Sex offenders

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Sex Offenders Should Serve Longer Sentences

Sexual offenses (crimes such as rape , sexual harassment , child molestation , sodomy , etc ) have devastating effects on victims , families and communities . In the spring of 2008 , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) reported that as of 2007 , 60 .4 of female and 69 .2 male rape victims were first raped before age 18 . Around 25 .5 of females and 41 of males were raped before age 12 . An estimated 10 .6 of adult females and 2 .1

of adult males experienced forced sex at some time in their lives (CDC , 1

Young girls who have experienced sexual abuse are three times more at risk for psychiatric diss , as well as drug and alcohol abuse . They are also more prone to eating diss as adolescents . Furthermore sexual abuse may severely impair the development of a person 's attitudes regarding oneself , sexuality and interpersonal relationships . As a result , the long-term effects of sexual abuse may include fearfulness anxiety , hostility , depression , inappropriate sexual behavior , poor self-esteem and difficulty in establishing close relationships (PANdora 's Box , n . pag

Despite the aforementioned detrimental effects of sexual offenses , it is still being debated as to whether or not sexual offenders should serve longer sentences . Those who are against longer sentences for sexual offenders argue that a better alternative would be post-incarceration confinement in mental hospitals (CSMonitor , n . pag . They probably based their assertion on the popular belief that most perpetrators of sexual offenses suffered from several psychological diss . Mental illnesses , substance abuse and histories of sexual abuse can make an individual predisposed to commit a sexual offense (PsychologyInfo , n pag

But psychological treatment can only lessen the gravity of future sexual offenses . An undated study of the British Medical Journal on 231 male offenders guilty of pedophilia , exhibitionism and sexual assault revealed that re-arrests were higher among those who underwent group therapy . The publication concluded that the failure of psychological treatment increases the risk of recidivism (repetition of sexual offenses . Sexual offenders who successfully complete a treatment program merely ended up committing less serious offenses at lesser frequencies (Ananova , n . pag

Detractors of longer sentences for sexual offenders also reason out that majority of sexual offenders are intimately related to their victims . Hence , victims of sexual abuse keep silent about their ordeal because they are uncomfortable with sending family members or partners to prison . But the real reason behind a victim 's uneasiness is fear - sexual offenders often threaten their victims harm if ever they told someone about what was being done to them . Furthermore , victims of sexual abuse are often economically dependent on their abusers - this is true particularly in cases of sexual abuse committed by fathers stepfathers and partners (Tillman , n . pag

Lastly , some parties believe that longer sentences are potentially unfair ' for sexual offenders (Scottish Executive , n . pag . A sexual offender may receive a harsher sentence than another criminal who is guilty of a more serious offense simply because the victim...