SEX OFFENDERS: PUNISHMENT AND TREATMENT

Definition of sexual offences

A sexual offence may be defined as the action of forcing another person to engage in an
unwanted sexual act by force or threat.

Types of sexual offences

1. Rape = forced or non-consensual sexual intercourse; there are different types of rape,
including statutory rape, spousal rape and date rape; this is one of the most serious sex
crimes a person may be accused of committing
2. Sexual Abuse = any form of non-consensual contact of a sexual nature, such as
improper touching, molestation and forced sexual intercourse
3. Sexual Battery = any unlawful physical contact of a sexual nature, it may be
considered sexual battery
4. Indecent Exposure = intentionally exposing oneself in public
5. Child Molestation = indecent sexual conduct involving a child; this usually involves
an adult and a child under the age of 14
6. Child Pornography: It is illegal to possess, produce or distribute any form of
pornographic material depicting minors (individuals under the age of 18). A defendant
may face state or federal charges for this type of sexual crime.
7. Internet Sex Crimes: Nowadays, more and more crimes involve the internet and
computers. Sex crimes are no exception. Some types of internet sex crimes may
include child pornography, luring a minor and committing other sexual offences on or
over the internet.
8. Prostitution: In the majority of the states from all over the world, it is illegal to
exchange sexual acts for money. There are various sex offences related to prostitution,
including pandering (procuring customers for a prostitute) and solicitation (offering or
agreeing to the exchange of sex for money).

Definition of sex offender

A sex offender (sex abuser or sexual offender) is an individual who has been convicted of a
sex crime or of attempting to commit a sex crime.
Sex Offender Laws

Sex offender laws are in place to protect individuals from being forced or coerced to engage
in sexual activity against their will. These laws also protect individuals who are not
physically or mentally able or competent to give consent to sexual activity. When an
individual has been convicted of a sexual crime and released from prison, he is required to
follow strict rules and regulations intended to protect the community. This involves
registering with law enforcement as a sex offender, so that his activities can be monitored.

While other convicted criminals are free of supervision once they are released, sex offender
laws provide law enforcement authority to impose conditions of supervision for an extended
period of time or for life in many cases. These conditions include approving the sex
offender’s address and living arrangements, as well as prohibiting access to certain areas and
also prohibiting certain types of media and/or internet access. Additionally, many offenders
are prohibited from purchasing, possessing or using drugs, alcohol and other illegal
substances. In most jurisdictions, sex offenders must allow law enforcement officials to
search their homes for prohibited items.

Penalties for sex offenders

Penalties for sex offenders vary greatly depending on many factors, but the majority of sex
crimes are considered felonies. First time offenders committing minor sex crimes often
receive more lenient punishments, but habitual or violent offenders can face serious
consequences. When handing down penalties for sex offenders, a judge or jury at the trial
will often consider:

 the previous sexual offences

Common penalties for sex offenders include imprisonment, fines and community service.
Some courts also impose additional conditions, such as completing treatment programs or
seeking counseling.
Treatment v. punishment of sex offenders

Incarceration, whether in jail or prison, does not rehabilitate sex offenders unless therapeutic
services are also included. Punishment alone, especially in a penitentiary environment, often
increases the shame and self-hatred that intensify many prisoners' assaultive potential.
Additionally, incarceration without possibility of treatment discourages self-disclosure and
makes reoffending after release more likely.

Punishment administered by the court is not necessarily abusive. But if administered with
abuse, it perpetuates the cycle of aggression and interpersonal violence. An offender treated
abusively will only be taught further abuse.

Sex offenders must receive a clear message about the society's intolerance for assaultive acts.
There should be swift and firmly executed penalties and consequences for sexual offences.
But all efforts in imposing justice must be matched with a corresponding effort to provide
treatment for sex offenders. Cooperation between the judicial system and clinicians as well as
education of members of the judicial system regarding appropriate treatment of sex offenders
will facilitate this process.

