Statistics:
The
current concern over child
sexual abuse is clearly due
to politics, money, and
pandering for votes. This
can be easily demonstrated
in that non-sexual abuse is
far far more common, far far
more damaging, with numbers
of deaths and physical
injuries that far far
outnumber those caused by
sex related abuse. Yet, the
time and energy devoted to
non-sexual abuse of children
is just nothing compared
that given to sexual abuse
cases. Sex sells, and people
suffer as a result of those
who have no conscious and
get others to buy into
whatever hysteria they can
generate that puts money in
the bank.
There
are now 22 states that
restrict where sex offenders
may live, such as having
rules requireing that a sex
offender may not live any
closer than 2,000 feet to a
school or park, playground,
etc.
Now
read this taken from the
California Department of
Justice Website:
Facts
about sex offenders.
Most child sexual abusers
find their victims by
frequenting such places as
schoolyards and playgrounds.
False.
Most child sexual abusers
offend against children whom
they know and with whom they
have established a
relationship.
These
22 states don't even care
what the details of the
crime was. All sex offenders
are alike and have no
business living any closer
than 2,000 (or whatever)
feet from where children my
congregate. Guess what, not
all sex offenders committed
crimes against children in
the first place. And,
naturally sex offenders
can't walk 2,000 feet, or
drive to a school yard.
When
in U.S. history has anyone
had the right to tell
someone else where to live
except during racial
segregation - which was
disgustingly wrong. Such
laws are 100 percent
unconstitutional. Serious
threat offenders do need to
be monitored and forcing
them to live outside city
limits only makes monitoring
more difficult. Serious
repeat felonious sex
offenders, such as repeat
rapists and real child
molesters (those who
actually has sex with
children) should go to
prison for life. It's as
simple as that. If they
can't control their urges,
then they shouldn't be
allowed to live in the
public domain. Is a 2,000
foot restriction going to do
anything to stop such
offenders? Not hardly. These
laws are idiotic and only
exist to get votes for
public officials who support
them.
CHILD
ABUSE STATISTICS
In
1999, an estimated 1,401
child abuse and neglect
related fatalities were
confirmed by CPS agencies,
nearly 4 every day.
The
U.S. Advisory Board reported
that near fatal abuse and
neglect each year leave
"18,000 permanently disabled
children, tens of thousands
of victims overwhelmed by
lifelong psychological
trauma, thousands of
traumatized siblings and
family members, and
thousands of near-death
survivors who, as adults,
continue to bear the
physical and psychological
scars. Some may turn to
crime or domestic violence
or become abusers themselves
(U.S. Advisory Board on
Child Abuse and Neglect,
1995 report, A National's
Shame.)"
Neglect represents the
most common type of reported
and substantiated form of
maltreatment. In
1996, 25 states provided the
following breakdown for
reported cases: 62%
involved neglect, 25%
physical abuse, 7% sexual
abuse, 3% emotional
maltreatment and 4% other.
Seven percent! That's 7
percent!
From another source:
So,
as we see, in 2007 4.82
children lost their lives
every day due to non-sexual
abuse by their own parents.
That's 1,600 for that year,
but that was 5 years ago.
Extrapolating by the average
increase from the previous 5
years 3.84 in 2002) to 4.82
(2007), that's 1 additional
child a day for 2012, or
5.82 X 365 = 2,124!
It's difficult to find
statistics on sexual abuse
homicides, but one report
states the following:
" ...
She says most kids are
abused by people they know.
And only a tiny fraction of
abuse cases end in murder,
says David Finkelhor,
director of Crimes Against
Children Research Center at
the University of New
Hampshire. Of the 60,000 to
70,000 arrests each year for
sex crimes against children,
he says about 40 to 50
involve homicide."
That
is actually a higher rate
than I would have thought,
but it still pales in
compression to non-sexual
abuse homicides of about 6 a
day now, or about 2,000
+. If we divide 2,000
non-sexual abuse deaths by
the 40 or so sexual abuse
deaths, we get 50. So, for
every one death of a child
by a pedophile there are
about 50 deaths of children
from non-sexual child abuse!
“According to FBI
statistics, over 18,000
people were murdered in
1997.”
“In 1998, 33,622
children age four and under
died in the U.S. Of those
2,689 died in accidents
and 721 were murdered,
which were the two leading
causes of dead.”
"1,009,970 children are
"maltreated" every year,
906,075 of them by natural
mothers,"
"Between 1976 and 1994 an
estimated 37,000
children were murdered."
