Reviews : Tom Shannon and Christopher Morgan Black Swan, 1997; £6.99 pbk
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| Author | Sarah Bright |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059704400111 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
48
hints
that
his
behaviour
would
have
been
legal
if
the
homosexual
age
of
consent
were
equal.
Only
one
admits
specifically
targeting
a
profession
with
the
aim
of
sexually abusing.
Two
others’
accounts
make
you
wonder.
The
prevalent
theme
is
that
the
men
feel
comfortable
in
the
company
of
children.
(In
Finkelhor’s’
terms
’emotional
congruence’;
in
’feminist’
terms,
these
males
feel
powerless
in
society
so
are
attracted
to
situations
where
they
have
power
over
others.)
The
children
targeted,
as
in
other
studies’,
are
particularly
vulnerable.
Victims
’needed’
help
with
sporting
activities,
rescuing
from
bullies,
a
substitute
father
figure
or
attention
to
bad
behaviour.
The
offenders
are
then
incredulous
about
victim
harm
because
these
vulnerable
children
like
the
extra
attention!
Two
clear
lessons
emerge.
Many
of
these
men
had had
prior
informal
warnings
about
overfamiliar
and
inappropriate
behaviour.
Collusion
in
the
Church
is
described.
Manipulation
and
an
incremental
move
from
’saviour’
to
abuser
is
clear.
I
felt
angry.
Amorality
and
a
feeling
that
some
magnetic
force
was
drawing
men
to
these
children
made
me
want
to
shake
them.
As
professionals
we
know
this
is
not
appropriate.
We’ve
read
the
research
about
punitive
programmes
making
people
worse.
The
men
describe
the
benefits
and
tensions
of
the
Sex
Offender
Treatment
Programme.
Overt
confrontation
breeds
resistance.
Modelling
abusive
attitudes
is
not
helpful.
The
programme
has
made
a
genuine
impact
on
some
but
one
senses
how
fragile
these
changes
are.
But
there’s
always
one!
A
man
is
quoted
as
saying
the
group
will
help
him
’avoid
further
implication
...
wouldn’t
have
missed
the
experience
(prison)
for
the
world
...’
and
thought
it
had
given
his
wife ’...
an
opportunity
of
taking
more
responsibility
in
the
home.’
The
authors
point
to
the
future,
addressing
the
complexities
of
the
’power’
debate
and
challenge
us
to
why
we
seem
to
forget
socio-economic
and
cultural
issues
in
sex
offender
work
but
not
with
other
offending.
The
book
achieves
it’s
aim
and
research
about
how
typical
these
stories
and
experiences
are
will
be
valuable.
The
style
is
refreshingly
accessioie.
Roger
Kennington
Sex
Offender
Team,
Northumbria
1.
Finkelhor
D.
and
others
(eds)
A
Source
Book
on
Child
Sexual
Abuse.
Sage, 1986.
2.
Conte
J.R.,
Wolf
S.,
Smith
T.
’What
Sexual
Offenders
Tell
Us
About
Prevention
Strategies’,
Child
Abuse
and
Neglect
Vol
13,
pp
293-301,
1989.
Probation
Practice
Alison
Jones,
Brynna
Knoll,
John
Pitts
and
Andy
Taylor
Arena,
1996;
£14.95
pbk
This
paperback
is
aimed
at
probation
students
and
first
year
officers,
with
the
intention
of
disseminating
good
practice
and
also
highlighting
the
’insensitivity
and
sophistication’
such
practice
demands.
It
attempts
this
through
an
exploration
of
areas
considered
to
be
both
particularly
complex,
but
which
also
frequently
occur
in
the
average
probation
office.
Specifically,
it
deals
with
risk
and
dangerousness,
violence,
drug
and
alcohol
abuse,
sex
offenders,
mental
health,
domestic
violence
and
young
offenders.
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