Sexual Offending and Prevention - Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings

Sex Offenders: What can be done?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

It’s been a long time since I’ve had the time to write what’s been on my mind, but I can’t wait any longer: What can be done about the growing number of sex offenders?

My practice is growing. We are adding groups in both of our offices. While that is a good thing for my business, that’s a really bad thing for society.

Some Background About my Experience with Sex Offenders

In addition to running a therapy practice that works with individuals who have committed sex crimes, I have other gigs.

One of them is as an instructor for a school that teaches law enforcement officers to conduct polygraph examinations. I spend 20 hours with them teaching them about psychology. Last month, I spent my first day with this cohort.

One of the 18 attendees was an officer from North Carolina who is the ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) officer for his department. He shared with me the weekly email that he gets from NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children).

This is one of the places that people report sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation materials, etc. They keep excellent statistics and ICAC officers get the data each week. I am a data geek and therefore asked if he could forward me the information.

My jaw dropped. Speechless.

I quickly moved into feeling overwhelmed and a bit of despair.

With nearly 20 years in the industry, I know it is bad out there. I know it is REALLY BAD.

But, I didn’t know it was this bad.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Here’s a Snapshot

The NCMEC report that he forwarded me provided the following numbers:

In one week, NCMEC’s Cybertip line received 503,139 reports JUST from Electronic Service Providers (Kik, Snapchat, etc.)

That is over half a million reports in one week.

The public made nearly an additional 2500 reports in that week. Of those more than half million reports made just to the CyberTipline that week, over 480,000 of them were for CSAM.

To date, this year only, there have been over 12 million CSAM reports to the CyberTipline.

But there is no way for law enforcement to police these numbers.

They simply do not have the manpower to investigate every one of these tips. They not only have to investigate tips sent to their jurisdictions, they also have all other crimes to deal with outside of the CyberTipline.

There is also, unfortunately, no way to get all of the CSAM off of the web. It just can’t be done.

Again, it’s a workforce and technology thing.

I shared this with one of my colleagues at work and got a message that night that it is stuck in his head, too.

What Do We Do?

When I ask that question, I am asking it outside of the law enforcement/legal system.

I am tired of there not being really any primary prevention for CSAM use. Or any other type of sexual offending.

I am also not at all an expert in prevention outside of my work. My work is secondary or tertiary prevention depending on your point of view.

The thing that comes to mind is Education.

Parents need more education about pornography and what’s happening online.

Furthermore, children need more education and pornography literacy information.

And what do we do for the people who are engaging in offending or who are attracted to children and not offending and want to keep it that way?

We need to normalize therapy.

If you have never heard of Project Dunkelfeld in Germany, check it out. It’s one of the best examples of primary prevention of sex offenders I can point to.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

Next Steps in Dealing with Sex Offenders

Right now, I have no answers.

Thinking about what I can do about prevention is going to be renting a lot of space in my head for a while.

I implore all of you to think about what you can do as well.

Yes, we need to continue to report abuse when it happens.

But, wouldn’t the world be better if we could figure out how to stop sex offenders from offending in the first place?

Are you a professional looking to stay up-to-date with the latest information on, sex addiction, trauma, and mental health news and research? Or maybe you’re looking for continuing education courses? Then you should stay up-to-date with all of Dr. Jen’s work through her practice’s newsletter!

Are you a Licensed Professional Counselor seeking engaging, unique Continuing Education courses? Dr. Weeks offers accredited courses on her practice website on the effects of Pornography Abstinence and other unique topics!

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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Child Sex Trafficking: How do People Become Victims?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000

Thankfully, in light of recent high-profile cases, the world is taking Child Sex Trafficking more seriously. Therefore, with this increased awareness, I’d like to share some data about what we know about how traffickers find their victims. This knowledge will, hopefully, help with education and prevention at all levels.

Previous research has identified several types of traffickers, based on how they recruit their victims. These have been categorized in differing ways.

Some studies divide the types of traffickers into those who use an aggressive/antisocial means to recruit victims versus a charismatic/manipulative means. Other researchers put traffickers into categories like:

Romantic boyfriend
Gang member
Relatives
Those who specifically prey on children with intellectual disabilities

Child Sex Trafficking: Types of Traffickers

Boyfriend/Girlfriend Recruitment

These traffickers present themselves as caring and compassionate friends.

They often offer to help the victim escape an abusive situation or home; they exploit these vulnerabilities of the victim. These traffickers might be someone posing as a boyfriend or the actual romantic partner of the victim.

