Evaluating community‐based treatment programmes for men who sexually abuse children

Applying the Risk Principle to Sex Offenders

“…H istorically, treating sexual offenders has been much more an art than a science. Sex offender treatment has targeted areas ranging from the relationship an offender had with his mother to deviant sexual fantasies (allam & Brown, 1998). Ineffective treatment, in conjunction with public opinion, has not only limited the opportunities sex offenders have for treatment but has also made sex offenders more susceptible to legislation that is driven by the "worse case" scenario (Lynch, 2002).…”