Determination of an efficient technique for decreasing the chances of recidivism in child sexual assault offenders remains a blow in various states, and the United States of America is not an exception either. Different scholars point behavioral modification as one of the preferred agendas in taming the vice in question. Use of practical behavioral scrutiny namely, operant and respondent conditioning enable easy realization of the set goal and objectives. In this case reduction of recidivism is the major objective (Cohen, & Jeglic, 2007, p. 370).
Operant conditioning technique applies the dog and bell experiment tip, where an individual frequently made use of a bell whenever he was after feeding the dog. With time, the animal, dog, started associating the bell with food, thus expecting a reward on hearing the sound of the device (Christopher, Lutz-Zois, & Reinhardt, 2007, p. 876). However, it is significant to note that in the case of recidivism aspect, the United States of America uses the punishment side. Operant conditioning or training make people start fearing acting in a particular manner with a notion that heavy punishment awaits them in store for their actions, which in this case is negative.
Respondent conditioning on the other part refers to a situation where the stimulus is introduced on the specimen, the operator then asks particular sensitive questions in line with the issue under investigation, which in this case is recidivism in sexual assault offenders (Bonnar-Kidd, 2010). The questions are asked continuously and repeatedly to ensure achievement of accurate results. Aversion therapy is what the latter technique utilizes most.
According to the report by the Texas State auditor in 2007, shows that the sexual offenders convicted within Texas were 72 % less likely to commit any crime again in their lifetime (Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 380). In an effort to expand his statement to the public and other agencies, he reveals that there was nothing special within the Texas prison apart from the availability of a certain behavioral course termed as Sex Offender Treatment Program. Contrary to the expectation that since convicted individual who undertook this program were sexual offenders, so recidivism would be regarding sexual offenses, these individual’s probability of recommitting any crime reduced.
Chemical castration is the third techniques that prove to be useful in the reduction of recidivism rates among different individuals across the board. On the mention of the word chemical castration, some people tend to think along the line of physical castration where the tests are made non-functional. However, it is important to note that there is a big difference between these two things despite the fact that they share a last name (Christopher, Lutz-Zois, & Reinhardt, 2007, p. 882).
Physical castration is non-reversible in nature, at times inflicts a lot of pain during the process, while physical castration is reversible, and rarely introduces any pain on the specimen during the process. Reversibility in chemical castration only requires the stoppage of use of the chemical castration drugs (Christopher, Lutz-Zois, & Reinhardt, 2007, p. 876). It is important to note that not all the countries or nations have the ability and access to the chemical castration drugs. One can, therefore, easily deduce that this type or technique of reducing recidivism rate is only applicable in a few countries within the developed continents like North America and Europe.
According to a 1963 research on the recidivism rate of child sexual assault offenders, physical castration proves to be more effective in case the offenders are male as it results in an 82% reduction rate in the recidivism after an average duration of 20 years (Cohen, & Jeglic, 2007, p. 381). Chemical castration is only effective when the drugs are in place and proves to be more useful as opposed to its chemical counterpart, which only deter the offense from reoccurring when the offenders are under drugs and in most cases they are females.
Langeludeke, A German researcher with a specialization in law, reveals that among the sample of 1040 sex offenders utilized I n his research, only twenty percent would recommit a crime after 25 years when the physical castration technique is used (Sample, & Bray, 2006, p. 101). Many a person expects that use of physical castration can reduce the lifespan of men, but this research proves otherwise. It indicates that both un-castrated, as well as castrated men, have the same lifespan (Eke, Seto, & Williams, 2011, p. 469).
Repercussions for Registered Sexual Offenders
Just as people undergo various problems especially just because of their sexual alignments, so are the registered child sexual assault offenders (Agan, 2011, p. 236). Barriers come in different forms, and they include things like limited housing, inability to access education, community mistreatment, and inadequate job opportunities (Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 382). Limited housing emerges from the policy on residency restriction and the labeling of sexual offenders as monsters especially within the United States of America, which make the house owners to deny the sexual offenders chances to live in places where they desire (Hanson, Helmus, & Thornton, 2010, p. 199).
