‘No-one in the world would ever wanna speak to me again’: an interpretative phenomenological analysis into convicted sexual offenders' accounts and experiences of maintaining and leaving denial

This paper is concerned with illuminating the experiences and perspectives of sexual offenders who had categorically denied their offences and, through their narratives, gain an insight into the processes behind and underlying both maintaining and coming out of, denial. The study is made up of interviews with 11 convicted sexual offenders who had each denied their offences but who are now admitting their guilt. The interviews were analysed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The analysis revealed three superordinate themes: ‘maintaining viable identities’; ‘being’ in denial’; and ‘wanting to change’. These themes are unpacked and their relevance to maintaining and leaving denial are discussed. Implications for treatment, including barriers to treatment for convicted sexual offenders who deny their offences are discussed.     

What can Post‐Democracy tell us about TNCs and Extraterritorial Violations of Human Rights?

This article considers the problem of extraterritorial human rights violations committed by transnational corporations (TNCs), and draws on Crouch's framework in Post‐democracy to illustrate why the issue has proved so difficult for states to regulate. I begin by examining the problem of corporate regulation more generally, and set out Crouch's analysis to show why and how corporations have become so influential. The second section considers the area of business and human rights, and explains why there is ‘a governance gap’ in relation to extraterritorial human rights violations committed by corporations. The third section describes efforts at the international and domestic levels to regulate corporations in relation to this issue. It concludes that while new international principles and innovative hybrid schemes are playing a valuable role in norm creation and standard‐setting, the enforcement of these principles remains limited. Corporations have largely succeeded to date in their lobbying efforts to remain free of any direct obligations under international law.     

Intergenerational Transmission: Physical Abuse and Violent vs. Nonviolent Criminal Outcomes

In this paper we test several specific hypotheses derived from the intergenerational transmission of violence thesis to see if exposure to physical abuse has a special role in the etiology of violence. We employ a systematic statistical approach using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Our findings suggest that a history of physical abuse is strongly associated with frequency of violence, but the association is not specific to violence and is mediated by their common association with nonviolent offending. Further, the association between physical abuse and violence is not significantly larger than the association between neglect or sexual abuse and violence. In summary, the data suggest that the association between abuse and violence is not unique to physical abuse and that the impact of physical abuse is not specific to violent behavior.     

Corporate governance for NGOs?

Official aid funding for the development NGO sector grew fast in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These halcyon days are over. Thinkers within the NGO community are concerned with how to adapt to the end of the funding boom, and to correct its adverse effects. However, in spite of many calls to reorganize, re-think, and professionalize, one major set of issues has been largely ignored: the scope for introducing collective self-regulation of the organizational structure and procedures of NGOs in developing countries. The authors argue that this could make a major contribution to solving several problems currently faced by NGOs.     

Compensation rules for climate policy in the electricity sector

Most previous cap and trade programs have distributed emission allowances for free to incumbent producers. However, in the electricity sector the value of CO₂ allowances may be far in excess of costs to industry and giving them away to firms diverts allowance value from other purposes. Using a detailed simulation model, this paper shows that compensation to firms losing asset value under a climate cap and trade policy can be achieved for a small fraction of total allowance value, if targeted carefully. However, the economic efficiency cost of providing incremental compensation to reach the fully compensated level is many multiples of that incremental compensation. These considerations might move policymakers away from free allocation of CO₂ emission allowances in the electricity sector. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Characteristics of court-involved men and non-court-involved men who abuse their wives

The characteristics of court involved (CI) (n=86) and non-court-involved (NCI) men (n=42) who abused their wives and attended a treatment program were investigated. The groups experienced similar childhoods concerning family violence. The NCI men had more years of education, were more likely to be employed full-time, and tended to earn more money than the CI men. The NCI men also had more social support and scored higher on interpersonal problems than the CI men. The CI men were more likely to be separated, more reported drinking during their most recent assaultive occasion. Compared to the norms on the Basic Personality Inventory, both groups scored significantly higher on depression, anxiety, feelings of alienation, hypochondriasis, and impulse expression. CI men had higher denial and social introversion scores and NCI men had higher interpersonal problem scores than the norm. These findings have some implications for the planning of treatment programs.     

Neighbourhood outreach: a novel approach to Liaison and Diversion

Aims and method: We evaluate the initial outcomes from the Cornwall Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service (CJLDS) which includes a pilot Neighbourhood Outreach scheme to support police with vulnerable individuals with suspected mental illness but not necessarily criminal involvement. Results: We review the first nine months’ operational data, including a six month follow-up of the initial three months’ to assess the impact of intervention. The service identified a large proportion of new cases of mental illness at an earlier stage. Intervention significantly reduced the number of contacts with police and may suggest a reduction in the severity of crime. Clinical implications: The Cornwall CJLDS with its pilot Neighbourhood Outreach has had a significant impact on both health and on crime, with additional cost savings. The degree to which this is replicable is discussed. Declaration of interest: None