Here are three organizations

Community Coalition Against Family Violence- www.theresnoexcuse.com/front.html

Abused Boys-www.silencealoud.com

Love Our Children USA- loveourchildrenusa.org/reportingchildabuse.php

Trevor Lee Page 1 11/1/2007

Thesis Statement: Child Molesters Cannot Be Rehabilitated

Child molesters are older persons whose sexual attraction and arousals are directed toward children who do not understand these actions and cannot give their consent (Groth, Hobson, & Gary, 1982; Mrazek, 1984; Schechter & Roberge, 1976).

Because of the damage this deviant sexual behavior causes to their victims, such behavior is prohibited in our culture and there are strict laws and social sanctions against it. There are stereotypes that include the child molester is a “dirty old man”, or marginal persons. The molester is most commonly the respectable, law-abiding person. The median age is as young as 16 (Groth et al., 1982). Most molesters are not strangers but are known to the victim and often are related to the victim. (Conte & Berliner, 1981) Data and clinical opinion indicated that children do not make up stories of being molested except in rare instances, assuming that there are clear motivations to do so (Meiselman, 1978; Summit, 1983). Despite years of study and research, there is no definitive treatment to ensure the rehabilitation of child molesters.

There are two major views on how sexually deviant behavior is characterized. The conventional view has two essential premises: (a) That all sexually deviant behaviors are theoretically and etiologically similar, and (b) that they represent a single type of psychopathology, specifically, a form of character disorder. This view has its roots in the literature of Krafft-Ebing (1886/1965), Freud (1905/1953), and Ellis (1942). Agreement has not been achieved on a single theory of the sexual psychopathology. It is also the view of the judicial system, social service agencies, and majority of the public.

The second major view of sexually deviant behavior is the behavioral or functional views, which is a more recent development, does not assume the cause, is atheoretical, and treat ability is purely observational and experimental. It is not assumed that any particular form of psychopathology is the cause of the disorder. Proponents of this view include Abel, Blanchard, and Becker (1978) and Barlow (1974).

Treatment for the character disorder view of the sexual psychology has been viewed as highly resistant and can be lengthy and involves restructuring the character. Because most sex offenders were found not to be extremely different from other people with psychological problems except the sexual deviant behavior and the possible inability to form emotional and sexual relationships with their peers. As these behaviors are deep-seated, and are difficult to approach from a treatment standpoint.

The behavioral or functional view does not assume that sexually deviant men and women are treatable in a practical approach. It also does not assert that they are free from character disorders or other psychopathology. The argument states that though character disorders and other intra psychic may impede treatment, they are not the cause of the

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disorder, and do not necessarily have to be treated to change the deviant sexual behavior. Recommended treatments include behavior therapy to change the focus of the sexual functioning and specific deviant thoughts, behaviors, and feelings.

Both the character disorder and behavioral view are treated with the goal of preventing a relapse of the deviant behavior. One of the basic premises is the individual can learn to recognize risks and exert control over their behavior. Offenders attend psycho educational meetings. One obstacle in this setting is the participant's ability to understand and apply the content of the program. Specific examples of factors that may impede progress are gender, learning styles, ethnicity, and treatment motivation. (Ward & Stewart) Some participants lack the vocabulary initially to adequately talk about and analyze their offenses. (Gillies et al) Considerable time is spent helping each participant identify their feelings and risky mood states. Once the men are able to identify their triggers, they are taught how to use various techniques to alleviate and exert control over their deviant urges.

The goal is to help the offender stop their behavior through empathetic understanding of others. Many offenders rationalize the effects of their behavior on their victims. Their inability to empathize is common among offenders. One offender describes the intense emotions of moving from anger, guilt, and powerlessness, to imagining pleasure. Helping offenders take the perspective of their victims is one of the primary goals of the relapse prevention program. Some therapists suggest discussing victim effects with the offenders to motivate them pursue prevention therapy.

