The Root Causes of Sexual Offending: Social Learning Theory

Women who commit sex offenses was largely overlooked by the public, until recently (Cain & Anderson, 2016, p. 5). It is normal for one to automatically associate men with sex crimes. Yet past research as well as previous criminal cases has proven that women commit sex crimes, just as men do. However, women and men are not treated the same by society or the judicial system, nor do they have the same impacts on their victims. Although it is very rare instances when women commit sexual offenses, more research and advancements made towards the specific topic of female sex offenders. It is also clear that majority of the research on sex offenders fails to even consider the female sex offender (Carpenter, 2013, p. 162).

Many reported offenders are male, with a history of abuse and a troubled childhood. Men are child molesters in at least ninety-seven percent of reported cases (Sanford, 83). One investigation noted eighty percent of sexual offenders had committed their first crime by age of thirty with all by the age of forty. Between 200 and 300 men are prosecuted to every one woman (Sanford, 83). Research has uncovered repeated drug and/or alcohol abuse issues among convicted predators. Lastly, sexual offenders suffer from deviant sexual behavior and attitudes (Henderson, 39).

It has been observed that sexually abused children tend to be less socially competent, more aggressive, and more socially withdrawn than non-abused children. A specific interpersonal effect of sexual abuse among children is that of increased sexual behavior. This is prominent when we were

Sexual abuse is a heinous act that causes extreme suffering for a victim while providing pleasure for a perpetrator. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are abused sexually before the age of 18 (n.d.). The question of why an individual would commit such a heinous act has various answers, almost all of which depend on the background of the individual. A common speculation is that abusers themselves were once abused by someone else. This idea branches off of the Positivist Theory of crime. The theory basically states that prior influences or experiences in life will ultimately decide how people will act in the future (C. Bartol & A. Bartol, 2017). Their history of abuse influenced them to become abusers. While this may be one viable explanation to this behavior, there are many other answers that are just as feasible in explaining this behavior. This includes the topic of serious mental illnesses and other behavioral disorders. Regardless of background influences, the true intent of the abusive individuals may be almost impossible to draw out, especially since most guilty individuals want to escape from the consequences associated with the crime that they commit (Inbau, Reid, Buckley, & Jayne, 2013). Unless a perpetrator admits to committing the crime, piecing the story together and understanding the influences that played a role in the actions committed by them is more feasible in terms of learning the truth. Whatever the

There has been much level headed discussion concerning why individuals carry out sexual violations. To the extent to what causes individuals to wind up sex wrongdoers, there is no genuine response to this inquiry. No single component can completely decipher why somebody submits a sexual offense, however it is trusted that some blend of variables may join to increment sexual deviancy significantly. These components incorporate natural, fortuitous, ecological, and sociocultural parts of the individual, depicting the advancement of anomalous sexual expression through the same instruments by which traditional sexuality is likewise learned (Terry and Tallon). There are various sub-hypotheses which have been intended to clarify the onset of

Sexual assault is a major global issue; sexual deviance such as sexual assault definitely needs a lot of social attention from many different societies across the globe (Nelson, 2007, p. 7). It is a very serious problem that needs to be continuously addressed, through research, government programs, and new fundamental treatment possibilities. As a matter of fact, it is continuing to spread rapidly with a percentage of 25% of women and 15% of men in the United States have been affected by sexual assault (Nelson, 2007, p. 7). Due to rapid growth, public awareness should be made about the different types of sex offenders. The public should be aware of their distinct characteristics and possible treatment options. Public awareness is extremely important; it allows us to know the many different kinds of people that are in this world. Different kinds of people, including sex offenders, it’s important to know what measures one would have to take and the different possible options when faced with such issues (Nelson, 2007, p. 7).

with Research conducted on the characteristics of female sexual abusers uses three specific case examples of young girls, ages: ten, twelve, and sixteen. In two of three case examples, the girls had reported being sexually abused at a young age. The third girl, age sixteen, did not explicitly state she had been sexually abused, but has close ties with her father who is a known sex-offender,; therefore it is believed that she has been sexually abused during childhood. A review of adolescent offenders of sexual abuse, under the age of 21, shows: “Chi-square analyses showed significant associations between those who targeted children and being sexually abused or having a family member subject to sexual abuse” The study also reports that those that have experienced sexual assault at a young age, and have been reported to sexually assault other children typically have poor relationships with peers and family members in addition to experiencing two or more instances of

