12-21-2009 National:
December 11, 2009 — A recent study performed by psychologists among inmates of the Bureau of Prisons suggests a strong link between the use of child pornography and child abuse. The study, conducted between 2002-2005 and chronicled in an article by Tori DeAngelis in this month's edition of the American Psychological Association's Monitor on Pyschology, studied men who had already been convicted of child pornography crimes to see if they had also molested children.
Clinical psychologists Michael Bourke, PhD, and Andres Hernandez, PsyD found that while many child pornography viewers before their trial would deny having molested children, after the conviction many of them changed their story.
Bourke said, "There is this assumption - in the treatment context, in courtrooms, in investigative circles and in the assessment literature - that these are dichotomous groups … However, in the course of treatment, these men would disclose to us that their use of the Internet was not the limit of their sexual acting out - it was in fact an adjunctive behavior."
The study, initially released in the April issue of Journal of Family and Violence, studied 155 men convicted of possessing child pornography. Of the 155 men, 74% before their convictions denied having ever molested children. However, at the end of treatment, 84% of these same men had admitted to molesting a child at least once. The average number of victims per man was 13.5.
When the study was finished, it was initially suppressed because opponents felt that it would generalize too much. Dr. Fred Berlin, the head of the Sexual Disorders Clinic at John Hopkins said, "These studies have tremendous implications, both in terms of community safety and in terms of individual liberties. So we have to be very careful that our conclusions are valid before we get too firmly tied to them."
Dr. Berlin's criticism of the study rested on the fear that the men were being overly cooperative with the therapists in order to be please them.
However, Graham Hill, head of Great Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, believes that the fact that the men were speaking to therapists makes it more likely that they are being truthful.
"In our view, the therapeutic relationship is the strength of the survey, because these men are more likely to be truthful with therapists they trust than if they're just filling out a questionnaire."
Thus Hernandez, one of the two leading psychologists in the study said, "Our study was exploratory, and our aim was to highlight the apparent co-morbidity of two seemingly distinct forms of criminality."
With the link between child pornography and child molestation established, some believe that this should also be extra cause to prosecute those who are involved in the adult pornography industry. Judith A. Reisman, former president of the Institute for Media Education and a noted psychologist, says that the link between adult pornography and child pornography is also largely recognized.
In her book Soft Porn Plays Hardball, Reisman quotes John Rabun, Jr., Chief Operating Officer of the National Missing and Exploited Children's Center in Washington, D.C as saying that of "fourteen hundred cases of suspected child exploitation all, that is 100 percent … had in their possession at the time of arrest, adult pornography ranging from what is … typically referred to as soft pornography such as Playboy, on up to harder, such as Hustler."
Reisman goes on to say that pornography, like any addiction, starts out soft and moves on to harder material.
"As in all addictive stimuli one proceeds from the original stimuli to 'harder' stimuli. If pornography is an addiction, like alcohol and other drugs, than it also leads a significant percentage of users to 'harder' stimuli, period."
With this new study, Reisman argues that the chain of events can now easily be traced from adult pornography to child pornography and ultimately child molestation.
"[The use of harder pornography] eventually moves into children, and then to increasing sexual violence and brutality to children."
"Pedophilia is a progressive form of degeneracy that commonly follows from the use of adult 'normal' pornography (all of which, including Playboy, our study found included child pornography triggers throughout the magazines). That such use frequently progresses to more deviance is now a given." ..Source.. Matt Anderson, LifeSiteNews.com
December 21, 2009
Controversial New Study Strongly Links Child Porn Use And Child Abuse
January 24, 2008
Jail programs had little effect on whether freed inmates re-offended, new study shows
3-31-2004 Canada:
VANCOUVER -- Treating sex offenders in custody for their deviant urges has little impact on whether they go on to commit sex crimes -- or other offences -- after they're freed, according to a new study.
The study, which is sure to reignite the debate about whether sex offenders can ever be safely rehabilitated, traced a group of 724 sex offenders serving federal prison terms in British Columbia beginning in the early 1980s. Of these, 403 received treatment, while 321 did not.
After 12 years, the criminals who underwent a treatment program in jail had slightly lower repeat records, but the differences were so negligible that researchers said they had no significance.
For example, 21.1 per cent of sex offenders who received treatment went on to commit another sex crime, compared with 21.8 per cent of those who were not treated.
Another 42.9 per cent of treated criminals committed violent crimes after release, compared with 44.5 per cent for offenders with no treatment. For other crimes, the repeat rate was 56.6 per cent for treated offenders versus 60.4 per cent for those who weren't counselled.