This is a little over
2,000 per year."
"Over
three children die each day
from child abuse (1,211
per year). Since 1985,
the number of reported child
abuse fatalities has
increased over 38%. Over 50%
of the children were less
than one year of age at the
time of death. These figures
most likely represent the
lowest estimate of the
problem."
"Children under 18 account
for 11% of all murder
victims in the US in 1994.
Nearly half of these
2,660 child victims were
between 15 and 17
In a single year, 3,012
children and teens were
killed by gunfire in the
United States.
"2000 children
per year are killed
by drunk drivers"
In 1994, the year Megan
Kanka was murdered, there
were only 9 other similar
murders in the entire
U.S. A child being killed by
a crazed pedophile is
probably the least common
cause of death among
children, yet no greater
focus has ever been placed
on a single cause of death
of children than sexually
related causes. There are
more children killed in car
air-bag accidents, than by
sexual predators. Never have
so many suffered so much for
the actions of so few.
Do drunk drivers have to
register, so everyone will
know to avoid them? Is a
drunk driver likely to drive
drunk again?
Orange County Restricts Sex
Offenders from visiting
certain areas; but wait, 90%
of sex crimes are committed
by someone the victim
already knows.
The Board of Supervisors in Orange County, California has passed an ordinance that places some of the most severe restrictions yet on convicted sex offenders. It severely restricts their movements, bars them from going to certain beaches and parks, and places other restrictions on their conduct.
The law doesn’t even seem to have gone into effect yet, and it’s already generating controversy. This may well prove to be another ineffective and counterproductive law, passed to score political points for its sponsors, rather than to seriously deter sex offenders from re-offending.
Critics of the law, including some social workers, note that the overwhelming majority (well over 90%) of sex crimes are committed by family members or close acquaintances of the victim. Only a very small number are committed by random strangers at public places, like beaches and parks
How
Much do Sex Offenders
Reoffend?
"Contrary to popular belief,
convicted sex offenders have
relatively low rates of
recidivism compared to other
offenders. On average,
untreated sex offenders
sentenced to prison have a
recidivism rate of 18.5%.
In comparison, recidivism
rates range around 25%
for drug offenses and
30% for violent offenses.
Thus, people convicted of
sex crimes tend to reoffend
less than people convicted
of many other types of
crime."
Sex
offenders are of grave
concern to the public due to
the nature of sexual
offending. The public tends
to believe that the
recidivism rates of sexual
offenders, particularly
pedophiles, are quite high.
This information sheet is
intended to provide a quick
overview of the research on
this topic.
Recidivism is defined as
being charged with the
commission of a new offence.
In the case of sex
offenders, the public is
most concerned with sexual
recidivism - the commission
of a new sexual offence.
Recidivism rates vary by the
time frame being looked at
and by the type of sexual
offending.
Recidivism Rates
One
research project looked at
61 previous studies of
sexual recidivism using a
4-5 year follow up period.
This research on sex
offenders found that 13.4%
recidivated with a sexual
offence, 12.2% recidivated
with a non-sexual, violent
offence and 36.6%
recidivated with any other
offence.1
A
long term follow-up study of
child molesters in Canada
found that 42% were
reconvicted of sexual or
violent crime during the
15-30 year follow-up period.2
In
addition, the long-term
follow-up study (15-30
years) of child molesters
showed that the average
recidivism rate for this
group of offenders is
actually lower than the
average recidivism rate for
non-sexual offenders (61%
versus 83.2% respectively
for any new conviction).
Likelihood of Recidivism
The
long term follow-up study
referred to above included a
control group of non-sexual
criminals. The highest rate
of recidivism (77%) was for
those with previous sexual
offences, who selected boy
victims outside the family
and who were never married.3
In
general, rapists reoffend
more often than child
molesters.4
Among child molesters, those
with male victims have been
found to have the highest
recidivism rates, followed
by those with unrelated
female victims.5
Incest offenders show the
lowest recidivism rates of
all sexual offenders.6
Factors Related to
Recidivism
Canadian research on what
triggers recidivism among
sex offenders found that the
recidivists were generally
considered to have poor
social supports, sexual
pre-occupations, attitudes
tolerant of sexual assault,
antisocial lifestyles, poor
self-management strategies
and difficulties cooperating
with community supervision.7
This
same study found that the
number of recidivists and
non-recidivists who had
attended treatment programs
was the same. However, the
recidivists were more likely
to have dropped out or to
have been described as poor
treatment candidates.
