prevent child abuse - Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings

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.

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Take the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire

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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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What Affect do Sex Dolls Have on Human Sexuality?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000

If you have spent any time on this blog, you might be thinking another sex doll post? What is her obsession with sex dolls?

I’ve been thinking about this while formulating a response to a reader’s comment on an older sex dolls post.

I find the topic interesting because people have very strong opinions about it based on feelings.

There are just not enough facts or data out there for anyone to form what we might call an “informed opinion.” So, that’s why I love reading and writing about research articles on sex dolls.

Sex Dolls in the Journal of Sex Research

Here’s a recap of a newer article published last year in the Journal of Sex Research.

The authors, through an online survey, sought to add some knowledge to the debate about sex doll usage. Particularly, to address sex dolls used by people who are sexually attracted to prepubescent or pubescent children.

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.

Wait, What’s the Debate About Sex Dolls?

The core concerns regarding the use of sex dolls that people tend to bring up:

Using sex dolls increases problematic sexuality. Many feel the users may transfer the type of sexuality they engage in with a doll to a human.
Individuals who use sex dolls will become increasingly isolated from others.
People who use sex dolls will lose intimacy and empathy in their interpersonal relationships.

Specifically, relating to the use of child sex dolls, people fear that if a person who is sexually attracted to children uses a childlike sex doll, it will increase their desire or propensity to then engage in sexual activity with a live child.

Back to the Sex Doll Study

The authors “sought to explore the potential influence of (sex) doll use on common (i.e., sex with humans, masturbation, and porn use) as well as problematic or (potentially) illegal sexual behaviors (compulsive sexual behavior, illegal and dangerous sexual fantasies as well as visiting sex workers).

The study is the first to look at potential changes in sexual behavior associated with sex doll use.

The study asked 224 individuals who were sex doll users:

About the features of their dolls (gender, size, price, etc.)
About the changes they observed in their own sexual behavior
Demographic questions
Open ended questions

Interested in more information about sex dolls and their owners? Here’s all of our posts about them:

Results of the Study

The authors classified sex doll users as those who used the doll basically as a sex toy or those who used the doll as an artificial companion (AC).

The average age of the doll users was 31.

Those who used the doll as an AC were less likely to be in a relationship than those who used it as a sex toy.

What changes did they see in their behaviors?

All of the users reported an observable decrease in common and dangerous behaviors since they started using the dolls.

Specifically relating to doll owners who are sexually attracted to children, those individuals self-reported a strong significantly greater decrease in compulsive sexual behavior when compared to their adult attracted peers.

They also stated that they used their dolls as an alternative sexual outlet as they could not live out their sexual interest with humans.

Individuals with sexual interest in prepubescent or pubescent children did report:

They used the dolls to act out illegal fantasies with the dolls
They lost interest in sexual interactions with children due to their owning and using a childlike sex doll

The authors note the results of their study go against the idea that using sex dolls will reinforce problematic sexual behavior of any kind. Their results showed the opposite.

Sex doll ownership and use decreased self-reported problematic sexual behavior.

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

Limitations of the Sex Doll Study

Before we definitively state the use of sex dolls is a good thing or that it does not, in fact, lead to problematic sexual behavior, we have to talk about the limitations of this research study.

The first limitation is that it is a survey.

There is always the question of whether or not the people who choose to respond to a research survey are in any way different from those that do not choose to participate, and this could decrease the generalizability of the results.

The second big limitation is the questions about reduction in problematic (including illegal) sexual behavior were self-reported.

This means we have no way of knowing if the study participants were telling the truth. We also don’t know if the decrease they reported is real or just their perception. Again, this may limit the validity and generalizability of the research.

Nonetheless, this study is a big step in moving forward and answering the questions of what affect owning and using a sex doll has on a person’s sexual behavior.

Reference: Desbuleux, J. C. & Fuss, J. (2023). The Self-Reported Sexual Real-World Consequences of Sex Doll Use. The Journal of Sex Research, DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2023.2199727.

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.

The post What Affect do Sex Dolls Have on Human Sexuality? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

On Getting Kicked Off YouTube

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 18:21:22 +0000

Some of you who read my work might know I had a little YouTube channel. I posted videos about research updates, webinars about sexual offending, problematic sexual behavior and the podcasts I do. When I say little YouTube channel, I mean little. It had 261 subscribers and a decent number of views, but it wasn’t popular due to its niche content. Friday morning, I woke up to find out I’d been kicked off YouTube. They sent an unceremonious email saying they were deleting my channel because it was “Violating their policies.”

