NCJ Number
224413
Date Published
2008
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This introductory chapter for the eight chapters in the second part of the book summarizes the content of the chapters, which focus on “sex as violence.”
Abstract
The chapters address a number of areas, including rape, sex offenders, trafficked sex, and child abuse through the Internet. The three overarching themes of all the chapters are sex crime policy, offending behavior, and public protection and public communication systems. The chapters critique current policies, debates, and interventions associated with sex as violence. Some of the issues discussed are how to protect victims of sex-related violence; whether current policies and interventions effectively protect people from sex-related violence; whether the state has inadvertently supported sexual violence by implementing policies and interventions based on unproven theories; and ways to better understand the nature and extent of such violence. Research on sexual violence must include an analysis of the profiles of both offenders and victims as well as an analysis of the sociocultural context in which the attitudes and behaviors of sex offenders are shaped, along with the responses to violent sex offending. It is the task of researchers, treatment providers, and policymakers to probe all aspects of violent sex offending, so that sex offenders who may be motivated to desist from their offending may receive the acceptance and treatment they need. 1 note