[size=+3]Myth:[/size]
[size=+1]"Most sex offenders reoffend."[/size]
[size=+3]Fact:[/size]
[size=+1]Reconviction data suggest that this is not the case. Further, reoffense rates vary among different types of sex offenders and are related to specific characteristics of the offender and the offense.[/size]
[size=+0]Persons who commit sex offenses are not a homogeneous group, but instead fall into several different categories. As a result, research has identified significant differences in reoffense patterns from one category to another. Looking at reconviction rates alone, one large-scale analysis (Hanson and Bussiere, 1998) reported the following differences:[/size]
[size=+0]child molesters had a 13% reconviction rate for sexual offenses and a 37% reconviction rate for new, non-sex offenses over a five year period; and[/size]
[size=+0]rapists had a 19% reconviction rate for sexual offenses and a 46% reconviction rate for new, non-sexual offenses over a five year period.[/size]
[size=+0]Another study found reconviction rates for child molesters to be 20% and for rapists to be approximately 23% (Quinsey, Rice, and Harris, 1995).[/size] [size=+0]Individual characteristics of the crimes further distinguish recidivism rates. For instance, victim gender and relation to the offender have been found to impact recidivism rates. In a 1995 study, researchers found that offenders who had extrafamilial female victims had a recidivism rate of 18% and those who had extrafamilial male victims recidivated at a rate of 35%. This same study found a recidivism rate for incest offenders to be approximately 9% (Quinsey, Rice, and Harris, 1995).[/size]
[size=+0]It is noteworthy that recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than for the general criminal population. For example, one study of 108,580 non-sex criminals released from prisons in 11 states in 1983 found that nearly 63% were rearrested for a non-sexual felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release from incarceration; 47% were reconvicted; and 41% were ultimately returned to prison or jail (Bureau of Justice Statistics).[/size]
[size=+0]It is important to note that not all sex crimes are solved or result in arrest and only a fraction of sex offenses are reported to police. The reliance on measures of recidivism as reflected through official criminal justice system data (i.e., rearrest or reconviction rates) obviously omits offenses that are not cleared through an arrest (and thereby cannot be attributed to any individual offender) or those that are never reported to the police. For a variety of reasons, many victims of sexual assault are reluctant to invoke the criminal justice process and do not report their victimization to the police. For these reasons, relying on rearrest and reconviction data underestimates actual reoffense numbers.
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[size=+0][I like the above, because it talks about how stats differ in different circumstances. It can also give you an idea that these stats can be manipulated very easily, and very often are.]
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[size=+3]Myth:[/size]
[size=+1]"Children who are sexually assaulted will sexually assault others when they grow up."[/size]
[size=+3]Fact:[/size]
[size=+1]Most sex offenders were not sexually assaulted as children and most children who are sexually assaulted do not sexually assault others.[/size]
[size=+0]Early childhood sexual victimization does not automatically lead to sexually aggressive behavior. While sex offenders have higher rates of sexual abuse in their histories than expected in the general population, the majority were not abused. Among adult sex offenders, approximately 30% have been sexually abused. Some types of offenders, such as those who sexually offend against young boys, have still higher rates of child sexual abuse in their histories (Becker and Murphy, 1998).[/size]
[size=+0]While past sexual victimization can
increase the likelihood of sexually aggressive behavior, most children who were sexually victimized never perpetrate against others.[/size]
[Innnnnnnteresting]
[size=+3]Myth:[/size]
[size=+1]"Juvenile sex offenders typically are victims of child sexual abuse and grow up to be adult sex offenders."[/size]
[size=+3]Fact:[/size]
[size=+1]Multiple factors, not just sexual victimization as a child, are associated with the development of sexually offending behavior in youth.[/size]
[size=+0]Recent studies show that rates of physical and sexual abuse vary widely for adolescent sex offenders; 20 to 50% of these youth experienced physical abuse and approximately 40 to 80% experienced sexual abuse (Hunter and Becker, 1998). While many adolescents who commit sexual offenses have histories of being abused, the majority of these youth do not become adult sex offenders (Becker and Murphy, 1998). Research suggests that the age of onset and number of incidents of abuse, the period of time elapsing between the abuse and its first report, perceptions of how the family responded to the disclosure of abuse, and exposure to domestic violence all are relevant to why some sexually abused youths go on to sexually perpetrate while others do not (Hunter and Figueredo, in press).[/size]
[size=+3]Myth:[/size]
[size=+1]"Treatment for sex offenders is ineffective."[/size]
[size=+3]Fact:[/size]
[size=+1]Treatment programs can contribute to community safety because those who attend and cooperate with program conditions are less likely to re-offend than those who reject intervention.[/size]
[size=+0]The majority of sex offender treatment programs in the United States and Canada now use a combination of cognitive-behavioral treatment and relapse prevention (designed to help sex offenders maintain behavioral changes by anticipating and coping with the problem of relapse). Offense specific treatment modalities generally involve group and/or individual therapy focused on victimization awareness and empathy training, cognitive restructuring, learning about the sexual abuse cycle, relapse prevention planning, anger management and assertiveness training, social and interpersonal skills development, and changing deviant sexual arousal patterns.[/size]
[size=+0]Different types of offenders typically respond to different treatment methods with varying rates of success. Treatment effectiveness is often related to multiple factors, including:[/size]
[size=+0]the type of sexual offender (e.g., incest offender or rapist);[/size]
[size=+0]the treatment model being used (e.g., cognitive-behavioral, relapse prevention, psycho-educational, psycho-dynamic, or pharmacological);[/size]
[size=+0]the treatment modalities being used; and[/size]
[size=+0]related interventions involved in probation and parole community supervision.[/size]
[size=+0]Several studies present optimistic conclusions about the effectiveness of treatment programs that are empirically based, offense-specific, and comprehensive (Lieb, Quinsey, and Berliner, 1998). The only meta-analysis of treatment outcome studies to date has found a small, yet significant treatment effectan 8% reduction in the recidivism rate for offenders who participated in treatment (Hall, 1995). Research also demonstrates that sex offenders who fail to complete treatment programs are at increased risk for both sexual and general recidivism (Hanson and Bussiere, 1998).
[I'd like to see the difference in the stats b/w those who are pedophiles and those who are rapists.]
More here:
http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html
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