Juvenile Sex Offenders - Research Paper Example

Juvenile Sex Offenders Abstract Juvenile sex offenses are increasing day by day because of the increased influences of the media and internet on teenagers. Morality and ethical principles are diminishing everyday and the declined morality level in the society influences the teenagers also. Alcohol addiction and drug addiction are another reason for the increased level of juvenile sex offenses in the current world. Teenagers are considering sex as part of their life and they see nothing wrong with the sexual offenses. Introduction “There are somewhere between 250,000 and 300,000 cases of child sexual abuse each year in the U.S. The estimated number of sex abuse survivors in the U.S. is over 60 million” (Understanding Juvenile Sex Offenders). “Juveniles account for about one-quarter of the sex offenses in the U.S.” (JONES, p.1)Our knowledge about juvenile sex crime is limited since most of the juveniles who suffered sexual abuse will hide it from the public view because of shame. Compared to adults, juvenile offenders are more dangerous since in most cases, their abusive behavior will continue throughout their life span. Accurate assessment of the juvenile sex related issues is not possible because of the increased number of unreported statistics. “About half of all adult sex offenders are thought to have initiated their criminal careers during adolescence. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), juveniles were arrested for approximately 12.4% of all forcible rapes committed in 2001. Older statistics suggest that juveniles were responsible for approximately one-half of all child molestation cases committed in the United States in the late 1990s” (Saleh et al, p.1) Juveniles are more volatile to the evil activities in the society because of their age. Puberty and adolescent periods are seen as the most dangerous period in one’s life since these periods can make or break a person. Sex is not seen as a sin in the current world and most of the media are filled with sex related programs and contents which provoke the teenagers. It is a common misconception that female teenagers are less responsible for the sex offenses and most of them are victims of sex offenses. But in reality it is not true. Females under the age of 18 account only for 1% of forcible rapes committed by juveniles whereas 7% of them arrested for sexual offenses. (Adolescent Sex Offenders: Common Misconceptions vs. Current Evidence) Most of the people believe that juvenile sex offenses are the result of increased influence of sex related television programs and pornographic materials available on internet. This paper critically explores the authenticity of the above argument. Influence of internet and television programs on juvenile sex offenses The major reason for juvenile sex offenses is the influence of media and internet upon children. Most of the television programs and internet contents include sex related items. It is easy for the juveniles to watch sex movies and sexual activities using internet sites like youtube. In some countries these sex related sites do not have any censoring or control which encourages the children to watch these types of sexual activities “There is increasing evidence that people use the Internet to avoid negative emotional states, such as boredom, anxiety, or depression. This may be of increasing relevance for sex offenders. While the primary function of accessing the Internet for sex offenders is to obtain material that aids sexual arousal, the Internet functions to help people address some of the more immediate feelings of distress or dissatisfaction in their lives” (Quayle et al) Internet and television like mediums are used by teenagers for relaxing purposes. Serious things may not be much interesting to them because of the peculiarity of their age. After a busy work outs in the classrooms most of the children uses internet for watching something interesting to them. Sex related content is the most attractive thing for the teenagers for enjoyment and relaxation and internet opens the wide doors of sex related contents for them. “The Internet and computers have come to play a growing role in sex crimes that are committed against children and youth. Two-thirds (67%) of offenders who committed any of the types of Internet sex crimes against minors possessed child pornography. 83% of these possessors had images of children between the ages of 6 and 12. 