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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The goal of this article by Wasserman et al. was to report on the extent and characteristics of sex offenses committed in Vermont.
METHODOLOGY:
A quasi-experimental method was employed for this study. The Vermont Department of Health surveyed caseworkers at the Departments of Social and Rehabilitative Services and the Department of Corrections. Information was gathered on 161 persons, including all who were 19 or younger, identified as having committed sexual offenses in 1984 and known by caseworkers. This information included basic demographic information on victims and offenders, victim-offender relationships, seriousness, and methods of coercion. Conviction or adjudication was not required for inclusion. Data on representativeness were not available for report. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
92% of the sample was male. The median age of boys was 15 years; the median for girls was 13 years. Victims were aged 2-60 with a median of 7. The victims were younger in 91% of cases. Victims were 28% male. Male offenders victimized females over 77% of the time, and females victimized males 92% of the time. The study defined seriousness categories as penetration of any kind (most serious), oral-genital contact, fondling, and noncontact offenses. Penetration was most common with 60% of the cases involving penetration. Of these cases, 53% involved penile penetration. As age increased, the proportion of cases involving penetration increased. 91% of all known cases occurred between family, friends, or acquaintances. 20% of these were immediate family. 20% were extended family. 51% were friends and acquaintances, and 9% were strangers. The most frequent family cases were with brother or stepbrother as offender and stepsister or sister as victim. Cousins were also frequently represented. More penetration was seen in friends and acquaintance cases than either stranger or family. The method of coercion was known in 81% of the cases. 8% included weapons; 5% included a threat of weapon. 26% involved physical force, and 4% involved the threat of physical force. 57% involved verbal threat. 75% occurred in a home, most often that of the victim. 29% of these cases had been adjudicated or convicted in court. over 25% of these youth received no treatment at all. Less than 12% received specialized treatment for sex offenses. The authors stated that this study was consistent with victimization studies that find a disproportionate number of male offenders and a quarter of victimizations occurring to those under the age of 8. This study was also said to be consistent with findings that most offenders and victims know each other. This study was said to be inconsistent with other studies that report less penetration among abusive behaviors than the Vermont study.
Violence was concluded to be a serious health problem with far reaching consequences in terms of morbidity and quality of life. Sexual violence was said to be particularly problematic.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors said that productive research and prevention efforts might be developed around a concentration on the perpetrators of sexually abusive behavior. It was argued that it is necessary to use data sources with perpetrator information to develop prevention and intervention strategies. The authors suggested a multidisciplinary, intra-agency, coordinated effort for a comprehensive statewide strategy for preventing sexual assault. Early intervention with offenders, it was noted, may be effective in preventing child sexual abuse. Specialized treatment resources for the appropriate identification, assessment, and referral of juvenile sex offenders was also needed. The findings that offenders have higher child victimization rates was said to be a point of departure for blocking the cycle of repetitive victimization, but the authors noted that more studies need to be done to verify that abusers and nonabusers do, indeed, differ in this regard.
EVALUATION:
This study adds to the growing amount of information we have about the types of offenses juvenile sex offenders commit and the desperate need for solid treatment. This study is limited in its generalizability and validity, however. First, as the authors state, the sample is limited to juvenile sex offenders known to caseworkers. There is a great deal of undetected sex offending that may alter the distribution of offenses. Second, it is difficult to assess the internal validity of this study because of the sketchy methodology. It is not known how the data were coded or whether a consistent manner was employed in the data gathering. Third, this sample consists of youths from Vermont. Even if other factors lent themselves to generalizability, the best this sample could represent would be youths from Vermont. What is needed is this kind of study, more defined, with a national focus.
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Male Violence
Male Offender
Female Offender
Female Violence
Vermont
Juvenile Female
Juvenile Male
Juvenile Violence
Juvenile Offender
Sexual Assault Offender
Sexual Assault Incidence and Prevalence
Offense Characteristics
Language: en |