"It is reasonable to conclude that the overall [treatment] program did not have any meaningful effect on recidivism rates," said the study, co-authored by psychologist Karl Hanson and published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Studies. "We still have much to learn about how best to intervene with sexual offenders."
The study could be viewed as a blow to the professionals who provide treatment to sex offenders in Canadian prisons, where the conventional wisdom has been that treatment works. The new study paints a bleaker picture of whether treatment has a positive impact.
As early as this year, federal statistics said treatment for sex offenders reduced that sexual recidivism rate from 17 per cent to 10 per cent.
Right now, there are just over 3,000 inmates in federal institutions whose primary crime is a sex offence. And while treatment isn't mandatory, it's often part of an inmate's "correction plan" written for an offender as he starts his sentence. Since the late 1980s, however, sex offenders in B.C. have been required to undergo treatment before they're released.
According to Correctional Service Canada statistics, 40 per cent of sex offenders are in treatment and 20 per cent are on a waiting list.
However, there's never been scientific proof that treatment works. For years there have been debates among law enforcers, social workers, treatment providers and academics about the effectiveness of treating sex offenders.
For academics, the main problem has always been finding random subjects to study. They provide the most statistically sound outcomes, but they're hard to find in the criminal justice system, and sex offenders, because they're a small group, are harder to come by. Many offenders who don't receive treatment have refused it.
If that person goes on to reoffend, it's not clear if it's because he didn't receive treatment or because he was not motivated to change in the first place.
Mr. Hanson said the new survey provides a more accurate picture because the inmates who did not receive treatment were randomly selected from an era when treatment wasn't required as part of a B.C.'s sex offenders correction plan.
However, he added, the news isn't all bad. Treatment programs today in Canadian prisons are more sophisticated than the programs available when his subjects were incarcerated.
Now, prisons tailor programs for sex offenders to address deviant behaviour. They also identify an offender's level of risk to the community.
"The moral of this particular article is that even though we think these [new programs] are likely to be better, we need to do the evaluations to make sure we're not fooling ourselves again."
The study followed a group of male prisoners released between 1980 and 1992. All the men were serving federal prison terms for a sex offence, meaning their sentences were longer than two years. ..more.. by Column courtesy The Globe & Mail © worldwide 2004
Porn triggers acting out on victims? Really?
7-25-2007 National:
Why did the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, spike its own shocking study, that during therapy, fully 85 percent of incarcerated child pornography users have reluctantly admitted to sexually assaulting children?
The BOP study by psychologists Andres E. Hernandez and Michael L. Bourke has been momentarily suppressed and tossed onto the political hot seat as "debated" and "contested."
The New York Times recently leaked the BOP report on 155 child pornography users who were in a treatment program at the low security Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, N.C.
At the time of their arrests, 26 percent (40 men) admitted to being child molesters. However, during therapy, 85 percent (132 men) confessed to sexually abusing children. Also at arrest, the men admitted to victimizing 75 children. During therapy, however, the 155 felons finally confessed to 1,777 young victims – and, this is what they admitted.
Why should BOP yank the Butner prisoners' study from the peer-reviewed academic journal poised to publish it? Anyone can check the Bureau of Justice Statistics Prison Statistics website for thousands of prisoner studies. Just from the top:
Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners
Mental Health Problems of Prison and Jail Inmates
Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities
Suicide and Homicide in State Prisons and Local Jails
American Indians and Crime: A BJS Statistical Profile Profile of Nonviolent Offenders Exiting State Prisons
Age Patterns of Victims of Serious Violent Crime
Although many readers would – rightly or wrongly – interpret the above study findings as vilifying convicts, the studies have not been publicly disputed and suppressed. Yet, scientific findings that prove pornography's harmful effects are immediately disputed and suppressed by closeted persons and entities.
In her Culture and Media Institute essay on this scandal, legal maven Jan LaRue wonders why the BOP is hiding the study: "Are officials more concerned about misinterpretations than protecting kids?"
La Rue reports, "Judith Simon Garrett, assistant general counsel at the BOP, is heavily involved in squelching the study." Garrett has railed against legislators, says LaRue, who want longer sentences and "restrictions on early release mechanisms."
On point, Garrett also feels commercial "nudity or sexually explicit pictures" should be available to convicts.
La Rue observes that Garrett's own advocacy writings are published with a BOP disclaimer.
"Why isn't she urging the BOP to do the same here? Is it because she thinks 'programs' that permit prisoners access to pornography are acceptable, and the study could prove her wrong?"
These are prudent questions.
Garrett's sexual activism exemplifies why our "adult" pornography laws are ignored by those whose special interests misdirect our justice system.
