ABSTRACT
The subject of sexual offending can evoke strong emotional reactions, so it is particularly important to be aware of our own emotional responses when working in this field, and how they might impact on our professional judgements
It is important to make a clear distinction between paraphilias (a mental health diagnosis concerning abnormal sexual urges, thoughts and fantasies which are not necessarily enacted), sexual behaviours which are deemed illegal within the criminal justice system, and psychological processes deemed ‘perverse’ within a psychoanalytic framework, involving the defensive use of sexualisation.
Sexualisation often serves to reverse a situation in which an individual feels inadequate, helpless or depressed, so that she or he comes to feel excited, exhilarated and in control.
The roots of an adult’s sexuality lie in their childhood history, in experiences of intimacy, bodily care, abuse, trauma, and early exposure to sexuality.
For some people, being in an intimate relationship is not a ‘protective factor’ but stirs up feelings of being controlled, taken over or losing the self, and evokes aggression towards the person who evokes these feelings.
There is no consistent pathway to paedophilia, but there is often a history of sexual abuse or sexual over-stimulation in childhood, coupled with emotional neglect. If someone’s sexual interest is focused on children of a particular age, this was often a time of maximal developmental difficulty for them.
Rather than thinking of paedophilia as ‘love’ or ‘sexual desire’ for a child, it is more useful to think of it as seeking out a child into whom the person projects unwanted aspects of their own child self.
The risk of a non-contact offender progressing to commit a contact offence seems to be increased when there is a prior history of violent or anti-social acts, and the person has a history of acting on the bodies of others.
