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American Family Physician Feb 2021Sexual violence is a major public health and human rights issue affecting more than 40% of women in the United States during their lifetimes. Although men and women...
Sexual violence is a major public health and human rights issue affecting more than 40% of women in the United States during their lifetimes. Although men and women experience sexual assault, women are at greatest risk. Populations uniquely impacted by sexual assault include adolescents; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people; and active-duty military service members. Health consequences of sexual assault include sexually transmitted infections, risk of unintended pregnancy, high rates of mental health conditions (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), and development of chronic medical conditions (e.g., chronic pelvic pain). Family physicians care for sexual assault survivors at the time of the assault and years after, and care should follow a survivor-centered and trauma-informed framework. Multiple organizations recommend screening all women for a history of sexual violence; however, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends only universal intimate partner violence screening in women of reproductive age. A validated tool, such as the Two-Question Screening Tool, can be implemented. Initial care should include treatment of physical injuries, prophylaxis for sexually transmitted infections, immunizations, and the sensitive management of psychological issues. Clinicians must comply with state and local requirements for the use of evidence-gathering kits. Many hospitals have developed collection protocols and employ certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners or Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners. Prevention of sexual violence requires a comprehensive approach to address individual, relational, community, and societal factors.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Curriculum; Disabled Persons; Education, Medical, Continuing; Female; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Rape; Sex Offenses; United States; Young Adult
PubMed: 33507052
DOI: No ID Found -
Current Opinion in Pediatrics Aug 2018Dating and sexual violence victimization are not uncommon in early adolescence and increase in prevalence throughout adolescence into young adulthood with profound... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Dating and sexual violence victimization are not uncommon in early adolescence and increase in prevalence throughout adolescence into young adulthood with profound health and social consequences. Greater attention to what works in prevention is needed to inform current policies and practices.
RECENT FINDINGS
Adolescent dating violence (ADV) and sexual violence victimization, including cyber dating abuse, are highly prevalent among adolescents. Studies have found sex category differences, with adolescent girls reporting more victimization than boys, particularly sexual violence. Sexual and gender minority youth also experience a higher prevalence of violence victimization than their heterosexual counterparts. Studies on risk factors include examinations of childhood adversities, exposure to sexually explicit material and substance use as well as the role of gender inequitable attitudes on violence perpetration. Recent prevention research includes examining the impact of bystander interventions and transforming gender norms.
SUMMARY
Recent ADV/ sexual violence research highlights both prevalence and modifiable risk and protective factors that may help reduce such violence. Practitioners caring for youth should consider ADV/ sexual violence when seeing patients (including those struggling with substance use and other behaviours that contribute to poor health) and not simply rely on screening tools to identify those suffering from ADV/ sexual violence.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Bullying; Crime Victims; Female; Health Policy; Humans; Intimate Partner Violence; Male; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Sex Offenses; United States
PubMed: 29750769
DOI: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000637 -
Family Medicine Mar 2018
Topics: Erotica; Humans; Public Health; Sex Offenses
PubMed: 29537474
DOI: 10.22454/FamMed.2018.365688 -
Soins; La Revue de Reference Infirmiere May 2018
Topics: Civil Rights; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Mandatory Reporting; Occupational Exposure; Sex Offenses; Sexual Harassment; Social Justice; Women's Rights
PubMed: 29773246
DOI: 10.1016/j.soin.2018.03.016 -
Current Psychiatry Reports Jul 2021We review and synthesize the literature on the effectiveness of offense-focused treatment for sexual offending. Specifically, we consider whether the extant literature... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
We review and synthesize the literature on the effectiveness of offense-focused treatment for sexual offending. Specifically, we consider whether the extant literature suggests treatment is effective in reducing sexual reoffending and features of effective interventions. We also consider how the design of program evaluations may influence treatment outcomes.
RECENT FINDINGS
Recent research suggests that offense-focused psychological treatment for sexual offending shows some level of effectiveness in reducing both sexual and general reoffending. Further, there appear to be key program, individual, and study design features associated with treatment effectiveness. Although recent findings paint an optimistic outlook for offense-focused psychological treatment for sexual offending, further high-quality differential studies are needed to fully understand the range of content, delivery, and individual factors associated with successful treatment outcomes so as to establish what works best for whom.
Topics: Criminals; Humans; Sex Offenses; Sexual Behavior
PubMed: 34196839
DOI: 10.1007/s11920-021-01259-3 -
Archives of Sexual Behavior Nov 2022Early or excessive sexualized behaviors and preoccupations with sexuality (SB) exhibited by juveniles who have sexually offended (JSO) are considered risk factors for...
Early or excessive sexualized behaviors and preoccupations with sexuality (SB) exhibited by juveniles who have sexually offended (JSO) are considered risk factors for sexual recidivism. However, research into SB among JSO is scarce. The present study retrospectively examined prevalence rates and patterns of SB among JSO prior to sexual offending and their relation to psychopathology and sexual recidivism. We systematically assessed information from psychiatric and psychological expert reports in case files of 230 JSO aged 12-18 years (M = 14.46, SD = 1.49) from a population sample of JSO with contact sexual offenses. A total of 93 (40.4%) JSO exhibited SB prior to the index sexual offense. Latent class analysis revealed three SB profiles: (1) "low/no SB" (n = 188), (2) "preoccupied SB" (preoccupation with sexuality, e.g., early pornography consumption, excessive masturbation; n = 29), and (3) "dysregulated SB" (exhibiting inappropriate sexualized behaviors toward others, e.g., sexualized speech, touching others inappropriately; n = 13). The preoccupied SB and the dysregulated SB groups showed higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders than the low/no SB. However, none of the JSO of the preoccupied SB or dysregulated SB groups reoffended sexually within 365 days after conviction for the sexual index offense (low/no SB: 12.8%). Overall, our findings do not support a general notion of the presence of SB as an indicator of high risk for persistent sexual offending among JSO. Instead, JSO with SB appear particularly burdened regarding a range of psychiatric disorders that should be treated accordingly.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Criminals; Juvenile Delinquency; Retrospective Studies; Sex Offenses; Sexual Behavior
PubMed: 36171486
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-022-02345-0 -
La Clinica Terapeutica 2018The present work presents data on research into adolescents who committed sex offenses, carried out in the Apulia Region of southern Italy and focused in particular on...