For years, I have received mail from homosexual and heterosexual convicts who claim theirs was a "soft pornography" downward spiral into abuse and prison. Did the psychologists gather embarrassing data on these hot-button political issues?
And Butner is not dé jà vu – because I have been here before.
Some brief background. In 1986, my federally funded analysis of "Images of Children, Crime & Violence in Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler," was suppressed by Verne Speirs who was then director of the U.S. Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
In 1994, after my study was endorsed by OJJDP Director Robert Sweet, in-depth investigations proved that Big Porno and the Kinsey Institute had significantly invested in discrediting our study findings. For, like Butner, our research identified a strong link between pornography and child sexual abuse.
The claim that the Butner study did not "meet agency approval" and that "the results might be misinterpreted" is suspect and does not justify BOP censorship. The pornography industry and its closet cohorts never want the public to learn that "just looking at pictures" has too often triggered serious copycat crimes against women and children.
Before leaving this subject, I must note that Dr. Fred Berlin, of the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Clinic worried that the Butner findings might actually be dangerous.
The New York Times reporters quote Berlin: "If people we thought were not dangerous are more so, then we need to know that, and we should treat them that way. But if we're wrong, then their liberties aren't going to be fairly addressed."
However, Berlin has historically protected the "liberties" of convicted pedophiles who he knew were abusing children during their mandated sex therapy program at Hopkins' Berlin/Money clinic.
Based on decades of "liberties" wrongly given to dangerous child predators, the Butner prison findings may cause such sexperts legitimate worry about future litigation.
Now, as LaRue says, after We The People study the whole, unedited report, let a real "debate" begin! ..more.. by Judith Reisman
September 14, 2007
DOES THE PRISON TREATMENT PROGRAM REDUCE RECIDIVISM?
I find the results of this recidivism study statistically invalid due to the selection process used which only allows high risk offenders into treatment. The state, in 2006, concluded that therapy does not reduce recidivism.
Explanation:
Initially the researchers chose everyone who was willing to participate in therapy. Then they divided that into two groups: A) Those who DID NOT participate in therapy; and, b) Those who DID particpate in therapy. No matter which group the person fell into each had to have a prior sex offense conviction.
Now the catch, in order to particpate in therapy a prescreening process was applied. i.e. risk assessment tools MnSORT-R, RRASOR, and Static 99 were used to chose who could go into therapy. ONLY those who "had a high likelihood to reoffend" were permitted in therapy.
Anyone who DID NOT fit that requirement was pushed into the group of those who DID NOT participate in therapy group. In other words the DID NOT participate group was a mixed group of offenders. It contained folks who were willing to take therapy but did not, and those who fell out of the prescreening process.
Now a review of Exhibit 2 (pg-3) shows the study was not interested in just new sex offenses, instead recidivism means any kind of offense. i.e., the definition of recidivism meant more than just sex offenses. It appears ridiculous to assume that sex offender treatment program (SOTP) is designed to reduce recidivism of all kinds of offenses.
Exhibit 2 shows of those who went through therapy, 12 committed a new sex offense, and only 6 of those in the opposing group committed a new sex offense. Based upon that outcome researchers concluded, that therapy did not reduce recidivism.
What? Remember, the deck is stacked, only high risk of reoffense folks went to therapy, and low or medium risk did not. The outcome was predictible based on the prescreening process.
This is why I feel the study is statistically invalid. Additionally I see a few other things but what I mentioned above was more than enough to go no further.
eAdvocate
With that said, the study:
SEX OFFENDER SENTENCING IN WASHINGTON STATE: DOES THE PRISON TREATMENT PROGRAM REDUCE RECIDIVISM?
The 2004 Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of current sex offender sentencing policies.1 Because this is an extensive topic, we are publishing a series of reports.
The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has operated a prison-based Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) at the Twin Rivers Corrections Center since 1988. The program has undergone a series of changes since its inception. Since 1996, the program has used a combination of treatment techniques including group therapy, psycho-educational classes, behavioral treatment, and family involvement. The length of treatment has decreased from two years in 1996 to approximately one year currently. Since 2000, sex offenders assessed as having a high likelihood to reoffend, based on their criminal history, are prioritized for program entry.2 (FN2: The SOTP uses three risk for sexual reoffense
assessments: MnSOST-R, RRASOR, and Static 99.)
Offenders selected for the treatment program must meet the following five requirements:
• Sex offense conviction
• Voluntary participation
• Admission of guilt
• One year minimum remaining in prison
• Medium or lower custody classification
This report estimates whether SOTP reduces recidivism by comparing the recidivism rates of sex offenders who were willing but did not participate in SOTP with those who did participate in the program. ..more.. by Washington State Institute for Public Policy
