Abstract
Marshall WL. Assessment, treatment and theorizing about sex offenders: developments during the past twenty years and future direction. Criminal Justice and Behaviour 1996; 23:162–199.
McConaghy N. Sexual behaviour: problems and management. New York: Plenum, 1993. (See in particular Chapter 6 “Child-Adult Sexual Activity”, chapter 7 “Sexual Coercion and Assault”, and Chapter 8 “Sexual Deviations”.)
Marshall WL, Laws DR, Barbaree HE, eds. Handbook of sexual assault. New York: Plenum, 1990. (See in particular Part ii “Factors Influencing Sexual Assault”, and Part iii “Theories of Sexual Assault”.)
Salter A. Treating child sex offenders and victims: a practical guide. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1988.
Towl GJ, Crighton DA. The handbook of psychiatry for forensic practitioners. London: Routledge, 1996. (See in particular Chapters 10,11 and 12.)
James M, ed. Paedophilia: policy and prevention. Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Series Number 12. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 1997. (Unedited versions of papers in this volume are also available via the Australian Institute of Criminology's Website on http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rbp/rpp12.html.)
Mullinar L, Hunt C. Breaking the silence: survivors of child abuse speak out. Rydalmere, NSW: Hodder and Stoughton, 1997.
It is a truism that textbooks are out-of-date almost as soon as they are published. This is, unfortunately, even more applicable in the area of sexual offending. Our knowledge and therapeutic skills have increased exponentially over the last decade and, even more importantly, we have come to the sad realisation that much of what masqueraded as scientific “facts”in the field was really a collection of myths and stereotypes heavily influenced by political, social and cultural factors. Texts and chapters from many seemingly reputable publications could now well be dismissed as representing simply ignorance if not outright incompetence.
At present, therefore, it cannot be said that there is any one single useful textbook in the area. This guide lists some materials which this reader (together with some colleagues in the field) has found useful.
At the top of the list is the comprehensive review by Bill Marshall which, although not in book form, is in a reasonably accessible journal. (Dr Marshall, despite his guru status, is an engaging Australian who fled the Western Australian Public Service for Canada but who still misses the gum trees!). He has the rare ability to combine research-based erudition with clinical commonsense and his review covers virtually all the important topics, including assessment and treatment techniques, outcome studies and theories of offending.
Those readers who wish to delve more deeply will find rich resources in the 1990 collection edited by Marshall and his colleagues and the relevant chapters of the 1993 text book written by Professor McConaghy from Sydney, who could be reasonably regarded as an unsung hero in the field. The 1990 collection, although now somewhat venerable, has useful papers covering most of the important North American research centres. Particularly recommended are chapters 2 and 3 which present many of the important recent findings regarding the development, incidence and typology of paraphilias, the various papers in part two, which cover topics such as feminist theories of sexual aggression, the influence of pornography, biological factors in sexual offending, theories using behavioural and cognitive–behavioural concepts and sociocultural theories, and the various subsequent chapters on treatment techniques. McConaghy's textbook provides a very thoughtful and reasoned critique of some of the “political correctness” implicit in current research studies (particularly those relating to the effects of child sexual abuse) as well as an Australian perspective on a range of topics including treatment techniques and the distressingly high prevalence of deviant urges and behaviours in “normal” men.
The major assessment and treatment tools for sex offenders are currently grounded very much in cognitive–behavioural therapies. This has unfortunately led to them acquiring a jargon of their own, presumably in an attempt to make them more scientifically respectable, when their true justification really comes from commonsense and folk-wisdom. The textbook by Salter, although, again, showing its years, is a largely successful attempt to demystify treatment, without turning the whole process into a recipe book of techniques. Salter also provides important insights by combining the treatment of both perpetrators and victims in the one volume.
The chapters in the recent handbook compiled by Towl and Crighton are also written in a clear and readable style and provide some information on treatment of sex offenders in general. Unfortunately, neither this book nor that by Salter devotes any attention to the biological treatments which are often the province of the psychiatrist consulting in this area, although some relevant references are provided in Marshall's 1996 review, discussed above.
In addition to clinical knowledge, readers in the area should know something about the wider legal and criminological issues presented by a group of offenders which now, in Victoria at least, make up something like half those being taken before the higher courts. The collection edited by James is the product of a timely conference organised by the Australian Institute of Criminology shortly after the New South Wales Royal Commission delivered its findings regarding child sexual assaults and other matters early last year. There are perspectives from law enforcement agencies, a judge, lawyers and policy analysts regarding perennially important issues such as the balancing of the rights of victims against those of offenders, and the utility of various penal and treatment interventions.
Finally, in treating perpetrators, one can only remain honest by understanding the experiences of their victims. The accounts of survivors of sexual aggression and childhood sexual abuse are, unfortunately, now so numerous that the overwhelmed clinician may well seek solace in the more “scientific” studies summarised in Salter or McConaghy, cited above. Personal accounts by victims, however, are an important dimension in our understanding of how offenders can do what they do. The collection edited by Mullinar and Hunt provides an Australian victims” perspective arranged usefully by theme; the section on victims” perceptions of their therapy following the abuse is particularly illuminating.