Developing more effective interviewing skills with men who commit sexual offences

Paedophilia—a sexual preference for the body scheme of pre-pubescent children—is defined as a disorder within the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the World Health Organization as well as within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association. Contrary to popular belief, not all sex offenders who target children are paedophiles, and not all paedophiles commit sexual offences. But quite obviously paedophilia is an emotionally charged and controversial topic, which might be an explanation for putting it out of focus within the healthcare system. Mental health professionals are mainly (and worldwide) not well trained in terms of assessment methods and intervention techniques available to develop and implement effective policies and practices. This presents an obstacle for prevention, in that proactive strategies to protect children from child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by online offences, such as the consumption or distribution of child abusive images (so-called child pornography), which emphasises the internationally relevant dimension of the issue. The article will address key concerns and questions in dealing with this clinically relevant population, offer insights into a primary prevention approach developed in Germany, and discuss the situation on a European level.

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The Township, the Pregnant Girl and the Church: Community Dynamics, Gender and Social Control in Early Nineteenth-century Scotland

Northern Scotland ◽

10.3366/nor.2019.0168 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 41-67

Author(s):

Elizabeth Ritchie

Keyword(s):

Nineteenth Century ◽

Rural Communities ◽

Social Control ◽

Community Dynamics ◽

Church Discipline ◽

Sexual Offences ◽

Early Nineteenth Century ◽

Female Community ◽

The Church ◽

Unmarried Girl

In 1814 in a small Highland township an unmarried girl, ostracised by her neighbours, gave birth. The baby died. The legal precognition permits a forensic, gendered examination of the internal dynamics of rural communities and how they responded to threats to social cohesion. In the Scottish ‘parish state’ disciplining sexual offences was a matter for church discipline. This case is situated in the early nineteenth-century Gàidhealtachd where and when church institutions were less powerful than in the post-Reformation Lowlands, the focus of most previous research. The article shows that the formal social control of kirk discipline was only part of a complex of behavioural controls, most of which were deployed within and by communities. Indeed, Scottish communities and churches were deeply entwined in terms of personnel; shared sexual prohibitions; and in the use of shaming as a primary method of social control. While there was something of a ‘female community’, this was not unconditionally supportive of all women nor was it ranged against men or patriarchal structures.

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