Suitable Treatments for Child Molesters

Therapy

For

Research done by Stinson & Becker (2012) shows that a goal-oriented and problem focused approach offers a suitable treatment model for child molesters. The strategy is applied in such a way that sex offenders are educated on identifying, evaluating and responding to their mental disorder. 

Through group therapy, offenders are able to build mutual support and develop a sense of care (Brown, 2013). The procedure also helps the offender’s family to accept them as a part of their unit. 

According to Hall & Hall (2007), ex-offenders may turn out to be valuable human resources. They contribute to the growth of societies and benefit thousands of individuals through labor. 

Against

Alexander (1999) notes that as a suitable treatment, therapy is too lenient because sex offenders may consider their actions as a minor crime. The soft nature of this punishment may also provoke anger from the public. 

Therapy does not offer a 100% guarantee that it will work. A single failed case is a symbol of failure because the harm done was already too severe (Beech, Craig & Browne, 2009). The approach also risks the safety of children in our communities. 

Sex offenders face the challenge of reapplying what they have learnt in therapy because they have already been labeled as offenders in communities that offer little or no support to their reformation (Barbaree, Bogaert & Seto, 1995). 

Sex Offender Register 

For 

A sex offender register offers an effective prevention measure for convicted pedophiles to commit similar offences by reducing their accessibility to children ( Walker et al., 2005 ). 

Levenson & Cotter (2005) note that the safety of children in our societies should come first as compared to the human rights of a child molester. Moreover, there are also other measures that can be put in place to reduce the negative effect of the labeled tag. 

A sex offender register is easier to adopt and implement because its functionality is similar to the one of a criminal check record ( Mercado, Alvarez & Levenson, 2008 ). This enables the public to keep track of the records of sex offenders, including their names, pictures and addresses. 

Against

A sex offender register promotes the creation of a labelling effect on pedophiles ( Zevitz, 2006 ). This can result to discrimination and social rejection which may in turn increase an offender’s desperation and their risk of recidivism. 

Tewksbury & Lees (2006) observe that notification serves as means of infringing the privacy rights of child molesters. Consequently, this activity jeopardizes their chances of obtaining rehabilitation opportunities. 

According to Kernsmith, Craun & Foster (2009), this system discourages people with pedophilia from seeking proper help because they develop fear towards negative association. 

Imprisonment 

For

Life imprisonment is an effective measure of dealing with sexual abuse because it keeps convicted pedophiles away from children ( Gillespie, 2006 ). It serves as a means of preventing an offender from committing another sex offence. 

Samuels, Butterworth & Canada (1978) notes that the mandatory treatment offered by prisons to sex offenders helps them to deal with sexual urges. This lowers their sexual behavior and attitude towards child molestation. 

Imprisonment is a good measure for dealing with molesters because it combines the functions of rehabilitation, deterrence and punishment ( Hood at al., 2002 ). 

Against 

Imprisonment offers a challenge to the pedophiles especially in cases where they face frequent violent and sexual assaults from other inmates ( Christie, Marshall & Lanthier, 1979 ). Serious cases have resulted to the deaths of child offenders at the hands of fellow prisoners. 

Berliner et al. (1995) notes that instead of stopping their sexual urge, incarceration promotes high recidivism rates among pedophiles. It only serves as a means of slowing them from committing a similar offence once they are released. 

The cost of incarcerating a sex offender is high, both to the state and the federal government ( Prentky & Burgess, 1990 ). The expensive nature of this approach requires extra funds and resources to keep the offenders in prison. 

Castration

For 

Chemical castration is a good way of dealing with child molesters because it is reversible and non-invasive ( Russell, 1996 ). The effects of using pharmaceutical drugs to inactivate testicles is not permanent and it therefore provides a good alternative for punishing them. 

The use of chemical castration lowers the rate of recidivism. A research done by Marshall et al. (1991) shows that the use of this procedure reduces the rates of repeated offence from 80% to 2.3%. The fear that comes as a result of this punitive measure deters many pedophiles from molesting children. 

According to Tullio (2009) , this form of rehabilitation is very effective for those pedophiles who may be unable to control their urge for sexual activities. It helps them to control their behavior and deal with their unrestrained nature. 

Against 

The deprivation of a person’s reproductive rights is not only immoral but also unjust even for pedophiles ( Scott & Holmberg, 2003 ). The procedure must be done with the consent of the offender, otherwise, it violates their procreative rights. 

According to Rylyk (2007) , surgical castration is an inhumane disciplinary measure that is irreversible and painful for an individual. Similarly, chemical castration is also not 100% preventive because it comes with negative side effects such as chronic nightmares, breathing difficulties, diabetes and migraines among others. 

A research done by Winslade et al. (1997) shows that child sex abuse does not necessarily result from sexual desire. This means that castration is not a good punishment for child molesters. 

Death Penalty

For 

The death penalty offers the best punishment for child molesters because it deters the public and other people with such intentions from committing such an act ( Palmer, 1998 ). The implementation of this approach will lower the number of sexual offences committed. 

Convicted pedophiles bring a permanent harm to the children they assaulted ( Levesque, 2000 ). These long-term effects may come in the form of life time traumas and paranoia. The unforgivable nature of such crimes can only be punished through death. 

In Petersilia & In Reitz (2015) observe that death offers a good solution for putting an end to recidivism. The modification of an offender’s sexual preference is not 100% effective. The safety of children should therefore not be put at risk because an incidence of a relapsed case brings great harm. 