Peer-to-Peer Recruitment

Some victims of sex trafficking are recruited by other victims of sex trafficking.

This may seem very counter intuitive. The research suggests that peer sex trafficking is often done unwillingly under actual or threatened abuse. Alternatively, this is sometimes seen as a survival strategy where a victim recruits another victim thinking, “Better them than me.”

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Gang/Criminal Recruitment

Many victims of sex trafficking are aggressively recruited by gang members.

Often these victims are young women who have a drug habit that is exploited or are convinced to enter prostitution to help the gang by being love bombed by the trafficker.

Family Trafficking

Both mothers and fathers have been known to traffic their children for various reasons.

Family trafficking can also involve other family members. Research has shown that mothers with drug addictions are most often seen in this category.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Child Sex Trafficking: Sub-Types of Perpetrator

A study published in 2023 in the scientific journal, Victims & Offenders, sought to further the research on child sex trafficking by describing recruitment strategies used by perpetrators.

The goal of this study is to inform prevention education and interventions.

The study reviewed 78 Child Protective Investigation case files in the state of Florida.

The study found 7 distinct subtypes of perpetrator of Child Sex Trafficking:

Peer/Acquaintance
Organized Crime
Romantic Coercive Conman
“Mate” crime predator
Family Abuser
Opportunistic Trafficker
Cybertrafficker

Peer/Acquaintance Trafficker

Maybe a neighbor, classmate, friend, etc. Uses peer recruitment, often via social media to find youth in their geographic area. The child is then groomed by being offered drugs, gifts or basic needs such as food or shelter. Grooming also includes building a friendship and normalizing commercial sexual exploitation.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

Organized Crime Child Sex Trafficking

Uses peer to peer recruitment. Finds youth in areas known for drugs and illegal activities. Child is groomed by being offered drugs and providing basic needs. Uses violence and intimidation when the child ends up paying for the “gifts” with sex.

Family Abuser

This person exploits their own young family members for either profit or to support a drug habit. The victim often lives with the abuser.

Romantic Coercive Conman

This trafficker is often seen as a boyfriend by the victim. They find victims by chatting online with girls on social media and dating apps. They will also go to places where girls frequent in person. The victims are groomed using romance and gift giving. They are also groomed with charm and often alcohol and drugs. The victim is then isolated from friends and family.

Mate Crime Predator

This trafficker preys upon the most vulnerable youth they can find. These are often youth with intellectual disabilities, mental health issues or physical disabilities. The victims are groomed with friendship. Traffickers often find these victims in places where you find run away children or using peer to peer recruitment via foster care or social media. Victims are groomed with basic needs or drugs and alcohol. This type of trafficker often also uses physically abusive tactics.

If you’re unfamiliar with sextortion, check out Dr. Jen’s article How to Protect Your Child from Sextortion.

Opportunistic Child Sex Trafficking

These traffickers often meet youth at places like truck stops or other places run away youth are to be found. They can then take advantage of the child’s specific vulnerability and groom them with offers of food, shelter, transportation and drugs or alcohol.

Cybertrafficker

This trafficker only interacts with victims online. The victims are found mostly on social media and dating apps. The trafficker befriends them and often promises money in exchange for sexual images and videos. They often then blackmail victims by threatening to disseminate the sexual images of the child.

Child Sex Trafficking Prevention

For prevention efforts to be successful, they need to be in place at all levels of the behavior.

By identifying the different tactics used by various types of traffickers, public education and youth education can happen to try to prevent trafficking from the inception, before a child becomes a victim.

Reference

Reid, J., Bilali, K., Fox, B. & Diaz, J. (2023). Toward a Typology of Child Sex Traffickers: Using Crime Script Analysis to Inform Prevention, Victims & Offenders., 18:3, 423-446. DOI: 10/1080/15564886.2022.2149648.

Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.

Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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What do we Know About Educators who Commit Sexual Abuse?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Despite the age of this study, published in 2014, it provides valuable insight into current issues about sexual abuse by educators.

Teachers, Students, and Sexual Abuse

While these cases do not come across my desk terribly often, they do still occur.

In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is 16. However, if the abuse case involves a 16- or 17-year-old victim and a perpetrator who is in a position of trust, i.e., a teacher, the teenager cannot give consent and the cases are criminally charged.

Here in PA, the cases that get the most media attention are where a female teacher abuses a student, regardless of the gender of the victim.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Sexual Abuse by Educators: A Study

The authors sought to address three specific questions that were all related to the gender of the educator who offended. Were there gender differences based on:

The age of the victim?
The grade the abuser taught?
How the offenses came to light?

