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The concept of cognitive distortion was created by A. T. Beck and it is one of the key-concepts of cognitive psychotherapy. In the 80s of the twentieth century, researchers began to use it in studies of sexual offending, but with reference to the social learning theory rather than to the theory of cognitive psychotherapy. Subsequent authors continued the use of this term in the determinants of child molestation and defined them as products emerging from specific implicit theory of the offender, the judgements resulting from his beliefs, values and actions, dysfunctional cognitive schemas, deviant cognitive practices undertaken in the interaction of internal and external components of perpetrator's cognitive system and his social practices. The primary theoretical background in the description of the concept of cognitive distortions of child molesters was the social cognition theory, but it was complemented with the assumptions of the theory of cognitive psychotherapy, extended theory of mind and discursive psychology perspective. Particular concepts describe the cognitive distortions relating them to different classes of cognitive phenomena: products, processes and structures, and the only thing they have in common is their incompatibility of their content to the social norms. Giving this concept a normative nature leads to internal contradictions within the conceptions that concern it. Moreover, using it to explain the various processes oversimplifies the picture of this phenomenon and leads to contradictions between theories. It is, therefore, necessary to consider replacing the term cognitive distortions with alternative and more precise concepts.

The paper discusses the governmental draft of the Act on counteracting threats of sexual offences. It assumes the creation of the Registry of Sex Offenders in a version with a limited access and a version available to the public. The registry is supplemented with a publically available map of sexual crime threats, which includes the places of sexual offences and the places of residence of offenders. Criticising the proposed solutions, the authors point out the lack of integration with other interventions conducted in Poland against sex offenders, noncompliance with the recommendations of the most important expert circles in the field, as well as the research results showing the lack of effectiveness of the planned measures to reduce sexual offences. Anumber of negative consequences of making the sex offenders'data available to the public was also highlighted in the form of a clear deterioration of social rehabilitation prognoses, additional stigmatisation, as well as social exclusion of the offenders themselves and the victims of sexual violence. The summary emphasises the need to counteract the problem of sexual offences in a systematic way and the need to diversify the interventions undertaken against the offenders, depending on the level of risk of sexual recidivism.