Managing Men who Sexually Abuse by D. Briggs and R. Kennington

London : Jessica Kingsley ( 2006 ) 231pp . £18.99pb ISBN 978-1-85302807-6 Managing Men who Sexually Abuse by David Briggs and Roger Kennington is a text aimed at those working with men who have sexually abused. The book builds upon a previous publication ‘Assessing Men who Sexually Abuse’ (Briggs et al. 1998) which focused upon the evaluation of abusers. The text was probably designed for those with managerial responsibility for staff working on abuser treatment programmes, or working directly with sex offenders in some capacity. However, the book has wider application and is of direct relevance to academics and researchers with an interest in this area. The book is divided into two sections, the first (Chapters 1–4) sets out the context of abuser treatment, providing an overview of the legislation; sentencing; staffing issues and working with diversity. The second section (Chapters 5–14) focuses upon abuser treatment and the management of core issues such as victim empathy and denial; this part also includes a chapter exploring ‘online sexual abuse’ (pp. 197–213). Introductory comments are provided in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes the scale and nature of abuse and provides a brief introduction to key implications of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for offence categorisation and legal definitions of sexual abuse. The authors rightly suggest that as the legislation is recently enacted (May 2004), it is too early to comment upon its impact. A flavour of key issues is given in the clarification of consent to sexual relations and the introduction of further offence categories involving the sexual abuse of children. A brief introduction to the Human Rights Act 1998 is also included, flagging up issues regarding proportionality in the sentencing and treatment of sex offenders. This section provides only a brief introduction to the legislation, but sentences introduced in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 are considered in some detail later in the chapter. The nature of intervention, risk assessment, the management of sex offenders under multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) in the community, and the introduction of new measures such as polygraph testing, are also covered in this chapter. The chapter provides a useful, descriptive overview of recent trends and initiatives in the context of sex offender work. Chapter 3 makes an important contribution in recognising the difficulty faced by practitioners in working with abusers. Advice is provided to managers regarding the psychological and emotional demands of working with sex offenders, an area often neglected in texts addressing this area. Strategies for ‘healthy and positive outcomes’ (p. 49) are suggested, including the appropriate selection, training and supervision of staff (pp. 49–52). Chapter 4 raises another key issue that is also frequently overlooked, that of working with diversity in sex offender groups. Anti-oppressive practice is discussed (p. 62) in the context of Hackett's (2000)‘fulcrum’ model, which advises against the employment of an ‘over liberal’ or ‘pathological’ approach in work with sex offenders from minority groups (pp. 63–4). The authors also discuss the work of Cross et al. (1989), who advocate ‘culturally competent’ practice (p. 65). Organisations, it is suggested, should examine their practice and policy with regard to the values, biases and attitudes arising from historical and cultural influences. Chapter 5 asks ‘What works with whom?’ (p. 75) and provides an overview of treatment approaches and research evidence (from evaluation studies) regarding effectiveness with different types of sex offender. A comprehensive review of the evaluation literature is provided, and the authors rightly raise concerns regarding methodological issues which impinge upon the validity of such studies. They conclude on a positive note, suggesting that treatment can impact upon recidivism with certain types of sex offender. Chapters 6–11 are written with practitioners in mind and focus upon relevant research, practice examples and suggestions for treatment techniques across a range of issues that are central in cognitive behavioural programmes for sex offenders.1 1 Including programmes such as the Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP) run by the prison service in the UK and the National Probation Service in England and Wales, and the recently introduced probation programme – Internet Sex Offender Treatment Programme (i-SOTP). These chapters include advice on the management of: motivation to change (ch. 6); cognitive distortions (ch. 7); deviant sexual interest (ch. 8); victim empathy (ch. 9); social functioning (ch. 10) and relapse prevention (ch. 11). Evaluation exercises for use with abusers are included at the end of some of the chapters. Chapter 12 addresses the importance of including non-abusing partners in treatment practice, discussing a practice-based example of a project that seeks to engage with partners (Thames Valley Project Partners Programme, pp. 192–3). In Chapter 13 a brief overview of current research and practice into online child abuse is offered, based largely upon the work undertaken by Taylor and Quayle (2001, p. 199) and Taylor, Holland and Quayle (2003, pp. 208–9), and Chapter 14 contains a listing of resources for practitioners. Although the authors stress that the book is not intended to form a guide to practice with sex offenders, many treatment suggestions and exercises are included throughout, and this would be of use to those working with abusers. It is difficult to criticise this text as the authors achieve what they set out to do. The only slight disappointment is that Part One is rather uncritical in its description of the context of work with abusers and recent initiatives. However, the book does provide an excellent overview of both treatment context and practice, drawing upon research in the area and the authors' considerable experience with men who sexually abuse, and as such it should prove an invaluable resource for practitioners, their managers and other interested professionals

Context (archaeology · Criminology · Denial · Harassment · Harm · Legislation · Poison control · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sexual abuse · Staffing · Suicide prevention · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology