Reconsidering the abused to abuser hypothesis: the need to consider the impact of trauma in the treatment and assessment of sexual and violent offenders

Abstract

The abused to abuser theory of offending is not widely supported by the literature. Not only does this notion suffer from deficits common to all single explanation models, but also has the potential to further stigmatise victims of abuse. However, using a case study, this paper will argue that the impact of abuse should be more carefully considered at both the aetiological, assessment and intervention levels for various forms of family violence. It will be proposed that the impact of abuse could, for some individuals, be conceptualised as a core risk factor for different types of violent offending. However, in order to fully realise the potential benefits of this stance a more unified approach to forensic issues is needed with integration of information from multiple theoretical perspective, and practice dimensions.