Success While on Supervision
Recent
amendments to the
Corrections and Conditional
Release Act, designed to
deny more sex offenders
access to conditional
release, suggest that there
is a perception that sex
offenders on conditional
release are at high risk for
re-offending or violating
conditions. However, studies
have shown that sex
offenders have success rates
on conditional release
similar to the general
offender population.
A
follow-up study of sex
offenders on conditional
release found that almost
80% were successful on
conditional release.8
In comparison, National
Parole Board statistics for
1996/97 show that over 85%
of offenders on parole and
statutory release were
successful.9
Treatment Issues
Treatment is one variable
associated with recidivism
that can be influenced by
correctional programming,
making treatment a high
priority for sex offenders.10
The
public tends to believe that
sex offenders are not
amenable to treatment.
However, successful sex
offender treatment programs
have been shown to reduce
the risk of re-offending.
In
terms of treatment, the most
highly regarded approach
employs a cognitive
behavioral model employing
relapse prevention in high
risk situations.11
This model fits with the
Correctional Service of
Canada's (CSC) assessment
and treatment of sex
offenders. CSC focuses on
identifying the nature and
pattern of the offender's
behaviour and providing the
offender with the coping
strategies that will reduce
the risk of recidivism. This
approach emphasizes the need
for offenders to take
responsibility for their
actions, recognize their
cycle of offending and
identify their high risk
situations, and helps them
develop strategies to avoid
relapse.12
Program intensity is linked
to offender needs. Moderate
to high needs will be met in
medium or maximum security
settings where programs are
longer and more intensive.
Offenders who are identified
as low risk/needs will be
matched with low intensity,
short duration programs in
minimum security settings,
and in the community.
The
majority of treatment
programs usually include an
education component
emphasizing attitudes
towards sexuality and
relationships, empathy
enhancement, anger
management, victim
awareness, techniques to
reduce or control deviant
arousal and relapse
prevention skills. Emphasis
is placed on reducing the
risk of sexual offending
through a combination of
self-management and external
control.
Future Directions
The
public's fear of sex
offender recidivism is
legitimate. The effects of
sexual offending are felt by
victims, families and
communities for years
following the offence.
Over
the past few years, Canada
has changed both law and
practice in dealing with
sexual offenders. The
following are some of the
new initiatives:
The John Howard Society of
Alberta
2nd Floor, 10523 - 100
Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5J 0A8
(780) 423-4878 Fax (780)
425-0008
info@johnhoward.ab.ca
www.johnhoward.ab.ca
1999
Endnotes
-
Hanson,
R.K. (1997). "Predictors
of sex offence
recidivism." Research
Summary. Ottawa:
Solicitor General
Canada.
http://www.sgc.gc.ca/epub/corr/e199779/e199779.htm
-
Hanson,
R.K. (1996). "Child
molester recidivism."
Research Summary.
Ottawa: Solicitor
General Canada.
http://www.sgc.gc.ca/epub/corr/e199670/e199670.htm
-
Hanson,
R.K. (1996). "Child
molester recidivism."
Research Summary.
Ottawa: Solicitor
General Canada.
http://www.sgc.gc.ca/epub/corr/e199670/e199670.htm
-
Hanson,
R.K. & Bussiere, M.T.
(1996). Predictors of
sexual offender
recidivism: A
meta-analysis. (User
Report: Catalogue No.
JS4-/1996-4E). Ottawa:
Solicitor General
Canada.
-
Quinsey,
V.L., Rice, M.E. &
Harris, G.T. (1995).
"Actuarial prediction of
sexual recidivism."
The Journal of
Interpersonal Violence.
10,85-105.
-
Motiuk,
L.L. & Brown, S.L.
(1996). Factors
related to recidivism
among released federal
sex offenders. Paper
presented at the XXVI
International Congress
of Psychology. Montreal,
Canada.
-
Hanson,
R.K. & Harris, A.
(1998). Dynamic
predictors of sexual
recidivism. (User
Report No. 1998-01).
Ottawa: Solicitor
General Canada.
-
Motiuk,
L., & Brown, S. (1994).
Sex offenders and their
survival time on
conditional release.
Forum on Corrections
Research, 6(3),
11-13.
-
Correctional
Services of Canada.
(1997) Basic facts
about corrections in
Canada (1997 ed.).
Ottawa, Ontario: Public
Works and Government
Services Canada.
