Should child sex abusers receive help before acting on impulses?

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

INTERVENTIONS and treatments are available that can help prevent potential sexual abusers of children acting on feelings that could lead them to harm young victims.

But is the public prepared to accept a preventive rather than a punitive approach to child sexual abuse and to provide the necessary funding?  A University of Huddersfield researcher is finding out.

Dawn Wibberley – who won awards during her criminology degree studies – has embarked on a doctoral project in which she gauges public perceptions of the acceptability of early interventions for people who have inappropriate sexual thoughts about children or who view images of child abuse.  She has launched an online survey that has already had hundreds of responses and she will carry out one-to-one interviews as she gathers data for her thesis.

“As a society, we tend only to respond to child sexual abuse once somebody has already committed an offence, with custodial sentences, sex offender treatment programmes and being placed on a sex offenders’ register.  It’s reactive rather than pro-active,” she said.

“But there are organisations that help people who recognise that they are having these thoughts, feelings and behaviours.  They provide support and can signpost them to suitable interventions where they can receive help and treatment,” continued Dawn.

A key organisation in the field is The Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a child protection charity that runs a campaign called Stop It Now.  There is a free self-help module that can be taken online, but potential abusers who need more intensive support and counselling can be referred to a programme that takes several weeks and has a substantial cost.

“We know a lot about what the public feels about somebody who has been convicted of an offence, but not what they think about providing interventions before an offence takes place,” said Dawn.  Her findings could help make a case for more public funding to be made available for counselling sessions.

“One man was convicted of viewing abusive images.  He wanted to get help and individual counselling.  But he was on benefits and it cost too much.”

Dawn Wibberley

Prevention or prosecution?

Dawn’s survey, seeking to establish attitudes, is online now.  It has already had some 260 responses, but she hopes for at least 100 more.  People who take the survey are asked about funding and whether it should prioritise the criminal justice system, victim charities, post-conviction treatment or early preventions and intervention.

A catalyst for Dawn’s research was voluntary work with the charity Circles of Support and Accountability, when she worked with people who had been convicted of sexual offences.

“One man was convicted of viewing abusive images.  He wanted to get help and individual counselling.  But he was on benefits and it cost too much.

“He said that the help he wanted would never be free because the public would hate it.  That got me thinking, because actually we don’t know what people think about taking a more public health approach to child sexual abuse.”

Research shows that it is when offenders – they are mainly men – are in their mid-to-late teens that they start to develop thoughts and feelings that could lead to abuse.

“Some people that have been convicted of child sexual abuse have said that they had these feelings many years previously, but restrained themselves until something stressful happens in their life, such as losing their job or a relationship breakdown,” said Dawn.

“We know they are worried about harming a child.  There is a lot of stigma attached and they are scared about losing their families.  But it’s not something you can just sit down with your best friend and talk about.”

Dawn is a mother of two teenage children and First Class honours in her University of Huddersfield BSc degree in criminology helped to earn a fee-waiver bursary for her PhD project, which is supervised by Professor Rachel Armitage, Dr Carla Reeves and Dr Bernard Gallagher. 

• The survey, An exploration of public perceptions towards early interventions for people who identify as having a sexual interest towards children, can be taken here