From Victim to Offender: How Child Sexual Abuse Victims Become Offenders

by Freda Briggs

Book Overview

Tom was the only adult who gave me the attention and affection that I so badly needed. I loved his caresses and the times he comforted me. I loved talking to him because he was the only adult who... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1863737596
• ISBN13: 9781863737593
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Seriously Disturbing

This is not a book for those who want to justify their own views or religious position, or politicize this very troubling problem. Freda presents work from her research with 'real life' pedophiles and asks the hard questions about how they came to be and what should we as a society do about them? She brings to light things that most would have kept hidden in a dark place. Indeed much of the book is made up of the stories of the abused.... who have in turn become abusers. To those who just want to lock them up and throw away the key- she challenges that this 'denial' will allow use to continually overlook how this terrible social plague arises and doom us to continually repeating history. Freda argues that incarceration - with appropriate treatement is an appropriate way to mend these 'bent' people and help reduce the likelihood that their actions do not re-emerge if (and when) they are released. Interestingly the commonly held view of 'dirty old men' seems to be the flipside of reality - where family and friend and older youths are often those who abuse most often. What causes some of the abused to become abusers themselves? Freda's conclusion is that those who blame their abusers for the crime tend to turn out alright, while those that blame themselves (I asked for it, there must be something about me that attracted him) more likely become abusers in their own right. For those who abhor child abusers- it may even spark a small light of compassion for these 'broken specimens' who were once innocent children themselves - only to have this stolen and then grow into a monster withig themselves. Given that we can't always lock the away for 'the term of their natural lives' something evidence based should be done. A riveting but dark read, and disturbing to come face to face with such depravity, not a bed-time read. Painful realizing that it is unlikely that the implications of her research face an uphill battle to change the way society and the criminal justice system sees this very important issue.

Just the facts...

If you are looking for TRUE insight into the minds of sexual offenders, then this is the book for you. The book is a collection of stories from actual offenders in Australia. It is not for those with weak stomachs or hearts. It is for those who truly want to understand how the mind of an offender works. These guys were all in jail where they underwent a specialized treatment program...after the other inmates and staff were educated so the sex offenders could be housed with regular criminals. They are not novelists and nothing is sugar-coated. Some stories are apologies to victims, while others continue to minimize their offenses. Either way, the reader gets an unabridged version of the thoughts of sex offenders, without a lot of psychological, investigative, analytical commentary...just the dark truth.