Sexual Offending: Theory, Research, and Prevention

Changing Language May Not Be Enough to Change Public Perceptions of Individuals Who Sexually Offend

Chella M. Robles — 2026-05-08

Negative community attitudes toward individuals who have sexually offended may hinder their reintegration, potentially leading to reoffending. The ‘sex offender’ label is believed to reinforce these negative perceptions. This study examines public perceptions of these individuals using person-first language compared to stigmatizing labels. Participants read one of eight public announcement vignettes and answered questions regarding their perceptions of individuals who sexually offend. Contrary to expectations, we found that participants continued to endorse negative perceptions toward these individuals irrespective of the label used, the victim’s age, or the interaction of the label and the victim’s age, suggesting that the labels were not perceived differently. In light of these null findings, adopting person-first language may not be enough to change societal attitudes toward individuals who sexually offend. Changing language should be considered when the goal is to treat individuals more humanely and to better align with trauma-informed and compassionate approaches when working with those who have been convicted of sexual offences.

Understanding Variations Among Individuals With Child Sexual Exploitation Material Offences: A Cumulative Meta-Analysis

Serra Baskurt — 2026-05-08

Understanding the characteristics of individuals involved in child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) offences is crucial for policy, treatment, and case prioritization. This study examined the extent to which 238 men adjudicated for CSEM-exclusive offences (sexual history is limited to CSEM offences; Mage = 41.9, SD = 13.2) differ from 94 men with mixed offences (both CSEM and contact sexual offences; Mage = 43.4, SD = 13.9; median assessment year = 2009). We conducted a cumulative meta-analysis by integrating our findings with the latest meta-analysis on CSEM characteristics (i.e., Babchishin et al., 2015). Of the 10 characteristics examined, four showed significant deviation from the meta-analytical averages. Mixed offending individuals showed higher levels of prior offences (dweighted = .44, 95% CI [.34, .53], QΔ = 18.35, p < .001), emotional identification with children (dweighted = .28, 95% CI [.15, .40], QΔ = 18.35, p < .001), and empathy deficits (dweighted = .26, 95% CI [.13, .38], QΔ = 29.05, p < .001) compared to CSEM-exclusive individuals, with differences increasing when incorporating our new sample. Conversely, the difference in prior violent offences decreased (dweighted = .78, 95% CI [.64, .92], QΔ = 9.06, p = .028), with mixed individuals showing a greater reduction than the CSEM-exclusive group. No differences were noted for age, education, victim access, prior sexual offences, impulsivity, and substance use. This study highlights the distinct risk profiles of mixed versus CSEM-exclusive groups, underscoring the need for differentiated management approaches.

Dealing With Defilement Cases in Ghana: Intricacies of Law, Sociology and Psychology

Jacob Mensah Agboli — 2026-01-21

Defilement is one of the most traumatic experiences a child can experience, with the consequences lived almost throughout the entire lifetime of the victim. Yet, statistics show that defilement cases are on the rise in Ghana, with little being done by the State to stem the tide. This paper critically analyses the incidence of defilement from three perspectives, namely, law, sociology, and psychology. The paper first discusses what defilement is under Ghanaian law (the law), how society deals with the victims and perpetrators of defilement (the sociology), and the psychological effect of defilement on the victims (the psychology). Using a combination of systematic review and the practitioner analysis approach to research, the paper identifies the consequences of defilement on the victim in Ghana, the problems with the definition, scope, and adjudication of defilement cases in Ghana, and offers some useful recommendations to deal with the rising incidence of defilement in Ghana. A major finding of this paper is that the rising cases of defilement in Ghana are the result of the failure of law, sociology, and psychology. Therefore, to combat this canker, an eclectic approach combining the three domains is highly recommended.

Enhancing Rehabilitation Practices: Over- and Undertreatment in a German Outpatient Sexual Offender Program: Monitoring Degrees of Treatment Based on Standardized Risk Levels

Markus Dietl — 2025-12-19

Background: Effective reintegration into the community requires tailored treatment programs that address criminogenic needs. Ultimately, these efforts are essential to maintaining public safety. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether our outpatient program met the criminogenic needs of participants. Method: Between 2008 and 2023, treatment needs of a sample of 955 male sexual offenders were assessed using the Static-99 tool and standardized risk levels. Results: A significant 63.5% of the offenders exhibited treatment needs. Among the total population, 56% were undertreated, 14% overtreated, and 30% adequately treated. Therapy in sociotherapeutic facilities had a significant influence on over- and undertreatment. Conclusion: The degrees of treatment based on standardized risk levels are proving to be very valuable in forensic outpatient care, underscoring an urgent requirement for more individualized treatment strategies. Sociotherapeutic interventions play a key role in reducing undertreatment.

“Too Much, Too Little, Too Late:” Exploring the Role of the Criminal Justice System Within the Narratives of Men Convicted of Sexual Recidivism in Norway and North America

Ingeborg Jenssen Sandbukt — 2025-10-21

We present a targeted comparative analysis of two international samples of men incarcerated for sexual recidivism. A total of 30 men were interviewed: 16 from Norway and 14 from North America. The two jurisdictions from which these men were drawn represent the opposite ends of a global continuum of approaches to justice and punishment. We follow Rimer and Holt’s (2023) methodological approach and examine comparatively the way participants described their lived experience of custody, community release, and subsequent reoffending. Although all participants were convicted of crimes that carry the heaviest social stigma, the legislation and structural stigma to which they were subject were distinct. Many participants in both groups attributed their reoffending (at least in part) to systemic inadequacies of the criminal justice regime to which they were exposed. We discuss how these perceived inadequate responses of both countries appear in recidivism narratives in turn. First, we juxtapose the North American system (which was described as “too harsh”) with the comparatively relaxed Norwegian system (which was “too soft”). Second, we consider how treatment was offered (or mandated) in both jurisdictions and describe how there appears to be “no way out” of treatment for the North American men, and yet no way “into” treatment for the Norwegian men. Finally, we compare the men’s perspectives of being “set up to fail” with “too many hoops” in North America and “no safety net” in Norway. The relevance of their narratives for informing best practices is described and general policy implications within a framework of quaternary prevention are discussed.