What policies you might ask? According to YouTube, the content on my channel was violating sexual content policies. In short, I was making adult content.

The irony is both frustrating and amusing. The algorithm, or whatever AI process they use, thought that my content, created to educate about problematic sexual behavior, keep children away from pornography and decrease the risk of sexual abuse is categorized the same as me making actual pornography.

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.

I am fairly sure I know which video got me banned.

I posted a short video about adult-themed video games. Things got squirrelly after that. I tried educating parents and others about their existence and for what to look out for.

Banning me from YouTube makes no difference to my business. It does make me ask a simple question:

If my content, functioning hopefully to decrease sexual abuse and sexual addiction, gets kicked off YouTube, as is many of my colleagues, where are we to do prevention work?

Kicked Off YouTube, For Educating People

Social media of any kind is the place to get the word out about anything. If prevention content that includes the words pornography, sexual abuse, or pedophilia is routinely banned, where, exactly, is the right place to do this work?

It makes logical sense to be doing this work on the platforms where teenagers are routinely being sent unsolicited penis pictures. It makes sense to do this work on the number one site that people go to for information, YouTube.

Learn why it’s important for everyone, especially teens, to be able to control their online experiences. Dick Pic Culture: How do Teenage Girls Navigate it?

Forgive my frustration.

Sometimes it feels as though the only place we can speak freely about these issues, CSAM, child sexual abuse, abuse prevention, is in our professional forums or conferences. While it’s nice for us to be able to share with colleagues, it’s a bit of an echo chamber. We already know what is going on. We are not the people who need to hear the messages.

As a result of my YouTube ban, we will be posting the videos on this site in the hopes of continuing the prevention effort.

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.

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You Are Not a Monster: Review of A Long Dark Shadow

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 13:56:45 +0000

As a member of the professional community that works with Minor Attracted Persons as well as individuals who have committed sex crimes, I was immediately aware of the controversy surrounding Dr. Allyn Walker and the publication of their book A Long Dark Shadow: Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity.

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

Dr. Walker is a professor and researcher who focuses on various aspects of human sexuality. The book is the result of a qualitative study they did using interviews of individuals in the MAP community. This research was done in a completely appropriate and professional manner with the full support of their academic institution.

Fallout from A Long Dark Shadow

After an interview discussing the book, Dr. Walker became the subject (or victim) of social media. There was immediate pushback from people at their university stating that they were promoting child abuse or other similar complaints.

The comments went crazy.

This initially resulted in the university placing them on leave. I imagine the hope was that the fervor would die down. Dr. Walker ultimately resigned from their position based on the harassment and death threats they were receiving.

All of this for what? People, who had not read the book, getting upset by assumptions.

People misconstruing Dr. Walker’s statements, which clearly stated that sexual abuse of children is abhorrent and unacceptable, as being supportive of sexual offending. It is because of this controversy that I immediately purchased the book. The topic is of interest but my main motivation for purchase was to support Dr. Walker.

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.

My Review

I will start this review by saying that if I were ever to write a book about minor attraction, this is the book I would write.

The first thing I felt upon reading it was a great sense of validation.

Yes!

There are other psychology professionals in the world who understand that pedophilia ≠ sexual offending. There are other psychology professionals willing to spread the word.

I am an adjunct professor for a local graduate program as well as an instructor of a law enforcement polygraphy school.

Everyone who has ever had a class with me leaves (hopefully) with a clear understanding of the differences between attraction and behavior and that pedophilia is a sexual attraction and not a behavior AND that there are plenty of people in the world who are attracted to children who never commit a sexual offense.

The Real Research Behind A Long Dark Shadow

The book is based on Dr. Walker’s research which involved extensive interviews with people who identify as minor attracted. These individuals were brave enough to come forward to a psychology professional, who they often duly distrust, to share their stories. The chapters focus on many aspects of living with a minor attraction.

The first chapter discusses identity formation. MAPS themselves often share the negative views held by society about minor attraction and struggle to integrate their own sexual interest into their identity. Many of them questioning, “Am I a Monster” which is a question I have heard in my office many times.

The book continues to address the effect of societal shame on MAPS.

Many people, due to stigma, feel that they have to live a dual life and never disclose their minor attraction. They fear rejection from family, partners, loved ones, friends and society at large. Unfortunately, this fear is not unfounded as many also do experience that rejection.