Treatment of sex offenders

Some types of treatment are: cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), social learning, group
therapy, psycho-education etc. Most therapists working with sex offenders rely heavily on
CBT, looking closely at the thoughts, feelings and circumstances which determine an
offender to act out, while identifying ways to short-circuit the process. In other words,
offenders are taught to stop problematic sexual thoughts and behaviours by thinking about
something else or by engaging in other and healthier behaviour (talking with a therapist,
going to the gym, reading a book, cleaning the house etc).

Initial CBT for sex offenders can be divided into three major stages:

 Identification of the problem: Close questioning and observation help both the
clinician and the patient identify the specific behaviours that make up the problematic
sexual pattern.
 Behavioural contracting: The clinician and the patient work together to define, in
written terms, the specific sexual behaviours which must be eliminated.
 Relapse prevention: The clinician and the patient work together to identify and reduce
patterns of experience and interaction that support the offending behaviours.
  Expectations regarding treatment

The general expectation when dealing with sex offenders is that they will come to:

 admit they have a problem related to sexual behaviour

Of course, every sex offender arrives in recovery with a unique background and a specific set
of offending behaviours. That means that each individual needs a program of treatment
tailored to his/her precise needs.

Opinion

In my opinion, the treatment of sex offenders is, comparing to punishment, more likely to
reduce further offending and is consequently better for the community and more cost
effective.

Relevant cases concerning sex offenders

R v. R (23 October 1991) - UK

R married his wife in August 1984 but the marriage became strained, and his wife moved
back to her parents' house in October 1989, leaving a letter expressing her intention to seek a
divorce. A few weeks later, in November 1989, R broke into the house while his wife's
parents were out, and attempted to force her to have sexual intercourse with him against her
will. He also assaulted her, squeezing his hands around her neck.

The police arrested R and charged him with rape (contrary to section 1(1) of the Sexual
Offences Act 1976) and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (contrary to section 47 of the
Offences against the Person Act 1861). The couple got divorced in May 1990.

The judge rejected a submission on behalf of the defendant that he could not be found guilty
of rape due to the marital rape exemption. He then pleaded not guilty to rape, but guilty to
attempted rape and to the assault charge. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for
attempted rape and 18 months' imprisonment for assault, with the sentences to run
concurrently.
R appealed the conviction for attempted rape to the Court of Appeal, which dismissed the
appeal. Lord Lane outlined three possible outcomes to the legal issue: first, a literal approach,
that it was always impossible for a husband to rape his wife; second, a compromise approach,
that rape was only possible in cases where a wife's presumed consent was deemed to be
negated. He was not in favour of either of those outcomes and, instead, he adopted the third
solution, abolishing the legal fiction of a marital rape exemption: "The idea that a wife, by
marriage, consents in advance to her husband having sexual intercourse with her no matter
her state of health or her objections, is no longer acceptable; it can never have been other than
a fiction and fiction is a poor basis for the criminal law."

R appealed again to the House of Lords. Lord Keith stated that, according to the Matrimonial
Causes Acts, the definition of marriage had changed in time: wife was initially being
considered subservient to her husband, but both of them are now equals. Then, Lord Keith
agreed with the Court of Appeal that the marital rape exemption was a "common law fiction"
and ruled that "in modern times, the supposed marital exemption in rape forms no part of the
law of England." Therefore, the R's appeal was dismissed and his conviction upheld.

This case was reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights, with two individuals
arguing that their conviction following R v. R was in breach of Article 7 of the European
Convention on Human Rights because the conviction referred to an act which was not a
criminal offence when it was committed. The European Court of Human Rights rejected this
argument in November 1995 in the cases of SW and CR v. UK, on the grounds that R v. R
was a natural foreseeable evolution of law and that even if the common law marital rape
exemption existed or the defendants’ victims had not been their wives, then the appellants
would still have been guilty of rape under the Sexual Offences Act 1976.

The judgment in R v. R was supported by the Law Commission and was later confirmed in
statute law by an amendment to the Sexual Offences Act in the Criminal Justice and Public
Order Act 1994.