Sex offenders are considered to be “the lowest of the law” and the outcasts of society (Griffin & West, 2006, p. 167). However, this opinion is imposed by law enforcement, mass media, and politicians. All of these make people believe that sex offender are hopeless and unimprovable since they can not live without one more committed crime. Is it the truth or only a popular belief?
The society view of sex offenders
The majority thinks that sex offenders exist separately from any other criminals, as well as a sex offense is a unique kind of crime. Many people even equate sex offenses to sex disorders. Besides, the community believes that the recidivism rates for sex crimes are the highest, although this opinion is based on nothing. Finally, every released sex offender has to register himself and let the community know about his presence. Nevertheless, there is no other type of criminal, including murderers, who are obliged to do the same.
As a result, according to different studies, after release sex offenders, as well as their close friends and members of the families, are often exposed to violence (Griffin & West, 2006).
The recidivism rates for sex crimes
There are several studies, according to which the recidivism rates for sexual assaults is not lower than 80%. However, all of them are unfounded and based on vague beliefs and opinions. As reported by Griffin and West (2004), 1994 research revealed that more than 45% of released sex criminals were re-arrested during the following three years. However, not all of those arrests were because of sex assaults. For example, only 2.5% of all arrested committed rape.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (2003), research showed that only 5.3% of sex offenders were rearrested for another sex crime within three years after the release. Moreover, non-sex offenders have much higher recidivism rates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2003).
Finally, the number of different sex offenses decreased by 65% in 2004 in comparison to 1994. So, the statistics are, in fact, promising.
Types of treatment and their effectiveness
The best way to reduce the number of repeated sex offenses is to provide sexual deviants with appropriate treatment. According to Griffin and West (2006), there are several methods of therapy: physical, non-behavioral, and behavioral. From my point of view, one of the most effective is psychopharmacological treatment, which is a part of a physical one. It requires an offender to take medications, usually hormones, that can decrease their sexual desire. I consider this method as the most effective since sex offenders usually commit crimes because of sex addiction. The behavioral approach is also helpful because it examines criminals’ cognitive distortions. The weakest method of treatment is non-behavioral (group therapy and so on).
It is hard to determine who is responsible for the community view of sex offenders: mass media, for example, or the community itself. It seems that we have a chicken and egg situation here because mass media affect society, no more than society affects them. The reality shows that recidivism rates for sex crimes are the ones of the lowest. So, the best thing to do is to adequately examine the problem and provide sex offenders with an appropriate treatment.
References
Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2003). 5 persent of sex offenders rearrested for another sex crime within 3 years of prison release. Web.
Griffin, M. P., & West, D. A. (2006). The lowest of the low? Addressing the disparity between community view, public policy, and treatment effectiveness for sex offenders. Law and Psychology Review, 30, 143-169.