Circles of Support and Accountability: How and Why They Work for Sex Offenders

Höing, Mechtild; Bogaerts, Stefan; Vogelvang, Bas

doi:10.1080/15228932.2013.808526

Cited by 28 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The volunteers also must have no previous serious convictions, especially for sex offending, and they must have no unresolved issues regarding a sex offense committed against themselves or people close to them. Although no official timeline is placed on a CoSA, according to the Canadian model, volunteering with CoSA entails commitment for at least 1 year postrelease, thus financial and transport resources are also necessary (Höing et al, 2013(Höing et al, , 2016Van Rensburg, 2012;R. J. Wilson et al, 2007a).…”

Section: The Development Of Cosa In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

You Do What? A Qualitative Investigation Into the Motivation to Volunteer With Circles of Support and Accountability

2017

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Most community members are not accepting of individuals convicted for sexual offenses living in their communities, let alone having regular contact with them. However, a select number of community members choose to give their time to assist these individuals reintegrate from prison into the community. Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) was developed as a way to address the issues that many individuals convicted of sex offenses face, that is, little to no prosocial support in the community. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 CoSA volunteers in New Zealand to gain a more thorough understanding of volunteers' motivation to be involved with CoSA. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three key themes of motivation were identified: (a) Restorative and Justice-Based Motivation, (b) Altruistic Motivation, and (c) Faith-Based Motivation. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future recruitment of volunteers for CoSAs.

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Section: The Development Of Cosa In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

You Do What? A Qualitative Investigation Into the Motivation to Volunteer With Circles of Support and Accountability

2017

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“…The good lives model (GLM) has been therefore proposed as an alternative or addition to the RNR approach. The GLM is a strength-based approach to the rehabilitation of offenders that focuses primarily on increasing competencies and skills for offenders to, indirectly, reduce the risk of reoffending ( Höing et al, 2013 ). According to this model, motivating offenders and creating a sound therapeutic alliance are key components of effective treatment ( Ward & Brown, 2004 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Network Structure and Changes of Clinical Risk and Protective Factors in a Nationwide Sample of Forensic Psychiatric Patients

Bogaerts

Spreen

Masthoff

et al. 2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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In this study, we investigated network configurations of 14 Clinical risk and protective factors in a sample of 317 male forensic psychiatric patients across two time points: at the time of admission to the forensic psychiatric centers (T1) and at the time of unconditional release (T2). In terms of network structure, the strongest risk edge was between “hostility–violation of terms” at T1, and between “hostility–impulsivity” at T2. “Problem insight–crime responsibility” was the strongest protective edge, and “impulsivity–coping skills” was the strongest between-cluster edge, at both time points, respectively. In terms of strength centrality, “cooperation with treatment” had the highest strength centrality at both measurement occasions. This study expands the risk assessment field toward a better understanding of dynamic relationships between individual clinical risk and protective factors and points to the highly central risk and protective factors, which would be the best for future treatment targets.

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“…Indeed, CoSA has been reported as improving Core Members' emotional well-being through inclusion, defined by a sense of belonging, acceptance and equality (Bates et al, 2012;Höing et al, 2013). These qualities support any internal motivation to change within the Core Member and provide a safe place for their new pro-social identity to be developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Supporting Desistance Through Ambiguous Practice: What Can Be Learned From the First Prison-Based Model of CoSA in England and Wales?

Kitson-Boyce

Blagden

Winder

et al. 2019

Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice

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Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) are an initiative designed to support those previously convicted of sexual offences as they reintegrate back in to society, whilst still holding them accountable for their thoughts and behaviour (Cesaroni, 2002). The aim of the research was to explore the Core Member and volunteer experience of being involved in a CoSA that transitions from prison to community, with the objective being to focus upon what can be learnt from these initial experiences. The study included qualitative interviews with two separate groups of participants; Core Members (n=7) and volunteers (n=10) involved in the Page 2 of 38 prison-model CoSA. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the data was undertaken to consider the individual's subjective experience of being involved in this initiative. A superordinate theme of ambiguous practice was identified, whereby volunteers appeared to overlook the importance of expressive support, described a lack of commitment from other fellow volunteers and demonstrated a confusion surrounding the accountability aspect of their role. Despite the confusion highlighted, however, the accountability aspect of the volunteers' role was identified through their indirect support of Core members' desistance. The second superordinate theme outlined the volunteers' encouragement of the Core Members new pro-social lifestyle, thus helping to reinforce their crime-free identity. This led to a concern, however, of what would happen once the CoSA journey had come to an end. The learning derived from these findings can now be used to continue to develop and improve the use of prison-model CoSA across England and Wales.

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Circles of Support and Accountability: How and Why They Work for Sex Offenders

Cited by 28 publications

References 30 publications

You Do What? A Qualitative Investigation Into the Motivation to Volunteer With Circles of Support and Accountability

You Do What? A Qualitative Investigation Into the Motivation to Volunteer With Circles of Support and Accountability

Longitudinal Network Structure and Changes of Clinical Risk and Protective Factors in a Nationwide Sample of Forensic Psychiatric Patients

Supporting Desistance Through Ambiguous Practice: What Can Be Learned From the First Prison-Based Model of CoSA in England and Wales?

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