To what extent do therapeutic treatment models for sexual offenders, particularly methods not traditionally used in a forensic setting (e.g. mindfulness, compassion, sensate focus, and distress tolerance), reduce risk and increase likelihood of desistance from further offending? Does the effectiveness of these models vary among different cohorts of sexual offender?
Background
The Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice aims to support rehabilitation, use custody only where there is no alternative and work to reduce reoffending and revictimisation. It also aims to establish an effective, modern person-centred and trauma-informed approach to justice in which everyone can have trust, including as victims, those accused of crimes and as individuals in civil disputes. As such, Justice Analytical Services have identified the theme of ‘Sentencing Prisons & Rehabilitation’ as a research priority. Robust research on offenders, their rehabilitation and sentencing patterns will inform work towards these aims.
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This question was published as part of the set of ARIs in this document:
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Related UKRI funded projects
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Understanding desistance from sexual offending
There is a long tradition of research in criminology which examines why convicted offenders desist from further offending. However, to date research into desistance from crime has focused almost exclusively on the genera...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: Queen's University Belfast
Why might this be relevant?
This project specifically focuses on understanding desistance from sexual offending, which directly addresses the question of reducing risk and increasing likelihood of desistance from further offending among sexual offenders.
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Realist Evaluation of Adapted Sex Offender Treatment Programs for Men with Intellectual Disability
Adapted Sex Offender Treatment Programs (ASOTPs) have, as their name implies, been modified from mainstream treatment to meet the learning needs of offenders with intellectual disability (ID). They are designed to increa...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Leeds
Why might this be relevant?
While this project evaluates adapted sex offender treatment programs, it does not directly address the question of reducing risk and increasing desistance from sexual offending. However, it provides insights into treatment effectiveness for a specific cohort.
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Psychological changes expected and experienced by victims who communicate with offenders
There is evidence that some victims of crime benefit from communication with offenders, at least some of the time, but little is known about how these benefits occur. Many have theorised about the mechanisms by which res...
Funded by: ESRC
Lead research organisation: University of Oxford
Why might this be relevant?
This project focuses on psychological changes experienced by victims who communicate with offenders, which is related to the broader context of rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. While not directly addressing the question, it provides relevant insights.