Introduction
Contemporary theories suggest that most individuals have violent sexual fantasies, which may not, in themselves, present a necessary precondition for or inevitable precursor to offending sexual behavior (Gee et al., 2006). Indeed, there is compelling evidence that sexual fantasy plays a domineering role in lawful, consenting sexual behavior, and some men who have never committed sexual offenses readily admit to having aggressive sexual fantasies (Howitt, 2004). According to the author, studies demonstrate that 33-54 percent of men within the general population report fantasies of forcing sex on women, yet a majority are able to control their desires to acceptable levels according to standards set by society. However, attention has been drawn to the likelihood that aggressive sexual fantasy may, in a small proportion of individuals, drive sexually aggressive and offending behavior, including rape and sexual murders.
Although many studies are yet to avail conclusive findings on the relationship between aggressive sexual fantasies and aggressive sexual behavior (Smith, 1999), evidence has so far been adduced on the causal relationship between some behavioral orientations, such as sadism, narcissism, and sadomasochism, and the likelihood of engaging in sexual offending behavior (Fedoroff, 2008). This paper discusses the role of sadism and sadistic fantasy in sexual murders, with a view to clearly illuminate the psychological and criminal factors that come into play to drive individuals with sadistic fantasies into sexual offending.
Towards Understanding Sexual Fantasy & Sadism
According to Gee et al (2006), “…sexual fantasy can be construed as an imaginative process accompanied by a withdrawal from the immediate demands of the external world, and a narrowing in focus the of an individual’s internal world” (p. 213). These processes provide the individual with a framework to generate a convoluted, emotionally anchored mental imagery, which has its foundation in daydreaming and involves erotica that further generates or exaggerates sexual arousal. The suggestion that fantasy facilitate action has led clinicians, criminal investigators, and researchers to articulate concern over the possible role that sexual fantasy may play in the engagement of sexually aberrant behavior. Nevertheless, given that limited information is available on the development of normal sexual inclination, the scarcity of information regarding the acquirement of deviant fantasy, particularly of a sexually aggressive nature, is not surprising (Smith, 1999).
The knowledge about sadism and sadistic fantasy has also been shrouded in controversy, with psychologists such as Ellis (1933) describing it as algolagnia, implying an expedient expression to indicate the connection between pain and sexual excitement (MacCulloch et al., 2000). This description further suggests that “…when fully developed, the actions which constitute algolagnia, whether real, simulated, symbolic, or imagined constitute in themselves an adequate gratification of the sexual impulse and, in the last degree, ensure detumescence without the need of coitus” (MacCulloch et al., 2000, p. 402). Sadistic fantasies are developed over time, with the individual trying as much as possible to conceal his preoccupations from others. In his 1970 seminal work on sadism and sadistic fantasies, Brittain described a typical sexual sadist as male, non-violent in his engagement with daily experiences, obsessional, emotionally insecure, narcissistic, hypochondriacal, interested in pornography, exited by cruelty, and a loner, with a splendid fantasy life in which he enjoys imagining sadistic episodes which he acts out in his killings (MacCulloch et al., 2000).
Possible Causes of Sadistic Fantasy
According to MacCulloch et al (2009), there exists “…very little evidence for the existence of pathological or genetic factors that cause prediction or render coercive interpersonal violence inevitable” (p. 404). As such, medical models, such as Brittain’s medical model, which attempts to explain sadistic fantasy as caused by an interplay between pathological and genetic factors have been met with a myriad of challenges, particularly in explaining why some individuals possess violent sexual fantasies yet they do not necessarily engage in deviant behaviors such as sexual murders. However, there is compelling evidence that some types of life experiences and far-reaching psychological processes could offer the groundwork to explain the manifestations or symptoms of sadistic fantasy (Warren& Hazelwood, 2002). One particular study conducted in 1983 by MacCulloch and colleagues found that provocation or perceived provocation, prior repetitive sadistic masturbatory fantasies which had escalated into overt behavior, and misplaced excitement in torture and dominance were primarily to blame for sadistic fantasies that directly led to sexual homicides (MacCulloch et al., 2009). Consequently, it can be argued that behavioral conditioning to a large extent provides the links between masturbation, fantasy images, and violence.
The Role of Sadistic Fantasy in Sexual Murders
Various studies have been done to investigate the role of sadistic fantasy in sexual murders. In one of the studies, Burgess et al (1986) studied 36 incarcerated sexual murderers to objectively explore the role of sadistic fantasy and cognitive aspects in their development (MacCulloch et al., 2009). The study, according to the authors, “…presented a five-element motivational model that included: ineffective social environment, formative events, critical personality traits and cognitive mapping process, action towards others and self, and feed-back filter” (p. 406). Evidence of daydreaming and obsessive masturbation, which transpired in both childhood and adulthood, was found in 80 percent of the sample. Further, the study found that these precursor behaviors had the capability to move the individuals into aggressive and pain-inflicting actions, which led to sexual murders. As such, the fundamental role of daydreaming and obsessive masturbation, which are a direct offshoot of sadistic personality, motivated the individuals to kill. The study concluded that “…unsuccessful resolution of (childhood) trauma underscores the victims’ helplessness often with the emergence of aggressive fantasies aimed at achieving the dominance and control absent from reality” (MacCulloch et al., 2009, p. 406).