Study Results

Age of the victims:

Male teachers who offended had victims that were significantly younger (12 & under)
Female teachers most often offended against students 13 and older

There were no differences between the genders in terms of the grade in school they taught.

I found an interesting revelation to be how the sexual abuse came to light:

When the person who engaged in the offending behavior was a man, the abuse was disclosed more often by the victim themselves, discovered by someone in the administration or through a police sting.
When the person who was the abuser was female, the abuse came to light more often through a report by another student or by a parent or guardian.

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Sexual Abuse Study Takeaways

These findings appear to support some of the stigma related to being the victim of sexual abuse perpetrated by a woman.

Often these victims are not believed when they do report the abuse, or they do not perceive the sexual interactions to be abusive.

This study was not designed to provide any causal explanations. Therefore, they do not attempt to make assertions as to why male educators abuse younger victims more than female educators. This would be a very interesting topic of study.

Ten Years Later

Ten years out from the publication of this study, it’s disappointing to realize that this abuse continues. In some cases, it may seem as though it has increased.

My opinion is that the behavior, teachers sexually abusing their students, has likely not increased.

With increased education and mandatory reporting laws, as well as the positive effects of things like the #metoo movement, it is more likely that these cases are simply being reported more often, holding those who engage in the abuse to account.

Inappropriate sexual behavior by educators should always be reported.

School needs to be a place of safety for children and educators need to be trustworthy custodians of our children’s education.

Reference: Ratliff, L. & Watson, J. (2014). A Descriptive Analysis of Public School Educators Arrested for Sex Offenses. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 23:2, 217-228.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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CSAM on the Dark Web

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 27 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Those of us in the field know that access to CSAM on the dark web is really only a few clicks away. Despite what many people think, it is pretty easy to access. Many of our CSAM clients were accessing these materials on TOR sites. Despite its frequent use, we really don’t know much about the details of CSAM availability and users on TOR sites.

A Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

An article just published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, looked at CSAM materials on TOR sites from both a computer science perspective and a public health perspective.

It is an enlightening study.

CSAM on the Dark Web: What is TOR?

For the unaware, TOR stands for The Onion Router.

It is an communication protocol that provides many layers of obfuscation for its users.

It does this by concealing the origin of the communications, resisting browser fingerprinting and circumventing traffic.

These tools allow for anonymous online hosting. On TOR sites, illegal content proliferates, whether that be CSAM sharing, drug trafficking, or other crimes.

CSAM on the Dark Web Study: The Questions

The authors of this study analyzed content on TOR sites to address the following questions:

How much CSAM is distributed through the TOR network?
What are users seeking and searching for?

They also surveyed the CSAM users to find out information about them.

Finally, they looked at how interventions based on searches might reduce child abuse.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

Statistical Results

The authors used a web crawler from 2018-2023 and found that 1/5^th of all TOR sites share CSAM.
CSAM can also be found on 21 of the 26 top TOR search engines, with four of these search engines actually advertising CSAM.
11.1% of users specifically searched for CSAM using the phrase “child porn” to get there.
When they surveyed the CSAM viewers, 61.6% said they have tried to stop watching it and 48.1% said they went to stop viewing CSAM.
Those CSAM users who were specifically searching for child content were more often searching for content of girls than boys.
More than half of the CSAM explicit searchers are looking for content in the age range of 12 to 16 year olds.

The authors went as far as to recommend that the psychiatric diagnoses of pedophilia and hebephilia be altered to sexual attraction to children under 11 (paedophilic type), attraction to children 11 to 14 (hebephilic) or both.

Who are Tor CSAM users?

The data showed that most of the CSAM users were initially exposed to CSAM when they were children and that more than half of these exposures were accidental.

Based on self report, almost 70% reported that they preferred content of girls to boys.
A very small percentage of individuals preferred content depicting images of infants or toddlers.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

What are possible online interventions for users of CSAM on the Dark Web?

The study reported that there are three prominent TOR search engines that provide links to self help programs for people who are concerned about their searching of CSAM. A good number of the CSAM viewers said they want to stop viewing the material and most of them have tried to stop at least once.

If so many people want help, why don’t they get help?

Many of the survey respondents stated that they were afraid to get help. Previous research has cited barriers to seeking help including fear of being reported, fear of being stigmatized, shame, and lack of understanding by professionals.

Since people who are using CSAM on TOR seem to want help, it is an area that is ripe for effective intervention. It opens up the question of whether or not more dark web recruitment for anonymous interventions is possible.