Education
Various learning institutions receive pressure from the government as well parents who have kids in them to admit a limited number of sexual offenders. However, in most cases, these schools do not accept any person whose name is on the registry as a sexual offender (Hanson, Helmus, & Thornton, 2010, p. 210). Even being next to any social amenity for a registered sexual offender whose name is with the registry databases is considered so even accessing the learning institutions is impossible to these individuals (Agan, 2011, p. 211).
Community Harassment
According to the Megan laws, a person who is arrested and convicted of sexual crimes must have his or her name within the criminal justice department registry databases, and this is then transferred to the internet together with the photographs of the offenders (Zgoba, Levenson, & McKee, 2008). When these things are on the internet, then every person can easily access them at will and start developing fear as well as negative attitude towards an individual, and they talk ill of them, thus embarrassing them in the community. The sexual offender ends up with no place to walk, leave alone to live (Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 401).
Inadequate Job Opportunities
Convicted sexual offenders with their names on the registry have an extra hard time in finding jobs because their right to freedom of association is no longer full the way it used to be before committing the sexual offense (Hanson, Helmus, & Thornton, 2010, p. 203). Some people might reject, thinking they can take to the private sector if they have resources. But in a real sense, it is still impossible because even in the private sector, human beings are still the customers but you are already denied the opportunity to interact freely with them (Levenson, D’Amora, ; Hern, 2007, p. 594).;Even finding individuals to employ is not easy just because;one’s name is within the criminal justice department, hence available to the entire public.
Evidenced from the predator next, one of the documentary within NBC News, individuals who have served or worked for numerous years always become jobless when they become sexual assault offenders, and this gets down on the criminal justice registry databases, and they become public (Agan, 2011, p. 224). What about the first time job hunters (Duwe, & Donnay, 2008, p. 417)?
Loss of lives
Sometimes it goes to the extreme, and some individuals just decide to kill others because they are sexual offenders convicted and with their names in the criminal justice department registry books (Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 396). The killings just crop through some people beheading, others burn homes without considering how many people live or reside under that roof, as was the case in Tennessee within Helenwood (Hanson, Helmus, & Thornton, 2010, p. 211).
Controversies
Normal acts and expectations indicate that individuals require quality or top-notch treatment irrespective of their backgrounds, political ideas, sexual beliefs, and passed offenses among other things. However, this is not the case in the United States of America as sexual offenders face several mistreatments and controversies (Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 401). Fear on the mention or just imagination of sexual offenders’ presence in public places can lead to a conclusion that citizens regard them as evil whose presence automatically disrupts the attention of everyone in addition to leading a section of others into hell. Scientific evidence indicates otherwise when it comes to sexual offenders.
Media plays an important in creating fear regarding interaction with individuals convicted because of child sexual offense. Persons should note that the term media does not only mean televisions, radios, and telephones (Cohen, & Jeglic, 2007, p. 374). Social media, the internet, plays a major role because it gives the public an ability to access the names of individuals facing criminal charges within the United States of America through the criminal justice defense registry databases.
Several human right organizations appoint accusing fingers at the media for misleading citizens of the United States of America and the world about sexual offenders (Sample, & Bray, 2006, p. 96). The argument here is that sexual offenders are also human beings just like others, and their rights must also be observed at all instances irrespective of their past actions and criminal charges.
Considering the works of various critics, the recidivism rate is not as high as what the media and the hardliners in sexual offenders put forth in their works. Available statistics reveal that only 5.3% is the highest figure of recidivism regarding the previously convicted sexual offenders, and this is the lowest crime with recidivism, with the other being homicide. It is of importance to state clear that this statistic are the ideas of, Tewksbury, & Lees, 2007, p. 387, and they only apply in the United States of America. However, to some extent, it can be in the application when the universe becomes the sample.
