NCJ Number
164139
Journal
Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1996) Pages: 243-247
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This paper argues that the concept of harm reduction provides a more useful frame work for the management of sex offenders than relapse prevention (RP).
Abstract
The concept of a continuum that ranges from excess through moderation to abstinence is the hallmark of contemporary harm reduction. Abstinence is still viewed as the "anchor point of minimal harm," but any movement toward reduced harm is desirable. Relapse prevention has as its goal the development of self- management techniques that will prevent a sex offender from reoffending. Relapse prevention and harm reduction are closely related approaches, but with different goals. The relapse- prevention model has abstinence as its goal; whereas, harm reduction views abstinence as highly desirable but not always achievable. Harm reduction is a skill-building approach that acknowledges the certainty of lapses and the possibility of total relapse; however, following a lapse or a total relapse, the road to abstinence can still be re-entered and the RP process reinstituted. The strict relapse prevention approach holds a zero-tolerance position, but a harm-reduction approach uses relapse prevention strategies to reduce the number and severity of relapses. The harm-reduction strategy is more realistic than the relapse prevention strategy, given the nature of sexual offending. It further recognizes that reducing the number of sex offenses through harm-reduction techniques makes society safer than it would be without such treatment techniques. 19 references