Against 

The death penalty is not a good measure for punishing offenders with pedophilia because this is a mental illness ( Wright, 2009 ). These molesters deserve to receive psychiatric treatment as a means of helping them deal with their condition. Sexual urges can be controlled through medication and surgery as opposed to death. 

According to Harrison & Rainey (2013) , this sentence is an extreme measure that pushes pedophiles to kill and hide their child victims as a means of concealing their crimes and escaping the death penalty. It would therefore worsen the situation and increase the rates of child molestation.

A wrongful conviction can result to the death of an innocent person ( Meister, 2003 ). The consequence of such a penalty is irreversible because a person cannot be brought back from the dead once they are killed. 

References

Alexander, M. A. (1999). Sexual offender treatment efficacy revisited.  Sexual Abuse ,  11 (2), 101-116.

Barbaree, H. E., Bogaert, A. F., & Seto, M. C. (1995). Sexual reorientation therapy for pedophiles: Practices and controversies.  The psychology of sexual orientation, behavior, and identity: A handbook , 357-383.

Beech, A. R., Craig, L. A., & Browne, K. D. (2009).  Assessment and Treatment of Sex Offenders: A Handbook . New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Berliner, L., Schram, D., Miller, L. L., & Milloy, C. D. (1995). A Sentencing Alternative for Sex Offenders A Study of Decision Making and Recidivism.  Journal of Interpersonal Violence ,  10 (4), 487-502.

Brown, S. (2013).  Treating sex offenders: An introduction to sex offender treatment programmes . Routledge.

Christie, M. M., Marshall, W. L., & Lanthier, R. D. (1979).  A descriptive study of incarcerated rapists and pedophiles . Marshall.

Gillespie, A. (2006). Sentencing Dangerous Sex Offenders.  Inter Alia , 36.

Hall, R. C., & Hall, R. C. (2007, April). A profile of pedophilia: definition, characteristics of offenders, recidivism, treatment outcomes, and forensic issues. In  Mayo Clinic Proceedings  (Vol. 82, No. 4, pp. 457-471). Elsevier.

Harrison, K., & Rainey, B. (2013).  The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of legal and ethical aspects of sex offender treatment and management . Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Hood, R., Shute, S., Feilzer, M., & Wilcox, A. (2002). Sex Offenders Emerging from Long‐Term Imprisonment. A Study of Their Long‐term Reconviction Rates and of Parole Board Members' Judgements of Their Risk.  British Journal of Criminology ,  42 (2), 371-394.

In Petersilia, J., & In Reitz, K. R. (2015).  The Oxford handbook of sentencing and corrections .

Kernsmith, P. D., Craun, S. W., & Foster, J. (2009). Public attitudes toward sexual offenders and sex offender registration.  Journal of child sexual abuse ,  18 (3), 290-301.

Levenson, J. S., & Cotter, L. P. (2005). The effect of Megan’s Law on sex offender reintegration.  Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice ,  21 (1), 49-66.

Levesque, R. J. (2000). Sentencing sex crimes against children: An empirical and policy analysis.  Behavioral sciences & the law ,  18 (2‐3), 331-341.

Marshall, W. L., Jones, R., Ward, T., Johnston, P., & Barbaree, H. E. (1991). Treatment outcome with sex offenders.  Clinical Psychology Review ,  11 (4), 465-485.

Meister, M. (2003). Murdering Innocence: The Constitutionality of Capital Child Rape Statutes.  Ariz. L. Rev. ,  45 , 197.

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Palmer, B. M. (1998). Death as a proportionate penalty for the rape of a child: Considering one state's current law.  Ga. St. UL Rev. ,  15 , 843.

Prentky, R., & Burgess, A. W. (1990). REHABILITATION OF CHILD MOLESTERS: A Cost‐Benefit Analysis.  American Journal of Orthopsychiatry ,  60 (1), 108-117.

Russell, S. (1996). Castration of repeat sexual offenders: an international comparative analysis.  Hous. J. Int'l L. ,  19 , 425.

Rylyk, C. (2007). Lest we regress to the dark ages: Holding voluntary surgical castration cruel and unusual, even for child molesters.  Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. ,  16 , 1305.

Samuels, A., Butterworth, & Canada. (1978). Sentencing the sex offender.  New Law Journal ,  128 , 676-678.

Scott, C. L., & Holmberg, T. (2003). Castration of sex offenders: prisoners' rights versus public safety.  JOURNAL-AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE LAW ,  31 , 502-509.

Stinson, J. D., & Becker, J. V. (2012).  Treating sex offenders: An evidence-based manual . New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Tewksbury, R., & Lees, M. (2006). Perceptions of sex offender registration: Collateral consequences and community experiences.  Sociological Spectrum ,  26 (3), 309-334.

Tullio, E. M. (2009). Chemical castration for child predators: Practical, effective, and constitutional.  Chap. L. Rev. ,  13 , 191.

Walker, J. T., Maddan, S., Vasquez, B. E., VanHouten, A. C., & Ervin-McLarty, G. (2005). The influence of sex offender registration and notification laws in the United States.  Arkansas Crime Information Center Working Paper .

Winslade, W., Stone, T. H., Smith-Bell, M., & Webb, D. M. (1997). Castrating pedophiles convicted of sex offenses against children: new treatment or old punishment.  SMUL Rev. ,  51 , 349.

Wright, R. G. (2009).  Sex offender laws: Failed policies, new directions . New York: Springer Pub.

Zevitz, R. G. (2006). Sex offender community notification: Its role in recidivism and offender reintegration.  Criminal Justice Studies ,  19 (2), 193-208.