Sexual Offenders

Definitions

• A youth, from 12 to 17 years of age, who commits any sexual act with a person of any age, against the victim’s will, without consent, or in an aggressive, exploitative or threatening manner (i)
• Sexually abusive behaviour: Any interaction that is 1) against the victim's will, 2) without consent, 3) in an aggressive, exploitative, manipulative, or threatening nature. (ii)

Different definitions of what constitutes sexual abuse... A sexual offense is any sexual act that is chargeable under the Criminal Code of Canada (1985). This may include contact or non-contact sexual offences. ()

the offense

• Offenders are usually older than their victims. However, in a significant number of cases, the victim is older than the offender. This suggests that strictly defining the offence in terms of the age difference between the victim and the offender can be misleading. ()
• Sexually abusive behaviour does not suddenly manifest itself in adolescence. The offender often has a well-established history of sexually aggressive or exploitative behaviour, though in most instances the assaults have been ignored, minimized or excused as sexual experimentation and left unreported. ()

...the offense

• In most cases, the sexual act that has brought the young person to the attention of the authorities is not an isolated one. A study done in Toronto discovered that almost half of the offenders surveyed had previously committed one or more sexual offences. ()
• Threats and physical force are used most frequently against older victims, while a less violent abuse of power and authority is usually used with younger victims. ()
• The older the offender, the greater is the likelihood that a charge will be laid for sexual assault. ()

behaviours

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...behaviours

• Hands-off offenses such as peeping, flashing, and obscene communication may precede hands-on offenses. ()
• Nondeviant sexual experiences usually precede their illegal behaviour, which supports that their behaviours are not merely an "exploration" of curious youth. ()

characteristics

• No single profile describes all adolescent offenders. All economic groups, all levels of intelligence, all races, and all religions are represented in the backgrounds of adolescent sexual abuser. ()
• Adolescent offenders can sometimes be loners, isolated from their own peer group, preferring to play with younger children. They tend to have a limited work history, to be under-achievers and generally immature in most areas of functioning. ()

...characteristics

• A large percentage of offenders experience a variety of social and behavioural problems at school. ()
• Adolescent sexual offenders view their world as being basically antagonistic. Their abusiveness can be understood in part as a reflection of their need to retaliate against a world they perceive to be hostile toward them. ()

...characteristics

• Modal is 14 year aged White males (91 to 93%) and living with two parental figures. ()
• All racial, ethnic, religious, and geographic groups. ()
• Majority are attending school with average grades, but significant number have been identified with problems in school: learning disabilities, special education needs, truancy, or behaviour problems. ()

...characteristics

• Over-representation of juveniles with emotional and behavioural disorders, affective and attention deficit disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or posttraumatic stress disorder. ()
• Only about 30% might support a diagnosis of conduct disorder or antisocial personality. ()
• Remaining 65% appear to manifest paraphilia without other observable personality or behaviour characteristics that sets them apart from peer groups. ()

causes/etiology

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...causes/etiology

• Children that experience high levels of psychopathy; sexual sadism. These juveniles who sexually assault children, display high levels of aggression and violence. ()
• Children that suffer from self-esteem and social anxiety, tend to sexually offend against children. ()

PHYSICAL

• Larger physical size where size is used to intimidate, and greater physical capacity where the differences between the individuals (e.g., disabilities) are exploited. ()
• Development of primary and secondary sexual characteristics. ()

PHYSICAL: physiological theory

• Neurological and hormone factors are known to exert powerful influences of feelings and behaviours, including sexual drives. ()
• Linked to some elements of aggression. ()

PHYSICAL: psychosexual development

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EMOTIONAL

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• Significant maturational changes suggest that during adolescence, youth are beginning to incorporate societal norms and standards more into their personality and behaviour. ()

...EMOTIONAL

• Children that experience high levels of psychopathy; sexual sadism. These juveniles who sexually assault children, display high levels of aggression and violence. ()
• Children that suffer from self-esteem and social anxiety, tend to sexually offend against children. ()