-
Granger,
L., McKibben, A., Oimet,
M., Perreault, C.,
Proulx, J., & St-Yves,
M. (1996). Improving
prediction of sex
offender recidivism: A
proposed study. Forum
on Corrections Research,
8(2), 13-14.
-
Barbaree,
H., Malcolm, B.,
Peacock, E., Serin, R.,
& Seto, M. (1997). A
model for a
clinically-informed risk
assessment strategy for
sex offenders.
-
Correctional
Services of Canada.
(1995). Basic facts
about corrections in
Canada (1994 ed.).
Ottawa, Ontario:
Minister of Supply and
Services Canada.
Registries give a false
sense of security:
Nearly 2 million Texans
were sexually assaulted in
2002. A quarter of a
million children are
sexually assaulted every
year in Texas (National
Crime Victims Research and
Treatment, 2000). In 2003,
there were only 45,000
sex offenders on the
Texas Department of Public
Safety’s Database. ... These
statistics demonstrate the
disparity between “official”
sexual assault statistics
and the reality of the
epidemic. The disturbing
reality is that the majority
of individuals who abuse
sexually will not end up in
the criminal justice system
and sex offenders on
community supervision or on
the public registries
represent only a small
portion of the actual sex
offenders living in our
communities.
We have often heard that the
recidivism rate for sex
offenders is 4 times higher
than for non-sex related
crimes. What we don't hear
is that the recidivism rate
for non-sex related crimes
is a mere 1.3 percent, so
four times that is still
only about 5 percent. Is a
recidivism rate of only 5
percent sufficient grounds
for forcing hundreds of
thousands of sex offenders
to register for life, often
putting their own lives in
jeopardy in the process?:
"Sex
offenders were about four
times more likely than
non-sex offenders to be
arrested for another sex
crime after their discharge
from prison--5.3% of sex
offenders vs. 1.3% of
non-sex offenders."
We
have also often heard that
adults who were victims of
child molestation are likely
to become molesters.
However, while it is true
that offenders that molest
children have a higher rate
of had being molested than
non-child abusers have, most
people who sexually abuse
were not molested as
children themselves:
Violent
child-victimizers were
substantially more likely
than those with adult
victims to have been
physically or sexually
abused when they were
children, though the
majority of violent
offenders, regardless of
victim age, did not have a
history of such abuse.
We
have often heard that
Megan's Law
protects children from a
child molester that moves
into the area where they
live. However, the vast
majority of molestation
occurs at the hands of a
relative or acquaintance.
"For the vast majority of
child victimizers in State
prison, the victim was
someone they knew before the
crime. A third had committed
their crime against their
own child, about half had a
relationship with the victim
as a friend, acquaintance,
or relative other than
offspring. About 1 in 7
reported the victim to have
been a stranger to them."
See
more related statistics
here.
Further Information:
Pedophilia is diagnosed solely on sexual fantasies or urges -- not acts. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders American Psychiatric Association's 4th edition diagnostic criteria for pedophilia (302.2) is:
A. Over a period of at least 6 months, recurrent, intense sexually arousing fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child or children (generally 13 years or younger).
B. The fantasies, sexual urges, or behaviors cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning.
C. The person is at least age 16 years and at least 5 years older than the child or children in Criterion A.
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The following is
a bit of rather
disgusting
information, but
I place it here
to emphasis that
what is
considered
acceptable
sexual conduct
is sociological,
and
psychological
trauma from
non-socially
acceptable forms
of sex is due to
the society's
attitudes of the
act, rather than
the act itself.
"In ancient
Greece
pederasty,
was sex
between
adult male
philosophers
or scholars
and their
young male
students
through anal
intercourse.
This form of
arete, was
considered
an honor. In
some South
Pacific
islands,
jerungdu,
is a rite of
passage;
where older
boys receive
oral sex
from younger
boys to
facilitate
sexual
maturity."
I realize this discussion is being revised by the administration once again to help blunt criticisms or awareness of other problems. I've seen it before. Some story about an unpopular governmental action and BAM! Roll out sex offenses to distract the citizens in the Coliseum.
The general trend is to punish these people forever in some form or other. They receive a sentence and then run the gauntlet of mental institutions, no housing, no job and no community to be a part of. Churches nor shelters allow them in. If you want revenge, you have it in spades. If you want ex post facto laws, you've got them. Just realize that these same standards can be applied to any of you here on the flimsiest of evidence, and for any crime.