Relapse prevention therapy also focuses on “seemingly unimportant decisions”. These are often made without conscious awareness. A man may take a short cut through a park without acknowledging to himself that there are children in the park. By helping the offenders to examine these seemingly unimportant decisions, and the distorted thoughts that may accompany them, assists the offenders to see the true effects of their decisions and accept personal responsibility for their behavior. (Gillies et al)

Treatment for sex offenders in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand is the risk-need model. (Ward & Stewart) As the name implies, it involves risk management. The focus of the treatment is to minimize harm to the community rather than improve the quality of the offender's life. An example of the risk need approach is the aforementioned relapse therapy. It is also possible to approach offender's treatment based on attending to their human needs and increased levels of well-being. This approach is concerned with enhancement of the offender's capabilities thereby improving their quality of life. Although the offender's quality of life may improve; there is concern with this model's ability to provide treatment. Offender responsivity and motivating offender is a major concern. With the primary focus being removing risk factors, the offender may have gaps in their lives. They may not understand the primary goods associated with their offenses.

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The good lives model of offender treatment focuses on enhancing the offender's capabilities, or strengths. It is often referred to as the strength based approach. The premise is that by equipping the offender with the capabilities they require to obtain primary human goods in an acceptable and meaningful way. (the term good lives and the basic ideas associated with the model have been developed from the excellent work of Kekes, 1989) “The core idea is that all meaningful human actions reflect attempts to achieve primary human goods (Emmons, 1999; Ward, 2002) “Primary goods are actions, states of affairs, characteristics, experiences, and states of mind that are viewed as intrinsically beneficial to human beings and are therefore sought for their own sake rather than as a means to some more fundamental ends (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Emmons, 1996, 1999; Schmuck & Sheldon, 2001). By helping the offender understand the real value of what is in their best interest, they will have a clear understanding of what human goods are and how to acquire them appropriately within a culturally acceptable set of contexts. Ward and Stewart offer the following list of nine primary human goods: “life (including healthy living and functioning), knowledge, excellence in play and work (including mastery experiences), excellence in agency (i.e. autonomy and self-directedness), inner peace (i.e., freedom from emotional turmoil and stress), friendship (including intimate, romantic, and family relationships), community, spirituality (in the broad sense of finding meaning and purpose in life), and happiness and creativity. This list is comprehensive and is consistent with much recent work on human motivation, well-being, and social policy.” The priority that the offender places on specific primary goods determines the offender's personal identity.

Regardless of the treatment plan or model, the empirical data indicates that no plan or model is 100% effective. As mentioned above, there are multiple obstacles to impede the treatment progress. The offender must have a willingness to participate, and rarely is it voluntary. Some may attend group but fail to become an active participate and engage with other men in the group. There are men that attend but talk about irrelevant things not related to child molesting. “Cognitive distortions are common among child molesters (Murphy, 1990).” These rationalizations are deeply entrenched in the child molester. Men may shift from expressions of guilt and remorse to justification of their actions in the same sentence. Often, their motivation and willingness is linked to their desire to meet requirements placed on them by the judicial system. They participate to reduce their sentence or the severity thereof.

It is apparent from the data that whether the approach is risk management or the good lives model or any combination of treatment plans, the offender must make the choice to seek and participate in treatment for it to be successful.

Research programs continue to be developed as it is recognized that treatment is lengthy and with minimal success. “Scientific investigation of this topic is a relatively recent enterprise” (Lanyon, 1986). This statement expresses the fact that this area of treatment and relapse prevention is still a new area of study. “The empirical development of

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behaviorally based treatments for sexual deviations occurred as an integral part of the behavior therapy movement.” (Lanyon, 1986) The empirical development has indicated that the area of sexual deviance is a reputable topic that is capable of being studied, understood, and treatment approaches developed.

Based on the empirical data, rates of recidivism, and the increase of incidence of child molestations, it is clear that child molesters cannot be rehabilitated.

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