…the BJS found that 4.5 percent of the nation’s prisoners, i.e., inmates who have been convicted of felonies and sentenced to more than a year, had been sexually abused in the facilities at which they answered the questionnaire during the preceding year: approximately 60,500 people. Moreover, 3.2 percent of jail inmates—i.e., people who were awaiting trial or serving short sentences—had been sexually abused in their facilities over the preceding six months, meaning an estimated total, out of those jailed on the day of the survey, of 24,700

We understand the need for and are prepared to provide necessary transparency for members of the public who want to know more about pedophiles, sexual assault, sex offenders, and the role that you can play in keeping your community protected. Unfortunately, sex crimes are not the exception in our country. Statistics indicate that one in every five girls and one in every seven boys are sexually abused by the time they reach adulthood (CSOM, 2006). “One in six adult women and one in 33 adult men experience an attempted or completed sexual assault. 1 in 6 female children and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual abuse” (NCVC, 2015). Sex offenses represent under 1% of all arrests, with adults accounting for about 80% of arrests and juveniles 20% (FBI, 2005). Males account for approximately 95% of arrests (FBI, 2005).

Most research indicates that about ninety percent of juvenile sex offenders are male. However, there is also research indicating there may be a considerable underrepresentation of the female juvenile offender in data. According to Schwartz, Cavanaugh, Pimental, and Prentky, although the vast majority of sexually aggressive youth are male, the proportion that is female appears to be much greater than is commonly observed among adult sex offenders, which may indicate that abuse by adolescent females is reported at a significantly lower rate than abuse by male adolescents (2006). One explanation for this is that the general public tends to struggle with the idea that a young woman could be capable of such perverse behavior. It should also be considered that male victims may have more difficulty reporting a sexual crime against them when the perpetrator is someone that society has taught them is the inferior gender (Hendriks, Bijleveld 2006). As a whole, female abusers have been researched very little, and juvenile female abusers have been virtually ignored in the field of criminological study.

Many argue that the victim encourages the behavior, that they are somewhat lesser of a victim. On the other hand, some excuse away the female’s actions by using their past as a reason to offend. Before addressing the double standard society needs to understand why females are viewed as less dangerous, the negative impacts that are placed on their victims, and why male victims are often viewed as responsible for the rape. Danger Level Number of Offenders The most common and most obvious reason why female offenders are considered less dangerous that male offenders are the number of women who actually commit these crimes are far less than their counterparts.

al, 2014). This is the highest and most common form of sexual victimization conducted by inmates in prison accumulating a total 67% out of all incidents reported by sexual assault victims (Beck et. al, 2014). It generally involves being persuaded or talked to, bribed, blackmailed or given drugs or alcohol (Beck et. al, 2014). Abusive sexual contact is a less serious form of sexual victimization and can include touching of clothing, directly, genitalia, groin, breast, anus, thigh or buttocks and is intended to sexually exploit rather than to harm an individual (Beck et. al, 2014). Abusive sexual contact is less conducted form of sexual victimization by inmates and is only reported 27% of the time (Beck et. al, 2014). Inmates who report abusive sexual contact stated it occurred without being persuaded, blackmailed or bribed with drugs or alcohol and one in eight inmates reported it happened by groping, while sleeping or were pinned against a wall (Beck et. al,

Perception is not reality. The common assumption that the court system often treats female sex offenders differently than male sex offenders, the punishments of female sex offenders are more lenient than men who commit the same types of crimes, and the differences between male and female victims are all perception and not reality. Objective considerations to additional factors make the perceptions baseless. These additional factors solidify the factual differences between male and female sex offenders.

There has been much debate about why people commit sexual crimes. As far as to what causes people to become sex offenders, there is no real answer to this question. No single factor can fully interpret why someone commits a sexual offense, though it is believed that some combination of factors may combine to increase sexual deviancy dramatically. These factors include biological, circumstantial, environmental, and sociocultural aspects of the person, describing the development of abnormal sexual expression through the same mechanisms by which conventional sexuality is also learned (Terry and Tallon). There are a number of sub-theories which have been designed to explain the onset of sexual deviancy. However, because no one can pinpoint the dynamics of sexual deviancy, different theories have been developed to study and account for the development of sexual aggression and behavior. An explanation of the main theories is offered below:

For this week’s research assignment, the class was asked to review Widom and Kuhns article “Childhood victimization and subsequent risk for promiscuity, prostitution, and teenage pregnancy: A prospective study” (1996). The authors wanted to determine if there was any direct correlation between victims of childhood abuse and/or neglect and increased risk for promiscuity, prostitution, and teenage pregnancy. Widom and Kuhns were hoping to show that being a victim of abuse and/or neglect demonstrated an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, premature parenting and the continuation of the abuse/neglect cycle from one generation to the next. In examining this article, we will focus on the research design that was utilized, data-gathering