Introduction
The Center for Sex Offender Management (“CSOM: The Comprehensive Assessment Protocol: A System-wide Review of Adult and Juvenile Sex Offender Management Strategies.” par. 1) reports that sexual abuse is still a major problem across the United States. The current classification system for sex offenses has its basis in theories that focus on what the sex offenders specialize in and their physical and psychological traits (Simons par. 2). According to Simons (par. 3), the typical sex offender typologies include child sexual abusers, female sex offenders, male sex offenders, internet sex offenders, and rapists. Child sexual abuse involves the use of coercion or force of a sexual nature, with minors being the target. Child sexual abuse occurs if the victim is less than 13 years old and the age difference between the victim and the offender is at least five years (Campbell 58). Additionally, an offense becomes a child sexual abuse if the age difference between the offender and the victim is at least ten years, and the victim’s age is between thirteen and sixteen years.
Main body
Some differences exist between child sexual abusers and rapists. The main difference is in the perpetrators’ thought process and affect. Child sexual abusers usually have feelings of inadequacy and tend to be lonely. Additionally, they are often passive in relationships. Apart from that, their social skills are poor, and they exhibit cognitive distortions. On the other hand, rapists have a distorted opinion of the other gender as well as their sex roles. Rapists are driven to commit sexual offenses by hostility, anger, and vindictiveness while child sexual abusers are driven by loneliness, anxiety, and depression (Hanser and Mire 307).
The Center for Sex Offender Management (“CSOM: The Comprehensive Assessment Protocol: A System-wide Review of Adult and Juvenile Sex Offender Management Strategies.” par. 4) mentions three types of sex offenders. They are juvenile sex offenders, adult sex offenders, and female sex offenders. Juvenile sex offenders are minors who sexually abuse other children while adult sex offenders are adults who commit sexual offenses. Reports indicate that women commit about 20% of sex crimes against children. Additionally, their rate of sexual victimization is twice that of male offenders. Another difference between male and female sexual offenders is that female offender are more likely to target men and strangers than male offenders (Gannon and Cortona 44). Apart from that, Female sexual abusers are less likely to re-offend than male abusers. However, both types of offenders are likely to have an experience of abuse while young. Both male and female offenders also tend to have low self-esteem and a sense of attachment. Most of the offenders in both groups usually isolate themselves from other members of society.
Conclusion
There are legal and social challenges related to the treatment of the different types of sex offenders. Olver and Wong (328) point out that those offenders with psychopathic traits are harder to treat than non-psychopathic sexual offenders. The legal system usually labels sex offenders “guilty except for insanity.” The thought of living with this tag makes most victims afraid of being a target for harassment and other abuses by society. This fear that comes about as a result of being labeled a sex offender usually derails the treatment process. One challenge related to the treatment of male sex offenders is that they do not decide to enroll in the programs by themselves. Since they do not enter into the treatment programs out of their conviction, the chances of the treatment being successful are reduced. The main challenge concerning treating female offenders is the predetermination of the treatment procedures. The predetermination of treatment procedures is a challenge because the treatment often fails to take into consideration the needs and risks factors that are unique to women offenders.
Works Cited
Campbell, Terence W. Assessing Sex Offenders. Springfield, Ill: Charles C Thomas, 2007. Print.
CSOM. The Comprehensive Assessment Protocol: A System-wide Review of Adult and Juvenile Sex Offender Management Strategies 2015. Web.
Gannon, Theresa A, and Franca, Cortoni. Female Sexual Offenders. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.
Hanser, Robert D, and Scott, Mire. Correctional Counseling. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Olver, Mark E, and Stephen C. P. Wong. “Therapeutic Responses of Psychopathic Sexual Offenders: Treatment Attrition, Therapeutic Change, and Long-Term Recidivism.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 77.2 (2009): 328-336. NCBI. Web. 2015.
Simons, Dominique A. Chapter 3: Sex Offender Typologies. 2015. Web.