Attitudes towards sex offenders and the influence of offence type: a comparison of staff working in a forensic setting and students

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate attitudes towards individuals who commit different types of sex offence, with subsidiary aims of exploring the influence of respondent sex and the influence of personal experience of sexual abuse. The sample comprised 139 participants (49 students and 90 forensic staff). All were provided with a vignette depicting a specific type of sex offence, and asked to complete a scale assessing attitudes towards sex offenders (Hogue, 1993). Forensic staff were more likely than students to view sex offenders in positive terms, viewing them as individuals who could be rehabilitated. Participants who reported being victims of sexual abuse, or that someone close to them had been abused, viewed sex offenders less negatively than non‐victims. Men demonstrated less positive attitudes towards child incest and child indecent assault offenders than to stranger rapists. Women held more positive views towards sex offenders than men, and this was consistent across offence type.

Citation

Ferguson, K. and Ireland, C. (2006), "Attitudes towards sex offenders and the influence of offence type: a comparison of staff working in a forensic setting and students", The British Journal of Forensic Practice, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 10-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636646200600009