Assessing Sexual Sadism in Sexual Homicide Offenders Using Behavioural Dimensional Scales, Typological Approaches, and Categorical Diagnoses

Lara Consigliere — 2025-10-21

Sexual sadism has been central to conceptualizing sexual homicide typologically, diagnostically, and behaviourally. Although about a third of cases involve sexual sadism, its reliable ascertainment is challenging, which is concerning given consequences of making or missing the diagnosis. This study examined 297 sexual homicide cases from Australia and New Zealand recruited from official online legal sources and evaluated the application of seven sexual sadism measures (clinical and research diagnoses, two typological approaches, and three behavioural scales). There were high correlations between all measures except clinical diagnosis. We confirmed scale and inter-rater reliability, convergent and concurrent validity, and external validity of behavioural scales. Rates of sexual sadism ranged from 4% for clinical diagnosis to 45% using the recommended Sexual Sadism Scale (SeSaS) Part 1 cut-off of 4. But other approaches identified between 1 in 5 and 1 in 3 cases. Cut-off scores of 5 on the SeSaS Part 1, 6 on the Sexual Homicide Crime Scene Rating Scale for Sexual Sadism (SADSEX-SH), and 6 on the Massachusetts Treatment Centre Sadism Scale (MTCSS) appeared equivalent and identified around 30% of cases. Offence and offender characteristics correlated with sadism ascertained with the SeSaS and SADSEX-SH were equivalent and as expected from the literature. We conclude that the SeSaS and SADSEX-SH are equivalent scales, but the recommended SeSaS Part 1 cut-off of 4 may be too low in sexual homicide cases. We make practical recommendations for a structured professional judgment approach to diagnosing sexual sadism disorder.

The Nature of Trauma Informed Care in the Treatment of Men Convicted of a Sexual Offence With Trauma History

Sarah Senker — 2025-09-19

Individuals who have committed sexual offences are more likely to have experienced trauma or childhood adversity than the general population (Kahn et al., 2021). Further, individuals who were convicted of a sexual offence perceive a strong connection between their own victimisation and their sexual offending (Grady et al., 2022). This initial scoping work, funded by the University of West England in the United Kingdom, involved in-depth qualitative interviews with 20 professionals and a roundtable including academics, policy makers and front-line practitioners from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, NHS and third sector organisations. All participants had a history of working with individuals with a sexual conviction and a history of trauma or had been involved in academia in this area. The work identified an inconsistent use of the term ‘trauma informed’ across the sector and a gap in trauma informed care (TIC) for individuals with a ‘dual status’ as both a perpetrator of sexual abuse and victim of trauma. This was especially prominent for adult men relative to females or young people with sexual convictions. Individuals with a ‘dual status’ are particularly disadvantaged in having their trauma acknowledged and addressed if they are male. The extent that true TIC can be implemented across the justice system is challenged by the necessities of managing risk. Further research is required to better understand the experiences of people with lived experience and to explore the impact of TIC on reintegration and reoffending.

Women Who Sexually Abuse Children – Results From an Anonymous Online Survey Among a Non-Forensic Female Sample With Sexual Interest in Children

Safiye Tozdan — 2025-08-21

Knowledge is still rare regarding women who commit child sexual abuse (CSA), especially those who have a sexual interest in children. The present study aimed at assessing characteristics of CSA committed by women. We investigated self-report data from 23 German women from the general population who reported a sexual interest in children and previous acts of CSA. Results showed that participants were mostly well-educated with almost no reported childhood maltreatment. At first offence, participants were 25.22 years and children (65.2% female) were 5.30 years on average. 95.5% of participants were known or related to the child and all of them conducted at least one contact sexual offense. 87% stated they conducted the sexual acts for “sexual satisfaction”; 34.8% out of “love”; 30.4% for “physical closeness”; and 34.8% for “emotional closeness”. The results indicate that participants conduct the offence voluntarily and were not coerced by anyone else to engage in CSA. Our results might indicate that women who commit CSA and have a sexual interest in children may constitute a specific subtype that differs in several ways from forensic samples of women committing CSA examined in the past.

Editorial: SOTRAP – A Journal on the Rise

Daniel Turner — 2025-07-28

No abstract available.

Assessing Pedophilic Sexual Interest: The Utility of Objective Correlates in Diagnostic Decisions

Raquel Yeomans — 2025-07-15

Pedophilic sexual interest is a risk factor for sexual recidivism and has particular relevance for a significant proportion of individuals who have sexually offended against a child. In this article, we review the predominant ways in which pedophilia is assessed, including both direct and indirect approaches. The limitations of these methods are highlighted and the utility of incorporating more objective indicators into a comprehensive evaluation is examined. Particular emphasis is placed on the inclusion of behavioral correlates into a comprehensive and multimodal assessment approach. Implications for the assessment of individuals convicted of sexual offending and who present with pedophilic sexual interest are discussed.