How Background Relates to Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Policies Related to Individuals Convicted of Sex Crimes

Abstract

<jats:p> Although research has examined perceptions of child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention and the efficacy of sex offender policies (SOPs), less research compares these perceptions between different backgrounds. We explore these perceptions among North Carolina stakeholders with backgrounds related to (a) victims of CSA, (b) individuals convicted of sex crimes (ICSCs), and/or (c) law enforcement and policymakers. Specifically, we examine how these backgrounds differ in the perceived efficacy of (a) the ability to prevent CSA, (b) containment-based SOPs, and (c) assistance-based SOPs. We find that the victim-focused background was the most optimistic that CSA prevention is possible, and the law and policy background was the most pessimistic. Furthermore, the ICSC-focused background was the least likely to believe in the effectiveness of containment-based strategies and the most likely to believe in the effectiveness of assistance-based strategies. An overlapping victim-and-ICSC background consistently fell in between the views of victim-only and ICSC-only backgrounds. </jats:p>

Survivors’ Beliefs About the Causes of Sexual Offending: An Australian Study

“…This demonstrates the vital knowledge of survivors that is often excluded from research and public policy debates. This finding speaks to the importance of incorporating survivor views in policy and practice measures designed to prevent and respond to sexual violence (Richards et al, 2020;Socia et al, 2019), rather than enacting such measures on behalf of, or in the name of, survivors. The research presented above begins to destabilize the uniformly angry, vengeful victim of governments' imagining, who will automatically support punitive policies, suggesting that implementing policies based on this image, without understanding the multidimensionality of survivors' views, is irresponsible at best.…”

“…Understanding survivor perceptions of the causes of sexual offending is a critical undertaking for a number of reasons. First, as those most profoundly impacted by sexual violence, survivors have unique insights (Craun & Simmons, 2012;Socia et al, 2019) and a wealth of knowledge about its causes. Survivors may possess what Wylie (2003) calls "epistemic advantage" or "epistemic privilege": they may "know different things, or know some things better than those who are comparatively privileged (socially, politically), by virtue of what they typically experience and how they understand their experience" (p. 26).…”

“…Despite this, almost no scholarship exists on survivors' beliefs about these causes. Broader literature demonstrates that survivors' attitudes toward sexual offenders either vary little from the general public's attitudes (Sahlstrom & Jeglic, 2008;Willis et al, 2013), or tend to be more positive than the general public's attitudes (DeLuca et al, 2018;Ferguson & Ireland, 2006;Nelson et al, 2002;Socia et al, 2019;Spoo et al, 2018). However, only two sources shed even indirect light on survivors' views about the causes of sexual offending specifically.…”

Public Perception of Men Who Have Committed Intrafamilial and Extrafamilial Sexual Offences Against Children

“…A third point is that the age and gender of the child was not overtly stated in the vignettes. Thus, future research should aim to compare pre- and post-pubescent victims and female/male victims ( Davies et al, 2010 ; Socia et al, 2019 ). Additionally, any replications of the present study should include a way to account for careless and random responding ( Goldammer et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Much research has been conducted on people’s attitudes toward those who have sexually offended ( Harper et al, 2017 ). This research spans multiple countries, such as Australia ( Bartels et al, 2020 ; Richards, 2011 ; Shackley et al, 2014 ), Canada ( Sparks, 2021 ), China ( Chui, Cheng, & Ong, 2015 ), Spain ( Marteache, 2012 ), the UK ( Kerr et al, 2018 ; Sanghara & Wilson, 2006 ), and the USA ( Bowman, 2018 ; Socia et al, 2019a ; Wurtele, 2021 ), as well as multiple populations, including forensic professionals ( Conley et al, 2011 ; Mellor & Deering, 2010 ), members of the public ( McCoy & Gray, 2007 ), police officers ( Kite & Tyson, 2004 ), and students ( Fuselier et al, 2002 ). The collective findings from this body of work indicate that, in general, the public hold highly negative attitudes toward individuals who have sexually offended ( Harper et al, 2017 ; Richards & McCartan, 2018 ).…”