Since three websites provide links to self-help programs, why are more not doing so?

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My Takeaways from the Study on CSAM on the Dark Web

I really liked this study for two main reasons:

It was a combination of computer science and psychology

I think we know more about the psychology of CSAM users than how and where they get it.

It is often stated in court that someone who views CSAM must really be working hard to find it and view it. Studies like this one show us that it is not very hard to come across the content and more than half of the people who view it first accessed CSAM accidentally.

It Openly Discusses Interventions

It digs into how we can use these TOR sites to let people know there is help available. If they want to stop their behavior, they need to know there are therapists who can help them in a knowledgeable and non-shaming fashion.

I wonder, now, what we can do as a practice to be more active in prevention in this medium.

Reference: Nurmi, J., Paju, A., Brumley, B.B., Insoll, T., Ovaska, A.K., Soloveva, V., Vaaranen-Valkonen, N., Aaltonen, M. & Arroyo, D. (2024). Investigating child sexual abuse material availability, searches, and users on the anonymous Tor network for a public health intervention strategy. Scientific Reports, 14:7849.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences and Sibling Incest

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 17:15:01 +0000

I have written a little about sibling incest on this blog. It is something that’s, unfortunately, rather common and not frequently researched. I appreciate when I see research on the topic. I hold out hope for anything that can aid our understanding and guide us toward prevention and treatment.

The Study on Sibling Incest and Adverse Childhood Experiences

A study was published in 2023 in the Journal of Sexual Aggression by Tomsen and colleagues.

This study specifically looked at youth who sexually abuse through the lens of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) by comparing ACE experiences between youth who sexually harmed a sibling and those who sexually harmed a non-sibling child.

So, let’s dig right into the research.

Are you exploring your trauma? Do you feel your childhood experiences were detrimental to your current mental or physical health? Utilize this free, validated, self-report questionnaire to find out.

Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire

Subjects of the Sibling Incest Study

The subjects were adolescent males in Australia who were referred to a Youth Forensic Service for assessment and treatment. All were between the age of 12 and 19 when they started treatment.

The study used the classic ACE questionnaire but also added their own questions to it. They added the variables of caregiver inconsistency, social isolation, bullying victimization, and poor social interaction.

They also looked at whether the youth were prone to internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety), externalizing problems (i.e. aggression) or early sexual behavior problems prior to the age of 10.

Learn More about Sibling Sexual Abuse

Results of the Sibling Incest Study

The study found the youth who sexually harmed a sibling had higher ACE scores than those who sexually harmed a non-sibling. They also found significant differences in family functioning between the two groups.

The differences were found for caregiver sexual abuse victimization, caregiver mental health problems and caregiver inconsistently.

These issues were more prevalent for the youth who sexually harmed siblings.

Youth who sexually harmed siblings were also more likely to experience social isolation and bullying before the age of 12.

The youth who sexually harmed siblings were also more likely to internalize problems than externalize them.

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What does this mean for treatment?

The authors suggest this provides evidence that treatment for youth who sexually harm others needs to also include the entire family system. Not just the youth.

They also suggest that interventions for youth who sexually harm siblings should include interventions related to developing interpersonal skills and social functioning.

Reference: Thomsen, L., Ogilvie, J. & Rynne, J. (2023). Adverse childhood experiences and psychosocial functioning problems for youths who sexually harm siblings. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 29:3, 374-390.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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Sibling Sexual Abuse as Family Dysfunction

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:20:44 +0000

Here we have a research summary of a study conducted in the United Kingdom. It was a qualitative study that used thematic analysis to reflect the data of 17 interviewed survivors of sibling sexual abuse.

This means that they studied the content of the interviews and determined dominant themes from all subjects’ interviews.

This research summary continues our theme of current research on sibling sexual abuse (SSA). As I stated in my previous blog, several scientific journals have devoted a good deal of space to sibling Sexual Abuse (SSA) in the past month is both necessary and long overdue.

The study uncovered 10 predominant themes from the interviews.

Abuse and dysfunction were central components of the broad family system

The subjects reported that there was often abuse In the family between other family members outside of the SSA.

This meant, for example, that their parents were perhaps victims of sexual abuse or other family members were as well.

The subjects also identified that they came from families that held misogynistic views that included sexism and treating male and female children differently based on their gender. Therefore, these family beliefs laid the groundwork for the sibling sexual abuse to occur.

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Abuse and dysfunction were common in the nuclear family

The victims of SSA reported that there was often abuse in the nuclear family.