INTRODUCTION
The present work presents data on research into adolescents who committed sex offenses, carried out in the Apulia Region of southern Italy and focused in particular on the perpetrators' perception of the peculiar profile of the criminal act committed.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Three University sections of the School of Medicine, Bari University, took part in this research: Criminology and Forensic Psychopathology, Psychiatry and Juvenile Neuropsichiatry, working in collaboration with the Department for Juvenile Justice and the Community, and the Center for Juvenile Justice in Apulia. In total, 31 subjects were included in the study, all Juvenile Sex Offenders. A detailed questionnaire was employed to obtain all the relevant information of criminological concern.
DISCUSSION
Among most of the minors considered, a very poor awareness emerged of the peculiar type of offense committed, and of its consequences on the victims and the social context.
RESULTS
This finding highlights an evident contradiction and confusion between legislative provisions in the area of sex offenses and rape, and the perspectives of juveniles and adolescents.
CONSLUSIONS
There is an evident need for legislative norms to adopt registers that are more accessible to the complex juvenile world, that cannot be assimilated to the adult world.
Topics: Adolescent; Criminals; Female; Humans; Italy; Juvenile Delinquency; Male; Perception; Rape; Sex Offenses; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
PubMed: 30151548
DOI: 10.7417/T.2018.2072 -
PloS One 2022Sexual assault is a prevalent and persistent problem in the military, yet few studies have examined predictors of sexual offenses. The study aim was to determine...
PURPOSE
Sexual assault is a prevalent and persistent problem in the military, yet few studies have examined predictors of sexual offenses. The study aim was to determine pre-service factors associated with sexual offense conviction among U.S. Marines.
METHODS
This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from male active duty U.S. Marines (2003-2018). Pre-service factors were assessed using survey data from the Recruit Assessment Program, obtained prior to recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California. These survey data were linked with sexual offense conviction data obtained from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Consolidated Law Enforcement Operations Center.
RESULTS
Of the 146,307 participants, the majority were 18-19 years old (66.7%) and non-Hispanic, White (62.1%) with a high school education or less (76.8%); 107 received convictions for a sexual offense. In unadjusted analyses, race and ethnicity, parental education, type of primary caregiver, parental death, family economic status, childhood emotional trauma, childhood physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, and unprotected sex were associated with a sexual offense conviction. In the final multivariable model, race and ethnicity (American Indian/Alaskan Native, odds ratio [OR]: 5.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.86-14.98; Hispanic, OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.06-3.18; multiracial/other, OR: 3.28, 95% CI: 1.56-6.89), education (≤ high school, OR: 2.65; 95% CI: 1.21-5.80), parental death (OR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.16-4.45), unprotected sex (OR: 1.78; 95% CI: 1.03-3.05), and school suspension/expulsion (OR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.02-2.65) were significant predictors of a subsequent sexual offense conviction.
CONCLUSIONS
Results underscore the importance of understanding factors associated with sexual offense and highlight the large discrepancy between self-reported estimates of sexual assault and sexual offense convictions. Findings may inform the development of effective strategies to reduce sexual misconduct, such as technology-facilitated programs that provide private, targeted education; supportive assistance; and prevention materials to individuals who may have elevated sexual misconduct risk.
Topics: Humans; Male; Child; Adolescent; Young Adult; Adult; Retrospective Studies; Sex Offenses; Criminals; Military Personnel; Parental Death
PubMed: 36490284
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278640 -
Violence Against Women Sep 2018
Topics: Humans; Publishing; Sex Offenses; United States
PubMed: 30078369
DOI: 10.1177/1077801218787929 -
Sexual Abuse : a Journal of Research... Apr 2022The population of older individuals convicted of sexual offenses (OSOs) is rapidly increasing. However, we have little understanding of their characteristics (e.g.,...
The population of older individuals convicted of sexual offenses (OSOs) is rapidly increasing. However, we have little understanding of their characteristics (e.g., demographic, psychological, individual, offense, and risk) and needs. To identify any similarities or differences that are unique to older individuals convicted of sexual offending, it is important to compare such characteristics across the adult lifespan. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to specify and synthesize the current knowledge of characteristics across the adult lifespan of the population of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Five databases were searched and 10,680 results were screened, resulting in 100 studies included in the final review. The findings were grouped into four emergent themes: age of onset and prevalence; offender and offense characteristics; age and the risk of reoffending; and treatment. Implications of the findings from this review are discussed in relation to future research and clinical practice.
Topics: Adult; Criminals; Databases, Factual; Humans; Prevalence; Sex Offenses
PubMed: 34176346
DOI: 10.1177/10790632211024244