Often this living a dual life can lead to depression, anxiety, or even suicidal thoughts for some.

Preparing a sentencing report for a minor attracted person? Get the data you need, quickly, with Mitigation Aide.

Strategies for Coping

Subsequent chapters deal with the strategies they use to cope with their own attractions as well as to refrain from sexual offending. Many MAPS acknowledge an attraction to children but do not have a desire to physically act on those attractions. This goes against a societal assumption. As the book states, we don’t assume all adult attracted people are walking around actively thinking about raping other adults so why do we think this about minor attracted people?

However, the reality cannot be ignored that some MAPS do, in fact, not resist these urges and sexually abuse children. The book also discusses what strategies some of the individuals use to avoid engaging in any type of contact sexual offense.

Medical Professional Reactions

Another book chapter discusses MAP’s experiences with mental health professionals.

This chapter is upsetting to me as a mental health professional but an expression of reality. People avoid seeking therapy to help cope with the attraction, stigma, shame, or other mental health issues around the minor attraction for many reasons.

They fear, rightly, that many therapists will have a negative reaction to their disclosure and will refuse to treat them. They often fear that a therapist will make an unwarranted call to children and youth, or the police based on the disclosure of an attraction, not based on any behavior. While some might think this is farfetched, I have experienced this in my own practice, hearing of other therapists thinking they need to make a mandatory report when a client says they have an attraction to minors but never disclosed any behavior in that direction.

A final concern for some MAPS that keeps them from treatment is the fear that a therapist might try to engage in a sexual orientation change experience. Basically, the minor attraction equivalent of conversion therapy. We know that we cannot change sexual attractions, and many consider SOCE to be inhumane or unethical.

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

Final Thoughts

The plea to reduce stigma against individuals who are attracted to minors is twofold.

The one that comes to mind first for many is to help with primary prevention. For those MAPS who do struggle with urges to act on their desires, providing safe spaces to work through these urges and work on resilience techniques can help keep a child safe as well as keep the person from engaging in a behavior that everyone knows is not appropriate.

The main reason to reduce stigma, particularly by therapists, is that MAPs are people.

They are just as deserving of a safe place to work through their issues with depression, anxiety, stigma, grief, and loss, etc. as the rest of us. They deserve a safe space and a nonjudgmental professional to work with that can help them improve their general health and wellbeing.

If you have an interest in this topic, I strongly urge you to read this book. I will be incorporating it into our treatment program for those individuals who are minor attracted.

I don’t want to make this disclaimer but given the nature of our world and the internet, I feel that I need to say that supporting Dr. Walker, this book, and the reduction of stigma against minor attraction in no way supports harming children.

It actually supports working to prevent child abuse.

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.

The post You Are Not a Monster: Review of A Long Dark Shadow first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

The Truth About Halloween and Sex Offenders

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 21:54:38 +0000

Halloween is at the end of this week. There are a lot of assumptions made about Halloween and Sex Offenders. Let’s take a look at the realities.

Therapists who work with sex offenders know this is the time of year probation officers ask us if we have made sure all of our clients have a plan for Halloween and know they are not to participate in the holiday.

Luckily, the area where our practice is located does not ask for more than our clients to avoid participation.

In other parts of the country, things are much different.

Halloween and Sex Offenders in the News

The Patch, a national news source, posted multiple articles providing detailed maps showing the homes of registered sex offenders for many areas.

Indiana

A town in Indiana performed a Halloween crackdown sweep of Sex offenders who failed to register.

Ohio

A news source in Ohio posted an article on how to keep your children safe from sex offenders on Halloween.

Georgia

In Georgia, the Butts County Sheriff’s Office places warning signs in front of the homes of anyone on the sex offender registry for Halloween. Several people on the registry sued the Sheriff’s office and recently lost the lawsuit. The court ruled that this practice did not violate their rights.

In some states, registered offenders still on probation or parole are provided a list of requirements which may include:

Being home after a certain time
Not answering the door to children
Not handing out candy
Having no outside lights on
Having a sign on their door stating specifically they’re not giving out candy

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.

Halloween and Sex Offenders by the Data

We can all agree that sex crimes against children are profoundly serious and something everyone should work to prevent.

The question arises whether Halloween is a higher risk day than any other day of the year. To answer this question, Chaffin et al. (2009) conducted a study that analyzed child sex crime rates on Halloween.

The authors analyzed child sex crime victims from 1997 to 2005. The data came from up to 30 states.

