Let us see how much we know-and see how much of what we think has been based on the myths we have all heard about sexual assault and sex offenders. Take 5 minutes to complete the True or False Quiz: ..CLICK for the List of Questions.. by The Office of the Attorney General of the State of California
Showing posts with label Myths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myths. Show all posts
April 10, 2008
Myths and Facts About Sex Offenders
August 2000
There are many misconceptions about sexual offenses, sexual offense victims, and sex offenders in our society. Much has been learned about these behaviors and populations in the past decade and this information is being used to develop more effective criminal justice interventions throughout the country. This document serves to inform citizens, policy makers, and practitioners about sex offenders and their victims, addressing the facts that underlie common assumptions both true and false in this rapidly evolving field. ..CLICK for a List... by The Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM)
May 31, 2007
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: THE MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT SEXUAL OFFENDING
Attorney General of Maryland
Because of common misconceptions, many of us have both unwarranted fears and misguided complacency about sex offenders. Protecting ourselves and our children must begin by understanding the facts about sex offenders and their crimes.
Sex offenders who are caught and convicted are the tip of the iceberg. MOST sex offenders are never identified. Less than 30% of sexual crimes are even reported to law enforcement, and even fewer are successfully prosecuted and convicted. Estimates are that the several hundred thousand convicted sex offenders nationwide represent only a fraction (less than 10%) of all sex offenders living in communities across the country.
The vast majority (80-95%) of sex offenders KNOW THEIR VICTIMS. Sexual assaults committed by strangers, while often high-profile, are far less common than assaults by someone in a victim’s familiar circle of family, friends, and acquaintances - an old boyfriend, a babysitter, a coach, an uncle. Between 75-90% of adult victims of rape report knowing their assailant. About 60% of sexual victimization of boys and 80% of girls is committed by offenders known to the child or his family. Young victims who know their abuser are least likely to report the crime.
Sex offenders cut across all demographic groups. Sex offenders come from all kinds of backgrounds, income levels and professions. Many have no official criminal record or sex crime history of any kind. While there is no profile of a “typical sex offender,” therefore, they all tend to be manipulative, deceptive, and secretive. Most do not offend on impulse, but rather plan their crimes carefully.
Sex offenders often commit different types of sex crimes with different kinds of victims. At least half of convicted child molesters have also assaulted adults. Over 80% of convicted rapists of adults have also molested children. Over two-thirds of offenders committing incest have also assaulted victims outside the family. One-third of offenders report assaulting both males and females.
Not all sex offenders are male, and not all offenders are adults. The majority are male, but women also commit sexual offenses, particularly against children. While most offenders are adults, adolescents account for a significant number of rapes and child molestation cases every year.
Sex offenders are four times more likely than other offenders to be rearrested for another sex crime, and child molesters have the highest rearrest rates among different types of sex offenders. Measuring how likely it is that a sex offender will commit another sex crime is tricky because most sex crimes are unreported. Sex offenders are less likely than other offenders to be rearrested for any crime, but considerably more likely to be rearrested for a sex crime. The more prior arrests a sex offender has before release, the higher the rate of rearrest. Rearrest rates of sex offenders also do not follow the pattern of non-sex offenders by falling as offenders age.
The median age of sexual assault victims is less than 13 years old; the median age of rape victims is 22 years old. ..more..
Myths and Facts About Sex Offenders
August 2000:
There are many misconceptions about sexual offenses, sexual offense victims, and sex offenders in our society. Much has been learned about these behaviors and populations in the past decade and this information is being used to develop more effective criminal justice interventions throughout the country. This document serves to inform citizens, policy makers, and practitioners about sex offenders and their victims, addressing the facts that underlie common assumptions both true and false in this rapidly evolving field. ..more.. by CSOM The Center for Sex Offender Management, The Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) would like to thank Rob Freeman-Longo for principal authorship of this brief. We would also like to thank Donna Reback for her contributions to this document. Kristin Littel and Scott Matson edited the document.
TOWARDS MORE EFFECTIVE SEX OFFENSE LEGISLATION
Facts Versus Fears…Believing Versus Knowing
March 2007:
Recidivism is defined as repeat criminal behavior among offenders. Of all crimes, sex offenders are widely believed to have the highest level of recidivism. However, treatment professionals and criminologists have known for some time that only a small minority of sex offenders — once caught — will recommit another sex crime.
Although some pedophiles, before they are caught, have many victims, most have a single victim in or about their own family.
We all hope for the day when we can see fewer sex offenses and particularly fewer juvenile victims of such crimes. But so long as what we think we know about these types of crimes is based on myths and fear rather than facts, that day will never come. There are several myths that are widely believed that need to be debunked.
Over the past several decades, social scientists and criminologists have combed through an immense accumulation of data from hundreds of studies, which have tracked tens of thousands of individual sex offenders for long periods of time, some even for decades.
By 1994, 670 studies of sex offenders had been done and by the end of 2005 well over 700. As a way to comprehend the results from all of these studies, meta analysis has been used in some of these studies. What follows are some of the key findings from those massive efforts. ..more.. by NATIONAL CENTER ON INSTITUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES, INC., 7222 Ambassador Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21244, Phone: 410.265.1490, Fax: 410.265.8078
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