Child Sexual Exploitation Materials Offenders

Abstract

Abstract. The downloading and possession of Child Sexual Exploitation Materials (CSEM; also referred to as child pornography and indecent images of children) is a commonly convicted type of Internet sexual offenses. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on CSEM offenders. We first provide a summary of the key motivations of CSEM offenders, characteristics of CSEM offenders compared to contact sexual offenders against children, and important facilitative factors. We then review the factors related to recidivism among CSEM offenders. Finally, we describe current developments in the risk assessment, police case prioritization, and treatment approaches for CSEM offenders. Generally, CSEM offenders hold a sexual interest in children, are low on antisocial tendencies, and pose a low risk to reoffend (including contact sexual offending). Key facilitative factors for CSEM offending include access to children, offense-supportive cognitions, and sexual arousal. Factors indicative of antisocial tendencies (e.g., criminal history) are associated with an increased risk of reoffending. Lastly, we address atypical sexual interest, socio-affective dysfunctions, and strategies for maintaining an offense-free lifestyle as key treatment targets for CSEM offenders. Lower treatment dosage, however, should be considered given CSEM-exclusive offenders’ lower risk level for contact sexual offenses. We hope that this review will inspire others to explore the current research gaps in future studies.

„Webcam child sexual abuse“

“…Eine darauf aufbauende Studie (Eke et al 2019) beschreibt etwas tiefere Rückfallraten von 11,6 % für erneute Sexualstraftaten und 8,4 % für den erneuten Konsum von Kinderpornografie. Diese Studie differenzierte zudem zwischen reinen Hands-off-Straftätern und "Mixed"-Straftätern, wobei erstere Gruppe ein deutlich geringes Risiko für erneute Sexualstraftaten (8,2 % vs. 25,4 %) und Konsum von Kinderpornographe (6,1 % vs. 17,9 %) aufwies als die "Mixed"-Straftäter (auch Babchishin et al 2018).…”

Motivational pathways underlying the onset and maintenance of viewing child pornography on the Internet

“…Participants said that their lack of interpersonal relationships led to feelings of social isolation, loneliness, and boredom, in some cases associated with large amounts of unoccupied leisure time. These factors may contribute to feelings of low self‐esteem and high emotional loneliness, which have been reported among people who view CP (Babchishin et al, ; Henshaw et al, ). Participants' negative emotions appeared to increase the amount of time they spent viewing Internet pornography, as well as the amount they relied upon it for emotional self‐regulation.…”

“…While a thorough review of the motivational theories proposed to date is outside the scope of this article, we briefly discuss some notable findings in this area (for an overview, see Babchishin et al, ; Henshaw et al, ). Based on interviews with 13 men convicted of CP offenses, Quayle and Taylor () proposed six motivational categories, which included achieving sexual arousal, pleasure from collecting, developing online social relationships with likeminded others, avoiding reality, therapeutic purposes, and Internet facilitated.…”

“…People with CP-only offenses generally show increased rates of sexual interest in children, self-esteem issues, emotional loneliness, issues with sexual self-regulation, sexual preoccupation, and the use of sex as a coping mechanism (Babchishin, Merdian, Bartels, & Perkins, 2018;Henshaw, Ogloff, & Clough, 2017). These individuals also engage in problematic coping strategies such as avoidance and distraction in response to negative emotions (Dervley et al, 2017), and have been found to have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress than the general population (Magaletta, Faust, Bickart, & McLearen, 2014).…”

“…While a thorough review of the motivational theories proposed to date is outside the scope of this article, we briefly discuss some notable findings in this area (for an overview, see Babchishin et al, 2018;Henshaw et al, 2017).…”