Furthermore, their parents often had dysfunctional relationships that included emotional, psychological, or physical abuse.

Dual status of the sibling that harmed

The sibling that perpetrated the sexual abuse was often also the victim of sexual abuse themselves. There was often a culture of acceptance of this abuse in the family.

Conflicted feelings toward the sibling that harmed

The victims of SSA often held conflicting feelings toward the sibling who harmed them.

On the one hand, they had sympathy for their sibling who was often the victim of sexual abuse themselves.

On the other hand, they often felt as though they could not forgive their sibling for hurting them.

Learn More about Sibling Sexual Abuse

Poor parental engagement and communication

Subjects reported that their parents were often absent or disengaged. This absence came in many forms.

For example, it could have been anything from the death of a parent to work outside the home or parental divorce.

The victims often felt as though there was parental disengagement even if both parents were in the home. This parental disengagement provided a situation where the abusive sibling often had power and control as they were often older and put in a position of authority due to the parental absence.

The parental disengagement also meant that the victims did not feel as though they could go to their parents for support.

Parents had poor and inconsistently enforced boundaries

Parents often had poor boundaries around sex, sexuality, and pornography. This normalized sexual behavior and the daughters often felt more sexualized while the sons were not challenged for overtly sexual behavior.

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Sexual Addiction Treatment Services has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7250. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Sexual Addiction Treatment Services is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Denial of Abuse

When the victims in this study did disclose the sibling sexual abuse to their parents, their parents often did not believe them or did not want to talk about the issue.

Furthermore, parents often were unwilling or unable to acknowledge what was happening in the family.

Normalization of dysfunction and acceptance of abuse

Because of the dysfunction in the family as well as the larger family circle, the victims often felt that how the family acted was normal and acceptable. Therefore, they did not know any other way that a family could be.

Clarity was found from gaining distance from the family

The victims often did not realize that their family was dysfunctional until they removed themselves from the family system. Once outside of the system, they came to realize that both the family dysfunction and the abuse were not normal and were not ok.

Not all families that experience SSA are the same

The authors are keen to point out that not all of the families of the victims interviewed in this study were the same and they are not all dysfunctional.

Based on the data, the authors that that treating instances of SSA should not be done on an individual basis. The entire family needs to play a role in treatment as often the beliefs that need to be identified and challenged are held by the family system as well. A whole family approach to treatment is required.

Reference: McCarten, K., King-Hill, S. & Gilsenan, A. (2023). Sibling sexual abuse: a form of family dysfunction as opposed to individualised behavior. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 29:3, 427-439

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

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70 Years of Recidivism Research

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:32:40 +0000

What do distinguished researchers do during COVID-19 lock downs? A huge meta-analysis of recidivism research for sexual offending that covers the span of 70 years, of course. Then, they look at the recidivism rates based on the changes in law and culture in the United States and Canada.

Recidivism Research at the ATSA Conference

Patrick Lussier, a professor of criminology at Universite Laval in Canada, presented a keynote speech at this year’s ATSA Conference based on two scientific publications this year looking at 70 years of recidivism research of sexual offenses in the US and Canada.

It was a super interesting talk made even better by their analysis of recidivism rates in relation to law changes and sexual offender registry adoption.

What do and don’t we know about sexual offense recidivism?

The first study by Lussier et al was published in the journal Criminal Justice Review.

They started with 3206 studies on recidivism which was pared down to 859 studies which fit the criteria for inclusion:

Published after 1949
Be in English or French
Be a longitudinal study looking at sexual offenders
Provide actual data on recidivism

One of the very interesting aspects of this study was the historical perspective taken on sexual offending and recidivism.

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Recidivism Research, Sexual Offending, and the Past

The earliest writings on sexual “deviance” come from the 19th century and the book by Kraftt-Ebing, published in 1886 is often cited. In this book, he described sexual deviance as a sexual behavior that is repetitive and persistent that was deemed odd, atypical and outside the norm.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, research on sexual offending began to focus on mental health problems of the offending person as well as the characteristics of people who offended.

Publications at the time indicated that there was an assumption that prison was not something that would deter a person who committed a sexual crime, and they would instead need individualized psychological interventions. Therapy tailored to their individual needs was the preference.

Studies from this era treated people who offended as specialists with major mental health problems related to sexual deviance.

The 1980’s

Starting in the 1980s studies started to look at sexual offense recidivism and a shift happened in the field. A very influential report was published stating that nothing worked to deter recidivism.

This influenced a movement away from looking at those who offended as individuals and moved things towards a deterrent focused model. This eventually would lead to a very large increase in incarceration rates.