Another study conducted in 1989 by Prentky and colleagues found that violent sexual fantasies were present in 86 percent of sexual murderers who ended up killing multiple sex partners, but such fantasies were found in only 23 percent of the single murderers (MacCulloch et al., 2009). A closer examination of the murderers further revealed that the violent sexual fantasies ignited the desire to act out and kill victims. According to Howitt (2004), “…clinicians have accepted the view that there is a process in which rather obsessive fantasies begin to escalate in frequency and intensity, which drives the offender to violent, often sexual, criminal episodes which may satiate, temporarily, the fantasy” (p. 183). Repetition of such cycles of intensification, fueled by sadistic fantasy, leads to serial offending of increasing ferocity. As such, it can be safely argued that sadistic fantasies are closely associated with an enhanced obsession to act out the fantasies in real situations, therefore engaging in sexual murders. Indeed, there exists compelling evidence that aggressive sadistic fantasies are viewed as a major component of the offending process of most, if not all, sex offenders (Schlesinger, 2003).
Evidence has been adduced to the fact that the small but troublesome group of people who demonstrates sadistic behavioral orientations are themselves not insane (Knight, 2006). However, according to the author, studies have demonstrated a close correlation between sadistic behavior orientation on the one hand and bipolar mood disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy, schizoid behavior orientation, and dissociative personality disorder on the other. In this context, it can be argued that sadistic behavior enhances the chance of an individual to demonstrate other behavioral orientations that elevate the risk of engaging in deviant sexual behavior, including sexual murders. This behavioral orientation is further enhanced by the fact that “…sexually motivated serial killers humiliate and degrade their victims, are manipulative, above average in intelligence, take trophies, do not often harm wives or girlfriends, have a history of cruelty to animals, and enjoy the torture and pain of the victim” (Knight, 2006, p. 1191). According to (), these are the hallmarks of sadistic individuals and therefore could be used to explain the role of sadism in sexual murders. Zurbriggen & Yost (2004) argues that these individuals engage in petty crime as children as they develop their violent fantasy life, which is later acted out on unsuspecting victims. In line with the behavioral orientation, studies have found that many individuals who possess sadistic fantasy also report outbursts of uncontrollable rage, incomprehensible mood swings, and an insatiable appetite for sex (Knight, 2006). A combination of these negative factors may lead individuals to kill for purposes of satisfying their bizarre urges, and therefore could be used to explain the role of sadistic fantasy in sexual murder. Meloy & Gacono (1992) are of the opinion that most individuals who demonstrate sadistic fantasy are aggressive in nature, and possess an insatiable obsession with death, domination, torture, blood, and violence. According to Knight (2006), “…these individuals cannot empathize or feel guilt and are largely indifferent to others, while their relationships may be described as shallow” (p. 1192). Overall, these behaviors demonstrate how sadism and other personality tendencies such as sadomasochism, fetishism, and voyeurism enhance sexual murders (Salfati & Taylor, 2006).
Many forms of sadistic fantasies lead an individual towards an urgent urge for pleasure-seeking (Knight, 2007). In such circumstances, the individual gravitates towards ‘thrill killing’, and always takes time to enjoy the act of domination, power, and control over the victim. According to Knight (2006), “…sadistic torture and object penetration of the orifices of the victim are common” (p. 1192). This explains why most bodies of victims of sexual murders are found severely dismembered and mutilated as the perpetrator sought to derive as much pleasure as possible from engaging in the act. Another group of sadistic killers known as ‘lust killers’ continue to enjoy the kill and derive sexual pleasure even the victim is dead, further illuminating the depth of pleasure-seeking orientation among individuals espousing sadistic sexual fantasy. It is imperative to note that most individuals possessing sadistic orientations, and who have engaged in sexual murders, derive optimal sexual excitement from the cries of anguish and mortification of the victim, who must remain conscious during the episode (Sheldon & Howitt, 2008). This introduces another dimension of sadists and their fantasies that borders more on deriving sexual pleasure than on engaging in the actual sexual experience (Warren & Hazelwood, 2002).
It is a well-known fact that sexually motivated serial killers use sadism or sadistic fantasy as a vivid expression of their deep hate for the world (Knight, 2006). According to the author, “…these serial killers are particularly distasteful as they kill not only for pleasure but also to sexually humiliate their victims” (p. 1202). Various studies have reported that the primary reason that this group of the population sexually torture and kill is to achieve sexual satisfaction and orgasm which they are incapable of obtaining in any other way. The sexualized component of the sadistic behavior orientation is not always noticeable, but when it is explicit, it is especially odious and often involves stabbing, piercing, ripping, cutting and mutilating body parts (Meloy & Gacono, 1992). Knight (2006) argues that “…the aggressive attacks on the victim may be understood as symbolic expressions of the killer’s hate for the world” (p. 1202). In stabbing and mutilating the victim, the killer lets off his own unconscious pain in addition to reenacting his childhood impotent power and helplessness. This goes hand in hand with the achievement of revenge. As such, the role of sadistic fantasy in sexual murder is played out in the open in terms of the individual expressing his hate for the world, his impotency and helplessness as a child, and a powerful urge to seek revenge.
Conclusion
This paper has critically discussed the role of sadism and sadism fantasy in sexual murders, and evidence has been demonstrated to the fact that violent sexual fantasies, daydreaming and obsessive masturbations are functions of sadism that leads individuals to engage in sexual murders. It has also been revealed that sexually motivated serial killers are sadists who have long-standing behavior problems arising from childhood experiences, and which drives them to express hate for the world or the own helplessness in killing their victims. The role played by the insatiable urge to seek pleasure and revenge in killing and mutilating victims cannot be underestimated in attempts to explain the role of sadism in sexual murder. These factors leads to serial offending of increasing ferocity, and gradually leads the individuals to start committing sexual murders. In addition, it has been noted that sadistic behavior enhances the chance of an individual to demonstrate other behavioral orientations that elevate the risk of engaging in deviant sexual behavior (Gray et al., 2003). This information is critical in developing and implementing strategies and measures that are unequivocally needed to curb instances of sexual murders in the society
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