Sex offender... Forever?

Question

Is it true that sex offenders cannot be cured and are likely to continue their unacceptable behavior for the rest of their lives?

Answer 1

A "sex offender" is the legal term for a person who has been arrested and legally convicted of a crime such as:


rape
sexual abuse
forcible touching
sexual behavior with a child
facilitating sexual behavior with a controlled substance
unlawful imprisonment
patronizing or promoting sex workers
distributing, creating, or possessing child pornography
incest
unlawful surveillance
There's been a lot of debate over the psychology of sex offenders, and studies have produced varying results. Enough evidence, though, suggests that sex offenders are not exactly "incurable." To be more specific, some sex offenders have been shown to respond to treatment and rejoin society without committing any further crimes. Studies have even shown that sex offenders are less likely to commit additional crimes than other sorts of criminals, partly because the shame of being caught and placed on trial can serve as a deterrent against future offenses.

The word "cure" is a tricky one in this context. There is no magic pill or method of therapy that will remove all high-risk impulses from a sex offender. The acts of sex offenders run the gamut and their arousal mechanisms differ so much, making it hard to draw conclusions based on this diverse group. Studies also have varied in the type of treatment or therapy used. Plus, opportunities for comprehensive, long-term studies are rare. Although treatment is not 100 percent effective, courses of treatment can help people who have been convicted of sex offenses to identify and learn about their urges and then control them, reducing the risk of repeat offenses. It might be useful to think about "curing" sex offenders in a way that people often talk about "curing" alcoholics — offenders/addicts are never free of their issue, and they are always in recovery dealing with it every day of their lives.

The first major attempts to treat sex offenders came in the 1930s — offenders were deemed "mentally disordered" and committed to psychiatric facilities. Starting in the 1970s, new patterns of treatment emerged that focused on offenders becoming more self-aware and teaching them to control their high-risk impulses. Current approaches to treating sex offenders include:


Cognitive-behavioral
Counselors and therapists work toward changing sex offenders' high-risk thoughts and patterns of arousal.

Psycho-educational
Sex offenders often don't realize the impact of their behaviors on non-consenting adults and children. Offenders are made more aware of their responsibility for the acts they commit, and focus is placed on the offender's concern for his/her victim(s).

Pharmacological
Medication is used to reduce sexual arousal.
Often, these strategies of treatment are used in tandem and, to be most effective, are begun soon after a sex offender is incarcerated. Unfortunately, the prison environment often interferes with productive treatment. Once they are released, they are often monitored for a period of time as a deterrent against future crimes.

Answer 2

By far the vast majority of sex offenders where young men who had some kind of sexual contact with a young lady under the age of consent 15-17 years old. BY FAR THIS IS THE LARGEST GROUP of sex offenders. They pose absolutely NO RISK to society but the registry deems them a moderate risk solely because the are convicted under the Rape of a Child statutes which covers anyone under the age of consent. Their lives are ruined forever for no good reason other than the system failing to narrowly define what a child is. Statistically, sex offenders have exceedingly low recidivism rates compared to other offenders, this of course is no consolation because of the damage TRUE sex offenses can cause.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

It depends on the reason we're calling the person a sex offender. There are some crimes for which people have very high recidivism rates (that is, people caught doing it once are likely to be caught again), and crimes that apply the label sex offender figure to be very high on that list.
Then again, in the United States, you can be labeled a sex offender for going to the bathroom in the wrong place, or for having consensual sex with someone your own age.
That said, the answer to your question, as written, is "no", with an explanation. As of right now, we do not know how to "cure" every sex offender who commits a heinous act.
The recidivism rate varies between crimes, but let's take the two major groups people think of when referring to "sex offenders", rapists and child molesters. A analysis of 61 different studies during the 80s and 90s showed a recidivism rate of 46.2% for rapists and 36.9% for child molestors. However, only 18.9 and 12.7 percent (respectively) were arrested and/or convicted for a second sex crime. Furthermore, by completing a treatment program, recidivism rates drop another 8%.
But, you say, that's still 1 in 5 rapists that might rape again. Well, yes. Which is better than the 3 out of 5 non-sexual violent offenders that were arrested and charged a second time.

Answer 5

Oh I think this might depend on several things, not the least of which is what kind of offense it was. Remember, "sex offender" is an extremely broad category that catches a lot of different kinds of behavioral pathologies.

I suspect there are at least a couple of significant factors in whether an offender will repeat the behavior post "treatment" (whether or not incarceration and sentencing always involve treatment and/or appropriate treatment is a whole other set of questions) and understanding those factors is something our society really should put a strong effort into. It seems like it would help in sentencing guidelines, treatment programs, and parole policies.

I did a quick search on "sex offenders" and recidivism and found this Department of Justice study (below in Sources). The link is to the press release, but you can find the full report on that site as well. I'm sure there is a large body of literature on this issue if you are interested. It's probably pretty damned depressing though.

Answer 6

Well, a lot of sex offenders don't need to be 'cured'. Some people are sex offenders just because they had sex with a 17 year old when they were 18 years old. Not all sex offenders are crazed, awful people.
If you're referring to pedophiles and rapists, then I suppose it varies. It's a medical condition, and I suppose that they never get over their... desires, if that's the right word.
I don't know, that's way too vague of a question.

Answer 7

well recently in the national news paper there was a huge article on two dangerous sex offenders that were actually photographed recording young children in a park in open day light.. they had both been in prison for sex offences against young children and one of them were on bail i think at the time when they were commiting yet another sick crime.. in the article they interviewed a detective that was specialised in sex offenders, and i clearly remember him saying that sex offenders can never ever be cured because their sexual fantasy's are never fulfilled so they go on to commit more disgusting crimes, there crimes gettin worse as they go along.. this article can be found in the 'new of the world'

Answer 8

Like any sexual urge this can be overcome.
It is not likely that the person who craves a depraved sexual activity will overcome it however because it is a " secret " desire that grows the more it is fought.
When we place a stigma on something and forbid it the desire for it grows greater. That is human nature.
So, that said, most of the sexual predators will not stop and if you listen to the interviews of people that have been caught they will tell you to lock them up forever because they will not stop. They are repulsed as well as excited by their behaviour and it is a constant battle for them. The odds are extremely high for them losing the battle.

Answer 9

yes and no. Learned behaviour can be changed. Some aspects of sexual offenders is now considered to be genetic (like the affinity to be Gay is also genetic) and therefore cannot be changed to easily.

Answer 10

not all are dangerous, not all even knew it was wrong, like
if they were 20 and their gf was 17, also it only applies in the States,
most countries don't have the same laws, so we see them according to the way our mind has been shape by politics