ABSTRACT
Sexual offender treatment programmes serve an extremely important purpose, both
to those in treatment and society at large by providing effective assessment, treatment
and risk management services to reduce sexual victimisation and to promote
successful community reintegration of offenders after treatment. To achieve these
stated objectives, the interventions have to comply with evidence-informed forensic
and correctional practices. Andrews and Bonta’s (2010) principles of risk (i.e. match
service intensity to offender risk level), need (i.e. target criminogenic needs for
treatment) and responsivity (i.e. use of cognitive behavioural treatment approaches,
known as general responsivity, and skilfully adapting service delivery to unique client
characteristics such as motivation and learning style, known as specific responsivity)
have important implications for effective forensic service delivery to reduce
recidivism and hence, enhance client well-being (Andrews, Bonta, & Wormith,
2011). Applications of what have become known as Risk Need Responsivity (RNR)
principles have been demonstrated to reduce recidivism in various offender groups
(Andrews & Bonta, 2010), including sexual offenders (Hanson, Bourgon, Helmus, &
Hodgson, 2009). In a recent meta-analysis of sex offender treatment outcome studies,
Hanson et al. (2009) obtained evidence to show that adherence to a greater number
of RNR principles generated larger reductions in recidivism, with the largest
reductions observed in adherence to three principles, versus two, one or none.
