discusses the purpose and effectiveness of each model. This paper will also discuss some of the challenges of implementing therapeutic treatment schemas as viable alternatives to treat sex offenders. Lastly, the research will also examine the impact of treatment as it relates to
Because reduction of the likelihood of offender recidivism in the future is clearly a priority, the criminal justice system has begun to look into the effectiveness of treatment programs. The following body of research further discusses the purpose and effectiveness of different treatment methods that can be employed by psychologists with the intention of rehabilitating sex offenders.
Sexual assault is one of the fastest growing violent crimes in America. Approximately 20% of all people charged with a sexual offense are juveniles. Among adult sex offenders, almost 50% report that their first offense occurred during their adolescence. (FBI, 1993) There are many different opinions, treatment options and legislation to manage the growing numbers of juvenile sex offenders. In today’s society the psychological and behavioral modification treatments used to manage juvenile sex offenders is also a growing concern. To understand and determine the proposed treatment methods, several related issues will need to be reviewed such as traditional sex offender therapy methods like cognitive therapy and alternative therapies like
When working with this specific population mental health professionals are often called on to evaluate and manage sex offender’s behavior. There are also times when individuals may be asked to give an opinion as to if the offender will repeat the behavior. Often times people that work with this population are referred to as (SOSs) Sex Offender Specialists. They have a specific group of diverse training and background. Some of these trainings incIude but are not limited to cognitive-behavioral, psychopharmacological, and therapeutic orientations.
The treatment for sexual offenders is done in a three principal approach which is cognitive behavioral approach, psycho-educational approach, and pharmacological approach. The cognitive behavioral approach gives emphasis on altering the habits of the offended relating toward sexual offending and “deviant patterns of arousal”. (CSOM) This means altering the daily habits of the offender which may be everything they had known previously to incarceration. The second principal of psycho-educational focuses on altering the offender’s state of mind toward their victims and attempts to instill the understanding of how they inflicted harm with their actions. With psychology there is never a set time on how long a set goal will be reached. Times vary between individuals and can sometime never reach their desired outcome. In conjunction with those previous principals the offenders are also treated under the pharmacological
Russell (1997) informs that there are two forms of castration: chemical and surgical. According to Chism (2013), the oldest and most effective approach to controlling deviant sexual urges and reducing recidivism rates of male sex offenders is surgical castration. This is partially backed up by the data given by McMillian (2014), who composed a study of 104 men, revealing the recidivism rate as 3% for those who had been castrated compared to 45% with those who had not. Cauley (2014) identified cases where surgical castration has been used nationally and in the United States, showing that castration is quite effective.