80% had images explicitly showing sexual penetration of minors” (Wolak et al) Juveniles are immature during their adolescent periods and it is difficult for them to avoid the obscene materials from internet or televisions because of their physiological and psychological thirst for sex related content. Segregation of good and evils is difficult at the adolescent period because of the growth of sexual hormones at these ages. Pleasure seeking is common characteristics at these ages and pros and cons may not be analysed properly during this period. Seeking pleasure from unknown sources is a common characteristic at this period. Juveniles hate any sort of barriers in their life and restrictions always increase their thirst for breaking the social laws. Internet cafes and other private places are allowing juveniles to watch pornographic contents privately even if the parents restrict the internet use at home. Juveniles usually share their knowledge they acquired from internet with their friends including the females and in most of the cases, they will try to test such knowledge in their real life as well which will result in unwanted and unintentional pregnancies. Moreover, the physical and psychological pleasure derived from a sexual intercourse will forces the teenagers to engage in more sex related activities which will gradually lead towards sex addiction and sex related violence. Televisions programs are another reason for juvenile sex offenses. It is not necessary that programs which contain obscenity alone provoke sexual energy in juveniles. Even some other programs which look normal can also direct the way of thinking of the juveniles towards sex offenses. For example, a family serial which shows close relationship between a husband and wife, even without showing any vulgar materials, can create sexual energy among juveniles. It is difficult for them to follow the essence of the story or to take it in a positive manner because of their adolescent age characteristics. So far we have discussed the influence of internet and television programs upon the juveniles which lead them to sex offenses. But internet and television programs alone are not the culprits. Other factors such as drug and alcohol addiction, immature dating habits, childhood experiences, lack of parental care and affection etc can also cause juvenile sex offenses. Drug addiction and alcohol addiction are another reason for sex offenses by juveniles. “Recent studies show that teenage girls who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely to have sex” (Adolescent Girls’ Drug Use Impairs Judgement Over Life Decisions) It is impossible for the juveniles to control their emotions and feelings under the influence of drug or alcohol. The distorted thinking under the influence of these things will lead them to seek more pleasure in some ways. Some studies have showed that drug and alcohol addiction increases the sexual energy. Immature dating habits are another reason for juvenile sex offenses. Dating is a socially accepted thing in the western culture even though the Asian countries are far behind in this category. Dating is seen as a healthy interaction between the male and female in order to formulate sound ideas about sex and gender related characteristics which are essential for future family life. But teenagers use dating practices to make a close relationship with the opposite sex which will most probably result in a sexual intercourse. The physical and psychological pleasure derived from a sexual intercourse will forces the teenagers to engage in more sex related activities which will gradually lead towards sex addiction and sex related violence. Early theories about children who sexually abuse others proposed that these individuals move through a predictable progression. In this cycle, an event causes a negative emotional response in the youth. The youth attempts to gain control of this response but fails. He then feels anger and rage, which in turn lead to thoughts of retaliation and fantasies of overpowering another, which lead to an assault (Understanding Juvenile Sex Offenders) Another reason for juvenile sex offenses is the childhood experiences. Some children might have been sexually exploited by others during their childhood which will generate desperations and frustrations in the minds of such children. “Studies indicate that between 40% and 80% of sexually abusive youth have themselves been sexually abused, and that 20% to 50% have been physically abused” (Understanding Juvenile Sex Offenders) Lack of parental care and affection extended to the children another reason for their problematic behaviors. Social norms and family concepts are changing every day. The strength of family and social relationships are declining which indirectly increases the problematic behaviors. Most of the parents are working at present which prevent them from giving enough care and affection to their children which will result in attention deficit syndromes. Solutions for juvenile sex offenses The war against juvenile sex related crimes must start from the home itself. Parents must spend enough time in making their children aware of the bad effects of sex related offenses. They should keep a close look at the children whenever they are going out and spending time in front of the computer. They must ensure that their children are behaving properly in the society and their focus is more on their studies rather than anything else. The curriculum must include topics related to sex education and the teachers must play their role in shaping a future generation with a healthy attitude towards sex related issues. Schools must provide enough information about sex and its importance in human life in sustaining the social and family life. Problematic students with respect to sexual offenses must be given enough counseling in order to get rid of