They looked at a span of days that included Halloween as some locations have trick or treat events before or after the actual date of Halloween.

There was a total of 67,307 abuse reports during the Halloween time frame over the 8-year period.

Results of the Study

The results of the analysis indicated that for the children who were abused on Halloween, 73% were female and 27% male.

They were abused primarily by male offenders (94%) who had an average age of 24 years old.

The main result of this study was that the distribution of sexual offenses against children during the Halloween time period did NOT significantly differ from all other days of the year.

Halloween and sex offenders are not a recipe for increased chances of abuse.

The CDC has reported that children are four times more likely to be killed by a pedestrian/motor vehicle accident on Halloween than any other day of the year.

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Looking Beyond Sexual Offenses

The authors of this study also looked at other crimes committed during the Halloween time period.

The most common types of crime during Halloween are theft, destruction of property and assault.

Vandalism and destruction of property accounted for a significantly greater proportion of the crime around the Halloween time period.

Sex crimes accounted for a little more than 1% of all Halloween crime and sex crimes against children accounted for less than .2% of Halloween crime incidents.

Halloween and Sex Offenders: The Realities

We know that the majority of the sexual offenses committed against children are by someone the child knows. We see the results of this study show no increased risk of criminality. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that scarce resources could be better spent policing other crimes on Halloween such as vandalism.

Extra policing of sexual offenders on the registry during Halloween might make the public feel better or feel that their children are safer. However, it appears that these efforts are more publicity than efficacy in reality.

Reference: Chaffin, M., Levenson, J., Letourneau, E. & Stern, P. (2009). How safe are trick or treaters? An analysis of child sex crime rates on Halloween. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment. (21) 3, 363-374.

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.

The post The Truth About Halloween and Sex Offenders first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Sentence Mitigation: Is it Just Faux Remorse?

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 11:17:59 +0000

I recently posted on social media about my clinic’s intensive program for sexual offenders and how it aides sentence mitigation. I got accused of providing lighter sentences for financial gain.

I’m angry, to say the least. I take our work with people who have committed sex crimes very seriously because I consider it sexual abuse prevention work.

I’ve decided to put my emotions to the side and write something informative about sentence mitigation.

What is Sentence Mitigation?

I’d like to point out that what we’re talking about is not the trial. We’ve already determined guilt and we’re now determining the punishment for the crime(s) committed.

Judges are obligated to take all information about that person into consideration when being sentenced for a crime.

Prosecution’s role is to present evidence of all of the aggravating factors in the case. They use these factors to argue for stronger and harsher sentences.

Aggravating factors can include:

Prior offenses
Vulnerable victims
Hate crimes
Violence, etc.

Defense attorneys present facts about the person supporting a less harsh sentence.

Any facts presented for sentence mitigation are not related to the guilt of the person. They’ve acknowledged what they have done (pled guilty).

Mitigating factors can be in place prior to the offending such as:

Lack of criminal record
Mental illness
Addiction
Physical illness
History of abuse

Other mitigating factors are those the occur after the offense has happened. These can be:

Acceptance of responsibility
Rehabilitation post offense (treatment)
Cooperation with law enforcement
Addiction
Mental illness, etc.

Mitigating factors do NOT excuse a crime but help provide an explanation.

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.

Therapy as a Sentence Mitigation Tool

Do defense attorneys suggest clients go to therapy so they have some fuel for sentence mitigation?

In a word, yes.

Many of our clients are referred to us by their attorneys after they have had a visit from the police or the FBI. This happens, basically, no matter the type of offense.

DUI?

Get a drug and alcohol assessment.

Domestic violence charge?

Do some classes.

Assault charge?

Complete an anger management program.

What Your Therapist Knows

What most people might not know, but all treatment providers know, is very few people self-refer for any kind or offending.

In over 10 years of practice ownership, I can count on one hand the number of clients who came to treatment because they felt they had a problem.

Many clients are pressured into treatment. This pressure may come from a partner, spouse, employer, or the police.

People don’t self-refer for many reasons: shame, fear, or stigma. They wait until they’re caught. Whether they’re watching pornography at work, getting a DUI, getting caught in an affair, running up the credit cards with gambling debt, etc.

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.

Doing the Work, Not Just Showing Up

The act of going to therapy itself does not help the defense attorney make a mitigation argument.

What happens in therapy can help a defense attorney make a mitigation argument.

If a client is referred by an attorney for treatment, the initial thought might be something like “Okay, this will look good to the judge.”