EMOTIONAL: psychoanalytic theory

• Many young children

EMOTIONAL: intrapsychic theory

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COGNITIVE

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COGNITIVE: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

• Formal Operation Stage:
• Identity vs. Role Confusion:
• Genital:

SOCIAL

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• Sometimes adolescence are of being labeled as "gay" if they don't take advantage of heterosexual opportunities. ()

SOCIAL: FAMILY SYSTEMS

• High stress family environments, poor parental supervision, and parental rejection were predominant in the profiles of sexually abusive juveniles, suggesting that these family factors are important treatment targets. ()

SOCIAL: SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES

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SOCIAL: sexualization through media

• Double standard in society where women are submissive and objectified while men are encouraged to be "players.' ()
• Males who are allowed more leeway to sexual exploration and exposure may treat sex as a goal-oriented activity-to ""prove"" their masculinity. ()
• As males view porn, they have no real references: reality is blurred. ()

developmental tasks

• Adapt to the physical and emotional changes of puberty.
• Accept yourself as a sexual being.
• Explore romantic and sexual relationships.
• Learn to protect your sexual health. ^()

female perpetrators

• Make up only about 5-7% of the known adolescent offender population. ()
• Rate of female offending is underreported. ()
• Few studies that have been conducted with this population suggest that female offenders may have more severe levels of psychopathology and may have experienced a higher level of personal victimization than their male counterparts. ()
• Not enough is known about adult or adolescent female offenders to generalize between the two. ()

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

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cycle of abuse

• One of the few Canadian studies on this subject revealed that one third of the adolescent offenders interviewed had experienced an abusive or neglectful childhood. ()
• Child sexual abuse victims are at a greater risk of offending than are non-victims. However, while previous victimization is a contributing factor, it is not the cause of adolescent sexual offending. Most victims do not go on to abuse other children. ()

DATE RAPE

• Form of sexual assault where occurs on a voluntary, prearranged date. Drugs such as Rohypnol are sometimes used. ()
• Increasing problem in high school and college; most common form of rape. ()
• Males more likely to blame victims, and are less likely to view the crime as serious. ()
• College men who belong to a fraternity or sports team are more likely to endorse rape myths and blame victims, and are more likely to engage in sexual aggression. ()

DATE RAPE statistics

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ROLE OF THE CYC

• Positive self-esteem and cultural pride.
• Teaching of values that relate to respect of others and for the self.
• Providing sex education and understandings of healthy sexual intercourse, correcting the distorted behavioural beliefs.
• Programming to enhance social skills for gain of self-confidence.
• Teaching of relapse prevention.
• Advocating for the young offender in the case process, and reintegration. ^all()

intervention

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TREATMENT

• Juvenile sex offenders will need to go through a lot of treatment. This typically includes, individual, group, and family therapies. Youth that display behavioural problems (e.g., substance abuse) may require additional therapies. All youth programs in the agency provide case management and professional oversight. ()

...TREATMENT

• Unfortunately, only British Columbia and Nova Scotia have mandated protocols for the treatment of youth sexual offenders. ()
• Some high-risk youth in Ontario are provided with no specialized, sexual offence-specific services while some low-risk youth are provided with unnecessarily intrusive, lengthy, and expensive out-of-home, specialized services. ()

Top TREATMENT MODALITIES

• Victim empathy
• Sex education
• Social skills
• Anger/aggression management
• Communication
• Cognitive distortions
• Assertiveness training
• Personal victimization/trauma ^()

phases of treatment

• Pre-trial (investigation)
• Pre-sentence (dangerousness, risk, placement prognosis)
• Post-adjudication clinical assessment (treatment issues, modality)
• Release and termination of treatment (community safety, successful application of treatment tools)
• Monitoring and follow-up (ongoing treatment needs, life adjustment) ^()

prevention

• Look at red flags of sexual behaviour in children. ()
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how we can help