such bad habits. Society and the government also should play their part in shaping the future generation. Governments must impose some kind of restrictions on the contents of internet and television programs. Censoring must be implemented strictly to prevent the spreading of sex related contents through internet and television. Social habits like dating and underage drinking must be controlled and such things should be labeled illegal. “A difficulty for treating clinicians is that sex offending, in itself, is not a mental disorder” (Saleh et al, p.1) Sex offense is not a disease like mental disorder or alcohol addiction. Alcohol or drug addiction can be treated using medicines; but sex addiction doesn’t have any medicines. It can be treated using psychological means alone. Best way of preventing juvenile sex offense is to stop juveniles before they offend. “It is morally wrong,” said Timothy Kahn, the Seattle therapist, “to do nothing to educate kids about the laws and then have them have to register as sex offenders and they haven’t even hit puberty.” (JONES p.9) Kids should have given the awareness about the custom and social norms especially during their adolescent stage. Religion can play an important role in preventing juvenile sex offenses. All the religions consider underage sex activities as sin and hence the spreading of religious beliefs can counter the sex offense problems by the juveniles up to certain extent. Treatments for juvenile sex offenses Multisystemic therapy is one of the prominent treatments for sexual abuse. It focuses on minimising antisocial behaviour by helping caregivers more effectively supervision on their children. Multisystemic therapy typically focuses on improving parent-child bonds and encouraging teenagers’ involvement in class work and after-school activities, as well as healthy friendships (JONES p.9) This therapy incorporate the services of social workers, caregivers, teachers and the parents in order to streamline the life of juveniles which already derailed due to the increased influence of sexual energies. Cognitive therapy is another way of tackling juvenile offenders. It is based on a cognitive behavioural and relapse prevention therapy model. The key is for offenders to take responsibility for their abusive actions and reject the "thinking errors" they used to justify their abuse of another child (Baker) Cognitive therapy tries to treat the malfunctions occurred in the minds due to the increased influence of sexual energy. A complete restructuring of the mind is essential for a juvenile to get rid of his deviant behaviour. Conclusions Juvenile sex offense is increasing gradually because of the high influence of internet and television like media on juveniles. But we cannot conclude that internet and televisions programs alone are the villains. Reasons such as lack of parental control, drug and alcohol addiction, immature dating habits, childhood experiences, etc can also cause juvenile sex offenses. The lack of care and affection from the family leads the children towards unexpected and unwanted behaviours like sexual offenses. Family, society and the government have important roles in preventing juveniles from engage in sexual offenses. Children who were sexually offended will most probably become serious sexual offenders when they grow up. Multisystemic therapy and cognitive therapy are some of the psychological treatment options available for juvenile sex offenders. References 1. Adolescent Sex Offenders: Common Misconceptions vs. Current Evidence, Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.ncsby.org/pages/publications/ASO%20Common%20Misconception%20vs%20Current%20Evidence.pdf 2. Adolescent Girls’ Drug Use Impairs Judgement Over Life Decisions, 2009, Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://addictionrecoverybasics.com/ 3. Baker Linda, 2005, For Juvenile Sex Offenders, Intensive Program Offers Chance to Change Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.connectforkids.org/node/3318 4. JONES MAGGIE , 2007, How Can You Distinguish a Budding Pedophile From a Kid With Real Boundary Problems? Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22juvenile-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 5. Quayle Ethel, Vaughan Mary and Taylor Max, 2005, Sex offenders, Internet child abuse images and emotional avoidance: The importance of values Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VH7-4GV9896-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=981200945&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=1acd004e1af898d1b808ff429afcf7e6 6. Saleh, Fabian M, Vincent, Gina M, 2004, JUVENILES WHO COMMIT SEX CRIMES, Retrieved on 15 august 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3882/is_200401/ai_n9383794/ 7. Understanding Juvenile Sex Offenders, 2002, Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.practicenotes.org/vol7_no2/understand_jso.htm 8. Wolak Janis, Mitchell Kimberly, and Finkelhor David, 2003, Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors:The Response of Law Enforcement Retrieved on 15 August 2009 from http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV70.pdf Read More