Learn more about Primary Prevention and its benefits in these articles:

The 1990’s to Today

In the 1990s sexual recidivism became a common indicator of risk which influenced laws and management of those convicted of sexual offending.

In the early 2000s sexual recidivism became a go-to statistic for evaluators and the courts.

Since the 2010s there has been criticism of the risk paradigm which suggests that people who have committed a sex crime have continuing propensities to commit future sex crimes.

This is supported by many studies that indicate low recidivism rates. The field has come to understand that the risk of reoffending is not a static thing, but changes based on the developmental stage of the person as well as life circumstances.

What do we know about sexual recidivism?

There is no such thing as a true base rate.

Recidivism rates based on what the study is measuring, the length of the follow up period and the nature of the individuals in the sample population.

Recidivism rates vary based on the length of the follow up period

Studies on recidivism can have a follow up period that varies from a few months to about 25 years.

Recidivism rates are associated with individual characteristics

These can include the person’s criminal history, past sexual offending history, psychological, sexual, and social functioning.

Recidivism is not limited to sexual recidivism.

Many people who commit a sexual crime are not specialists. Recidivism rates for sexual reoffending are low, the lowest across all types of crime.

Recidivism rates for adult offenders vary by age.

Rates of crime peak in adolescence and decrease into adulthood.

The Specificity of Adolescent offenders.

Adolescents who commit a sexual crime are not destined to become adult offenders.

Do you believe you have an online pornography addiction? Take the free Cyber Pornography Addiction Test (CYPAT) and have the results to speak with your therapist.

What is unresolved?

Current measures underestimate risk.

How much? We all know that recidivism studies are based on known behavior, and we also know that many sex crimes are not found out. Therefore, we know that recidivism rates are likely an underestimate of actual recidivism. What we do not know is how big that underestimate is.

What is the accuracy of long-term estimates of sexual recidivism?

Studies have gotten better in terms of having longer follow-up periods. However, these studies are based on older samples. Therefore, we do not know if this effect still holds true with more recent cohorts of offending individuals.

What is the effect of where you live?

Is it possible that registry laws and laws that restrict residences are creating variations in sexual recidivism rates caused by crime displacement?

What is the effect of post release experiences on recidivism?

Most studies simply look at whether or not a new offense was committed. They do not look at what the person’s environment was like. Were they on probation/parole? Were they in therapy? Did they have employment, housing, supportive people around them? Are low risk individuals actually low risk or are they being effectively managed in the community?

After reading this summary (and we didn’t cover everything) one might leave with more questions than answers.

Studies like this are important to highlight the weaknesses in the field and introduce new avenues of research for us to improve recidivism research, prediction, and treatment and policy making for individuals who have committed a sexual crime.

Reference: Lussier, P., Thivierge, S.C., Frechette, J. & Proulx, J. (2023). Sex Offender Recidivism: Some Lessons Learned from Over 70 Years of Research. Criminal Justice Review, doi:10.1177/0734016823157385journals.sagepub.com/home/cjr

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post 70 Years of Recidivism Research first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Child Sexual Abuse Material: How to Deal With It

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 19:56:35 +0000

I talk to many people who think it’s hard to find Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM, formerly Child Pornography). The sad reality is, it’s more common than you think.

Not only can CSAM be found on websites and dark web spaces, but it’s also floating around on common social media sites.

Anecdotal Experiences with Child Sexual Abuse Material

We’ve had clients who’ve found these images on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Kik, X (formerly Twitter), Discord, and even Pinterest.

In our forensic work, these individuals were often seeking this material, but what should you do if you come across questionable images yourself?

What Steps Should you Take?

Report the Image to the Social Site

If you are on a social media site like Facebook or X, the first thing you should do is report the image with the site’s reporting tools.

For example, Facebook has the option to report a post on every single image on the site. So, if you think it’s questionable, you can report the image directly.

Once you report the offending material, it is out of your hands. Whether or not the site will actually investigate your report is unknown. Our staff members have reported images on these sites and only occasionally do the reports get investigated. However, sometimes you get a message that basically says they don’t have the capacity to check it out.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Report the image to NCMEC

NCMEC, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to help children in exactly these circumstances. They have a cyber tip line to report the images online or to call someone and make the report via phone. NCMEC can then investigate the image.

Advanced Child Sexual Abuse Material Reporting Tools

Images reported to NCMEC are fed into a database and PhotoDNA program.