• Provide sex education courses in school with a focus on positive sexuality, addressing the issues of consent, equality and coercion. Several researchers have identified a lack of appropriate sex information or education as a possible contributing factor to incestuous offending. ()
• Teach victims of sexual assault how to accept and resolve their feelings about having been abused; this may help reduce the likelihood of their becoming offenders. ()

...how we can help

• Ensure that sexual assaults committed by adolescents are treated with the same concern and care as those perpetrated by adult offenders. ()
• Emphasize the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to intervention with adolescent sexual offenders. Effective treatment requires cooperation and open communication between all the professionals involved with the offender. ()

legal response & youth criminal justice act

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STATISTICS

• According to 2007 police-reported data, 97% of persons accused of sexual offences were male. ()
• Rates of sexual offending were highest among persons aged 12 to 17 (90 per 100,000 population). ()
• 20% of sexual assaults and between 30% to 50% of all child sexual abuse can be attributed to adolescent perpetrators . ()
• Over half (55%) of the sexual assaults reported to the General Social Survey (GSS) in 2004 involved an offender who was a friend or acquaintance of the victim, with stranger assaults accounting for 35% of incidents. ()

...STATISTICS

• Between 1997 and 2004, 524 Ontario youth identified with sexual offending behaviour were referred to the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy. ()
• 50% of incarcerated adults who have sexually offended report that they began offending when they were teenagers, and 25% of sexual offences in Canada are committed by teenagers ()
• Advances in the assessment and treatment of youth who sexually offend have resulted in the reduction of recidivism by as much as 73%. ()

...statistics

• 23% of these young people were developmentally disabled. ()
• Although only 3% of the population have an intellectual disability, they represent as much as 15% of individuals who are convicted of sexual offences and a higher percentage of those who perpetrate sexual offences. ()

...statistics

• The Youth Court Survey (YCS) for 2003 indicated that in Canada, 961 youth were charged with a total of 2188 sexual assault charges and that youth in Ontario accounted for almost half of this: 466 Ontario youth were charged (48.5%) with 1172 charges (53.6%).
• Police in Ontario reported 8,877 sexual assaults in 2002. This represents one reported sexual assault every hour each day. ()

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

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COMMUNITY RESOURCES

• Rocco Giggarelli: 180 James St. S., Unit 207, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4V1. (905) 512-8419 [gizzarelliandassociates.com]
• Dawn Patrol (Bernhardt House): 82 Victoria Ave. S., Hamilton , ON, L8N 2S7. ( 905) 526-9529[dawnpatrol.on.ca]
• John Howard Society of Hamilton: 654 Barton St. E., Hamilton, ON, L8L 3A2. (905) 522-4446 [johnhoward.on.ca/hamilton]

Rocco Gizzarelli

• Sex Offender Treatment Program: A specialized treatment program that is designed to treat sex offenders. Specialized treatment is required since general psychotherapy has been found to be ineffective in reducing recidivism among sex offenders. Treatment based on a cognitive-behavioural, relapse prevention model has been found to be effective in reducing recidivism among sex offenders. ()

Rocco Gizzarelli

• Cognitive-Behavioural, Relapse Prevention Model Group Program: Change the offender’s behaviour by changing distorted thinking. Prevent relapse by helping the offender avoid high-risk situations. This treatment philosophy is based on the belief that sexual deviancy is a pattern of behaivour that can be controlled, not cured. Clients learn tools to control their sexual deviancy and prevent reoffending. ()

dawn patrol

• Females, 12-17 years old, open & secure custody
• The direct intake detention site for all female young persons in conflict with the law in the City of Hamilton, Also operates Open Custody program for female young persons from the Hamilton, Niagara, Brant, and Guelph areas funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services. ()

john howard society of Hamilton & area

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FOR MORE INFO.

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references

• Will add later.

...references