Critical Reflections on the Risk-Based Prevention of Sexual Offending by Young People

The clinical and criminological literature on adolescents who have committed sexual offences indicates that the pathologisation of young people and a labelling or overly punitive response is likely to be more harmful than rehabilitative. Accordingly, therapeutic counselling and diversionary schemes are seen as preferable to custodial terms in most instances. For adolescents convicted of sex offences, clinicians identify the benefits of comprehensive therapeutic care which involves family and is sensitive to the young person’s context and culture. The benefits of this approach are documented and, although data are limited, indications are that recidivism is reduced where adolescents are provided with specialised counselling to encourage positive and non-abusive behaviours. In Australia, each state and territory has provisions for youth justice clients serving custodial or community orders for sexually abusive behaviours. Yet each jurisdiction experiences challenges in ensuring the delivery of equitable and comprehensive therapeutic services, particularly to regionally and remotely located youth. This paper draws on data from a national study of the therapeutic services to children and adolescents with sexualised or sexual offending behaviours. With attention to the difficulties in providing services to regionally and remotely located adolescents, this paper highlights challenges around lengthy remand terms, the provision of pre-offence diversionary programs, and the provision of specialised supervision for young people serving community orders. For example, jurisdictions with the largest geographic service areas face enormous difficulties in providing specialised supervision for community-based orders. At present, there are several jurisdictions where regionally and remotely located adolescents may serve the duration of a youth justice order without receiving specialised counselling to assist them in modifying their behaviours. The paper identifies the risks where specialised counselling cannot be provided, but also identifies specific initiatives designed to fill these gaps in service provision to youth justice clients.

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Victim-blame as a symptom of rape myth acceptance? Another look at how young people in England understand sexual consent

Legal Studies ◽

10.1111/lest.12107 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 258-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

David Gurnham

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Sexual Offending ◽

Rape Myth Acceptance ◽

Sexual Consent ◽

Rape Myth ◽

Victim Blame ◽

Legal Studies ◽

Analytical Approaches ◽

Do So ◽

Myth Acceptance

There is no doubt that being ‘critical’ about victim-blame requires ensuring first that it is the perpetrator and not the victim who is held responsible for sexual offending. At the same time, engagement with this topic requires critical acuity as to how victim-blame is identified, and to the boundary between raising legitimate questions about the presence or absence of consent in less than ideal circumstances, and falling back on to myths and stereotypes that are unfair to complainants and damaging to victims. This paper identifies and critiques three purported intersections of rape myths and victim-blame that have gained widespread acknowledgement within feminist legal studies: first, that a woman is blamed for voluntarily putting herself into circumstances in which ‘rape happens’; secondly, that a woman is blamed for ‘miscommunicating’ her refusal; and, thirdly, that consent is wrongly understood to have been given in circumstances where a woman in fact lacked the freedom to do so. This critique of methodological and analytical approaches to identifying victim-blame as a symptom of rape myth acceptance focuses on research published recently by the Office of the Children's Commissioner,‘“Sex Without Consent, I Suppose That Is Rape”: How Young People in England Understand Sexual Consent’.

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The Devil on a Dying Bay: Brazilian Marine Plasticarianism at Guanabara Bay

CALIBRE - Revista Brasiliense de Engenharia e Física Aplicada ◽

10.17648/calibre.v6.1511 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Nilo Serpa ◽

Richard Cathcart

Keyword(s):

Young People ◽

Environmental Education ◽

Key Words ◽

Current Situation ◽

Plastic Waste ◽

Guanabara Bay ◽

Public Discussion ◽

The Devil ◽

Critical Reflections

This article provides an overview of the known current situation of Guanabara Bay with respect to its pervasive plastic waste pollution, continuing the paired authors' previous works. In addition, the study opens up a broader public discussion on the fundamentals of global degradation, proposing a review of environmental education curriculums including the correct appropriation of the concept of entropy among adults and young people as well. In this sense, the authors deepen the concept and emphasize the importance of considering it in critical reflections on our present-day and future worldly behaviors and actions. Lastly, the work provides some significant and important relevant data and useful references, tracing some lines of thought for building viable solutions, so that the reader can start or continue further studies on the topic addressed herein. Key-words: Guanabara Bay, entropy, plastic waste, environmental education, global degradation, consumerism.====================================================================== O presente artigo fornece um apanhado geral da situação atual da Baía de Guanabara com respeito à poluição por resíduos plásticos, dando continuidade aos trabalhos anteriores dos autores. Além disso, o estudo abre uma ampla discussão sobre os fundamentos da degradação global, propondo uma revisão dos projetos de educação ambiental incluindo a apropriação correta do conceito de entropia por adultos e jovens. Nesse sentido, os autores aprofundam o conceito e ressaltam a importância de considerá-lo nas reflexões críticas sobre os nossos comportamentos e ações. Por último, o trabalho fornece dados e referências relevantes, traçando algumas linhas de pensamento para a construção de soluções viáveis, de modo que o leitor possa iniciar ou prosseguir estudos complementares sobre o tema. Palavras-chave: Baía de Guanabara, entropia, resíduos plásticos, educação ambiental degradação global, consumismo.

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