People with special needs and sexual behaviour problems: balancing community and client interests while ensuring effective risk management

Abstract

Deinstitutionalisation movements of the mid-1900s led to changes in policy and practice in the management of people with special needs (defined for this article as people with severe and persistent mental illness, intellectual disabilities and high levels of personality factors that interfere with treatment participation). Although the majority of clients with special needs receive care in community settings and interact more with family, friends and others in the community, some such clients require more rigorous case management. For clients who have offended, especially sexually, community-based services are scarce, and concerns regarding reoffence potential often supersede traditional understandings of diminished capacity. Recent reports suggest that jails and prisons have replaced hospitals as the institutions-of-choice for clients with special needs who engage in inappropriate conduct. This paper examines policies and practices regarding community risk management of people with special needs who have sexually offended. Vignettes are provided to illustrate how some clients and agencies have been affected, and suggestions are made to ensure best practices in risk management and public safety.     

Trends in the management of registered sexual offenders across England and Wales: a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending

Abstract

Social scientists, and geographers in particular, have long been interested in examining spatial patterns of offending in order to generate a “geography” of crime and criminality. This paper examines what value, if any, a geographical approach to the study of sexual offending might offer. Utilising published official data from England and Wales it presents for the first time geographical analyses of the registration, risk assessment and management of Registered Sexual Offenders (RSOs) across 42 Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement (MAPPA) areas. In doing so it considers and evaluates the methodological issues pertaining to the use of such data and such a geographical approach. We conclude that geographical interpretations of both the incidence of RSOs and the rates of risk allocations between MAPPA areas provide valuable insights and raise new questions about the way in which RSOs are managed nationally and are thus worthy of further exploration.     

Sexually violent predators and civil commitment: is selection evidence based?

Sexual offenses represent an alarming proportion of crimes committed yearly. To address these concerns, several states, including South Carolina (SC), have enacted laws requiring sexually violent predators (SVPs) to be civilly committed to treatment. To date, no published study has examined sexual offenders recommended for treatment in SC. This study used a specially designed statewide database (SC-SVP research database) to determine which offender and offense characteristics were associated with increased likelihood of being recommended for civil commitment. Factors correlated with being more likely to be recommended included: being of a younger age at time of evaluation, prior sex convictions, having related and unrelated victims, a higher number of victims, frequent substance use, and a history of suicide attempts. Prior sex convictions, having both related and non-related victims, and a higher total number of victims align with characteristics associated with sexual recidivism. Frequent substance abuse and a history of suicide attempts do not mirror previous findings regarding sexual recidivism. These findings present new information regarding the civil commitment process of offenders being committed to the SC-SVP treatment program, characterize types of offenders committed to SC-SVP treatment program, and provide a foundation for using a computerized database in conducting sex offender research.     

GENERAL ASSESSMENTS AND THRESHOLDS FOR CHRONIC OFFENDING: AN ENRICHED PARADIGM FOR EXPLAINING CRIME

General assessments refer to individuals’ overall judgment of their standing on broad dimensions that have special relevance for the explanation of crime, such as their overall bond to society or their prospects for success. These assessments are partly a function of the independent variables that are commonly considered in contemporary crime theories and quantitative research. But these standard etiological variables are far from fully determinative of general assessments because individuals differ in how they interpret, weigh, and combine their standing along these variables. The social–psychological factors that affect the subjective judgments underlying general assessments have yet to be theorized in any comprehensive, systematic manner. Nevertheless, we hypothesize that the incorporation of general assessments in models of offending will greatly enhance their explanatory power because these assessments are the most proximate, comprehensive, and personally relevant causes of crime. Moreover, we anticipate that once these assessments reach certain threshold levels, such as the view that bonds to society are severed irreparably or success is beyond reach, they result in a nonlinear jump in the frequency, seriousness, and duration of offending (i.e., chronic offending). A consideration of general assessments and their associated thresholds should therefore substantially improve efforts to explain crime.     

Child Sexual Abuse in Turkey: An Analysis of 1002 Cases

This study investigated the characteristics of abuse suffered by children, the dimensions of the psychiatric effects associated with abuse, and the factors affecting these. One thousand two cases aged under 18, exposed to sexual abuse, and referred over a 7‐year period were assessed. Girls represented 80.8% of cases, and the numbers rose with age. The aggressors were all male, and 88.2% were known to their victim. Approximately half the children were exposed to sexual abuse involving penetration. Psychological pathology was identified in 62.1%. Female gender, the presence of penetration, physical violence, and incest significantly increased the development of psychological pathology. Levels of awareness in people close to and trusted by the child must be raised to minimize the adverse effects of trauma in the long term, preventive measures must be taken, and medical and social support units from which victims can receive assistance need to be established.     

强奸罪的文化学分析

强奸罪作为人类文明史上一个古老的犯罪命题 ,其立法模式是文化所认可的各种态度与价值的缩影。传统的强奸罪立法模式深植于男权制社会之中。 2 0世纪中后期以来 ,域外出现的强奸罪立法新模式反映了人们性观念及价值观的改变 ,是理想主义的结晶。基于现实国情 ,我国在强奸罪立法模式上可走一条现实向理想逐步过渡的渐进路线 :在坚持现行刑法典规定的前提下 ,对特殊个案按强奸罪新模式作出处理 ,以个案判决逐步影响民众的观念 ,最终实观立法的转变。     

增强全社会的社会性别意识，为妇女发展创造良好的社会环境

文章通过对现实生活中性别公正问题的分析,指出社会的性别偏见甚至性别歧视仍然存在,且极有市场.建议要营造良好的政策环境、教育环境和舆论环境,建立一个不仅是法律上男女平等,而且是事实上男女平等的社会,为妇女发展创造良好的社会环境.     

美国工作场所性骚扰雇主民事责任之研究

工作场所性骚扰在美国被认为是性别歧视行为和对妇女平等工作、就业权的侵害行为,包括交换利益性骚扰和敌意工作环境性骚扰两种形式。对于交换利益性骚扰,雇主应承担严格责任;对于敌意工作环境性骚扰,应根据性骚扰者属管理者或职员的不同身份,适用不同的归责原则,但雇主得以自己无过错而提出抗辩。美国联邦法院通过合理的证据规则、专家证人制度以及惩罚性赔偿制度的运用,更有利于对受害人的保护。     

论性骚扰的损害赔偿

文章通过对中国性骚扰案件的评析,在借鉴国外经验基础上提出应该完善中国性骚扰损害赔偿制度:除了精神损害赔偿,还应该增加工资和预期利益等补偿,并且将惩罚性赔偿制度纳入职场性骚扰的损害赔偿中,给与受害人充分、合理的保护。     

A Comparison Between Unwanted Sexual Behavior by Teachers and by Peers in Secondary Schools

This study explores differences and similarities between sexual harassment of students by teachers and by peers. Respondents were adolescents in 22 secondary schools, randomly selected in 2 regions in the Netherlands. Of the 2808 students 512 (18%) reported unwanted sexual experiences at school in the past 12 months: 370 girls (72%) and 142 boys (28%). Using discriminant function analysis we found 2 qualitatively different types of unwanted sexual behavior. Unwanted sexual behavior by school personnel is more often nonverbal in nature, physical, or a combination of different sorts of behavior and is more often directed at girls. Students experience teacher harassment as more upsetting than unwanted sexual behavior by their peers. They also experience more psychosomatic health problems when harassed by teachers. Unwanted sexual behavior by peers is more often of a verbal nature. Students experience less psychosomatic health problems when harassed by peers.