Major tech companies, like Google and Meta, Facebook’s parent, use PhotoDNA. It flags the content to be taken down. Additionally, if the investigation warrants a report to the police, NCMEC takes care of this.

Report to your local ChildLine

In addition to reporting the image to NCMEC, you can also make a report to your state’s child abuse reporting line.

This will start a similar process to reporting to NCMEC but at a local level. This will provide a second resource to investigate the images.

The Department of Human Services administers Pennsylvania’s ChildLine.

See the latest research on criminality related to social media:

Social Anxiety and Loneliness in Online Solicitation Offenders

See more articles related to social media

Keep a record of the reports that you make about Child Sexual Abuse Material

The first thing to be mindful of is what you do with the image that you feel is inappropriate and need to report.

Do NOT take a screen shot of the image.

If it is CSAM, you will then have it in your possession which is illegal. If you do feel that you need to do so, make sure you keep all documentation of reporting the images to the authorities. Screenshot call logs, keep email records, screenshot your social media reports. Keep all of these things in one place on ONE device.

We’ve had clients make reports and then were investigated for possessing CSAM images. Having the documentation that they screenshot an image for the express purpose of reporting it to NCMEC allowed them to avoid criminal charges.

The proliferation of CSAM online makes the idea of ridding the internet of it feel very daunting. While some companies do report CSAM images to NCMEC and the authorities, not all do.

If you come across content that you feel is inappropriate, please report it to the appropriate agencies or authorities.

For an in-depth guide on talking to your adolescents about cybersex and pornography, check out Dr. Jen’s book. Amazon | BookBaby

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Consult with a professional.

The post Child Sexual Abuse Material: How to Deal With It first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

How to Improve Outcomes: An International Summit

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:52:45 +0000

I accepted an invitation to join ODIN Intelligence to assist a team of educators teaching probation and parole officers to improve outcomes for individuals who commit sexual crimes.

My invitation came from Justin Moyer, an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) law enforcement officer from California, who teaches about registry and supervision issues. Coupled with his own program, Justin felt my expertise in the psychology of sexual offending, trauma, and officer burn out would nicely round out the summit.

The Summit’s Location and Purpose

The Barbados Probation Department organized the summit and hosted it on their beautiful island. We taught a tailor-made version of our program to everyone from probation officers to judges.

The government of Barbados does not yet have specialized treatment or supervision for individuals who have committed sexual crimes. They wanted to learn what they could from us to apply it to their own system and culture.

More Studies are Needed to Improve Outcomes

Preparing for this was different from any other program I have taught. Therefore, I was acutely aware of one very glaring fact:

The majority of the research on people who commit sex crimes is from North American or Western European countries. Consequently, the subjects are predominantly white.

When it comes to risk assessment, the same thing applies. The majority of subjects used to create risk assessment measures such as the STATIC-99R are white. There has even been some research published that suggests that these measures overestimate risk in black men.

Therefore, to improve outcomes we must research and validate culturally relevant data.

As professionals, our time is valuable. Dr. Weeks created the Mitigation Aide Research Archive because there isn’t enough focused, data-backed research available in easily digestible formats.

Diverse Attendance

When we received our agendas for the event, we quickly realized this was more important than we initially thought!

The event started with a very formal opening ceremony including remarks from an elected official and the heads of the Probation Department. The National TV and newspaper covered the event.

Barbados News Article-rotated Download

The Barbadian Probation Department invited a very inclusive list of attendees. There were over thirty people who attended including:

L-R Justin Moyer, Dr. Jennifer Weeks, Angela Dixon, and Denise Agard

Probation officers
Lawyers
Child welfare workers
Prison treatment providers
Social workers
Judges

Unfortunately, there were no law enforcement officers who chose to attend.

Attendees expressed shock when we noted that such a diverse group of professions gathered together would likely not happen in the US. I am hardly able to imagine judges showing up to a training with probation officers, social workers, and treatment providers.

It’s truly a shame, because the richness of comments, questions and insights from having so many people familiar with so many different aspects of the field was amazing.

Do you believe your sexual behaviors are compulsive or harmful to you or others? Then you should take the CSBD-19 free, validated self-assessment tool.

Improve Outcomes Through Cultural Awareness

Any time you teach in a different place culture has a huge impact. I find this fascinating, as a therapist with a research background.

I teach primarily about internet-based sex crimes in the US. For instance, CSAM possession, online solicitation, and luring.

The criminality in Barbados was different. They experienced a greater amount of hands-on sexual abuse of both children and adults.

There was a feeling among some of the attendees that a deep cultural misogyny affects this difference.

