Offending Identities

This book aims to explore sex offenders' perspectives of the way they are treated and managed. Whilst a great deal has been written about sex offenders and their treatment within the criminal justice system, few studies have approached the issues through an understanding of offenders' own views and perspectives on their offending behaviour and others' responses to it. This book aims to redress this imbalance. The book is based on in-depth interviews with 32 convicted male sex offenders attending three different sex offender treatment programmes (the prison based Sex Offender Treatment Programme, Behaviour Assessment Programme and the community-led Sex Offender Groupwork Programme). Through gaining an understanding of offenders perceptions of initiatives designed to both treat and control their risk of future offending, Offending Identities at the same time helps us to evaluate the effectiveness of such schemes.

Introduction Part 1: Setting the Scene 1. Managing the 'sex offender' 2. Treating the 'sex offender' Part 2: The social construction of the sex offender -impact on identity 3. Responding to stigma 4. The negotiation of identities Part 3: The social construction of the sex offender -impact on treatment 5. Motivation to change and treatment attendance 6. Honesty and conformity in a group setting 7. Denial, identity and 'what works' Part 4: The social construction of the sex offender -impact on risk 8. Managing future risk 9. Conclusions

Kirsty Hudson is a Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. Her research interests include sexual offending and sex offenders, violence against women, and resettlement policy and practice.