Any good therapist will know whether or not a client is taking the therapy work seriously. If the client is just biding time, trying to look good for the judge, it’s reflected in the treatment reports that go to the attorney.

Trust me, bad treatment reports never make it to court.

Same thing for evaluations that deem a client high risk to re-offend. They hardly ever see the light of day in a court room.

Changing motivations

What gets a person in the door of a therapy office isn’t always what keeps them there.

I, and other treatment providers, aim to help the offender move from the shocked stage into looking deeply at their actions and motivations.

Although it’s popular to believe all people who commit sexual crimes are deviant monsters who deserve to die, most people who are committing these crimes know they have a problem, feel a good deal of remorse, and want to do what they can to avoid hurting anyone else.

Now we see how an attorney referral for sentence mitigation can turn into an offender into a healthy, productive member of society.

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.

Final Reflections on Sentence Mitigation

Sitting at the end of a day filled with many emotions, I reflect on the work I do. I am proud of the work I and my staff do with this population.

I realize I work with people the world would rather discard. Many people think they don’t deserve treatment.

It would be great if more people self-referred, I don’t really care if it’s an attorney that gets them through the door.

Those of us who work with sexual offenders are doing prevention work.

My final words are not mine but those of one of my wonderful colleagues: Everyone deserves treatment. Period. Full Stop.

References:

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 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!

The post Sentence Mitigation: Is it Just Faux Remorse? first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Dr. Jennifer Weeks — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 13:40:13 +0000

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

Update: 3 Reasons You Might Want to Block Pornography

How Many Clicks Until Your Child Finds Hardcore Pornography?

If this is your first visit, let me start by saying I work with pornography addicts.

A few weeks ago a client shared with me an experience he had with his child. This client has been in recovery for years. He is VERY knowledgeable about online pornography, it’s dangers and how easy it is to access pornography online.

The Incident

My client related that his wife had found pornography on his son’s phone. His son is in the 12 year old range.

My client and his wife are savvy folks.

They handled this situation and conversation with their son with grace, knowledge, compassion and most of all, lack of judgment.

The point of this story is not that he found pornography on his 12 year old son’s phone. It’s not that he and his wife handled it beautifully (but that’s great!). The point is that my client, a pornography addict in recovery, was shocked by WHAT he found on his son’s phone.

Rape Pornography.

How did I get here?

This young man went down the rabbit hole.

That is what many of my clients call the process:

You start with an innocuous image – maybe something risque but not pornographic.
You begin searching the web for something related that titillated you.
Click Click Boom. The clicking process starts the trance for which the internet is so famous.

This can happen if you are clicking links on Zappos, Wikipedia or pornography.

The internet sucks you in and you end up on some site, three hours later, with no idea how you ended up looking at the page you are looking at. For a great discussion of this, check out Phillip Zimbardo’s Ted Talk on The Demise of Guys.

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

Back to the Story

My client’s son clicked on a non-pornographic link on a webpage he was viewing.

He told his father that in a series of very FEW clicks, he ended up watching pornography that simulated (we hope) rape scenes.

It was that easy.

Three or four clicks into adolescent curiosity online and an impressionable young mind is watching violent pornography. It piqued his curiosity and on a subsequent visit to the internet, he typed rape pornography in the search box.

What the Research Says

It’s not uncommon for adolescents to view pornography.

It is now seen, in some circles, as part of the process of adolescent sexual awakening and awareness.

However, what research also tells us is that adolescents who are frequent users of pornography have views that support the objectification of women and have distorted views on the act of sex itself.

Violent pornography sends messages to minds that are not yet ready to fully understand them, about the role of consent and violence in sex.

These messages are not good.

The Takeaways

My client was not shocked that his son was viewing pornography. He was shocked at the type of pornography he was watching.

He was upset at himself about his own denial. He never thought this would happen.

This is the point of my story today: Parents are often in denial, even parents who are more in tune to the technological world.

If your child is older than ten, chances are he or she has seen pornography. If they are 12 or older, chances are they have seen quite a bit of pornography. Parents need to talk to their kids about internet pornography.

This conversation has to happen not just once, but often. Parents need to know what types of pornography their children might view and be able to talk about that too.

Has your child seen violent pornography? Have they seen pornography with animals, same sex participants, or even child pornography? Parents need to prepare to talk about all of these things if they want to truly help their child navigate this online world in the healthiest way possible.

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

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

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.

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 Down the Rabbit Hole first appeared on Dr. Jen's Recovery Readings.