Research Deep Dive

I emphasized during my teaching that research and risk assessments were not normed on their culture. Furthermore, the research didn’t include people of color. Therefore, I emphasized that this was an amazing research opportunity for the clinicians and probation officers planning on implementing risk assessment procedures.

Dr. Jennifer Weeks and Justin Moyer

When there is nothing in place, validated measures are likely better than nothing, but a culturally sensitive measure would be something to really work towards.

Personal Reflections

One of my favorite private discussions was with a treatment provider at the men’s prison who had recently been accepted into a Ph.D. program. During the four days of talks he made the decision that sex crimes would be the focus of his research. He wanted to start working to address the dearth of data about Caribbean nations.

At that point, as someone who loves to help cultivate careers, I felt like my work was done.

I’m super excited to possibly collaborate with him and see what great things he does in the future!

I feel invigorated by being part of this summit. I rarely ever hear this level of excitement or enthusiasm from US audiences. Despite the desire to create positive change in their communities.

I feel the energy from that room was a balm to my own professional burnout. But, perhaps, teaching mere feet from the most gorgeous beach had something to do with it as well!

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

The post How to Improve Outcomes: An International Summit first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

What is Accidentally Brave all about?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 01 May 2023 18:08:34 +0000

Photo Copyright Jeremy Daniel (Instagram)

I am currently at the IITAP symposium which is the annual gathering of CSAT therapists. The conference ended with the first ever showing of the movie version of Accidentally Brave.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

During the symposium, we gather for three days of continuing education focused on problematic sexual behavior.

This is the first in-person gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic forced conferences to go virtual.

Full disclosure, I normally bail on move showings, but today I stayed.

I stayed because when this play was showing in New York, I was unable to get tickets. The show had a limited run and by the time I had heard about it, it was too late to get tickets to see it live.

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What is Accidentally Brave and why am I talking about it?

In 2015, Maddie Corman’s husband, a well-known television director, was arrested for the possession of child sexual abuse material. He was ultimately convicted and placed on probation and the sex offender registry.

To use Maddie’s words, “I am not going into that as it is his story to tell and Accidentally Brave is about Maddie.”

She created this play, which shares her story, as an act of service to others who have been through or are going through something similar.

The movie stays with Maddie’s experience from the moment the police arrive at her house until after sentencing. She focuses on her own story allowing her husband and children the freedom to express themselves independently.

I am in no way a movie or art critic, so it is not in my wheelhouse to talk about things like acting or production. When I watch something like this, I do so through the lens of “is this something that would be useful to my clients.”

Does this film mimic reality?

Maddie’s story, like so many of the partners of my clients, is raw, difficult, and full of many emotional roller coaster moments. Watching this, it truly felt like an authentic portrayal of the experiences of many partners of sex addicts and people who commit sex crimes.

The scene that really hit home for me involved her buying Halloween decorations. At that moment she realized it was the last time she would be able to decorate or have trick or treaters to her home due to her husband’s sex offender status.

It was all too reminiscent of conversations we have with clients in the fall. These thoughts don’t occur to people unless they’re in this situation.

Struggling with excessive sexual thoughts, urges, or activities that are causing you distress? Take the free, online Sexual Symptom Assessment Scale (SSAS) and get a link to share with your therapist.

Who would find this useful?

I left the movie wondering who might find this film more useful: my clients or their partners?

As an exercise in victim empathy, the show is about as raw and real as it gets.

It is often easier to hear the pain when it is not directly coming from the person we have hurt.

For partners, I can imagine that watching this would be partly excruciating. It would be akin to reliving that experience. I can also imagine how validating it could be to hear this story. These partners tend to hold the family secret more tightly than partners of non-offending sex addicts.

Either way, I am hopeful that the movie will become available so that it can be used for therapeutic purposes.

Until then, it appears as though an audio version is available. I have not listened to this but assume it is a sound recording of the play. While it will likely still be super powerful, watching the movie would be more so as you get the body language to go along with the emotions.

Thank you to Maddie Corman for sharing her story in such a vulnerable and raw way.

This post contains affiliate links. The author or blog owner may earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links.

Have you found yourself in legal trouble due to your sexual behavior? Seek assistance before the court mandates it, with Sexual Addiction Treatment Services.

Do you feel your sexual behavior, or that of someone you love, is out of control? Then you should consult with a professional.

Are you looking for more reputable data-backed information on sexual addiction? The Mitigation Aide Research Archive is an excellent source for executive summaries of research studies.

The post What is Accidentally Brave all about? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.