Sex Abusers

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer points out that the sexual abuse of children is clearly a complex social issue. The writer maintains that the criminal justice system alone is unable to deal with the problem effectively. Further, the writer notes that punishment will not cure the problem and in fact, some current ways of approaching sex abuse is counterproductive. This paper discusses that as a society, one expects the criminal justice system to deal with this complex social problem, but this really says more about a societal fixation on punishment than a desire to actually deal with the problem. The writer concludes that society must learn to deal with sex offenders in a way that truly protects the children.

From the Paper:

"Kitzinger did a combination feminist and media study to determine how ordinary people learn about sexual abuse and what role the media play in disseminating information and influencing the judgements people make about it. She combined three sets of interviews, the first of which took place in the early 1980s when she helped to set up a hotline for sexually abused girls. Because the girls wanted to learn about other survivor's experiences, she then began to interview adult women and also mothers of sexually abused children. She collected 40 interviews between 1984 and 1989--a time of social change when awareness of sex abuse came into the public consciousness. In 1992 she got a grant to investigate the role of media in covering sexual abuse. She interviewed journalists and their sources, analyzed a whole year of media coverage, and worked with 49 focus groups of ordinary people in their churches, community centers, and clubs to discuss their views about children and sex abuse. Finally, she researched grass roots demands for notification when sex offenders are released from prison and re-enter the community."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bickley, J. A. and Beech, A. R. (2002). An investigation of the Ward and Hudson pathways model of the sexual offense process with child abusers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17 (4), Apr., 371-393.
• Ketzinger, J. (2004). Framing Abuse: Media Influence and Public Understanding of Sexual Violence Against Children. London and Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press.
• Marziano, V., Ward, T., Beech, A., and Pattison, P. (2006). Psychology, Crime and Law, 12 (1), Jan., 97-105.
• People magazine (2005). Two little girls lost, two tragic endings. 63 (13) 4 April, 95-96.
• Saradjian, A. and Nobus, D. (2003). Cognitive distortions of religious professionals who sexually abuse children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, (9), August, 905-923.

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