Home      Login

Abstract: 

Our regular review of the research literature this issue addresses “How Not to Become a Sex Offender: From ‘Offender Therapy’ to ‘Offender Prevention Therapy’” by Kris Vanhoeck, Kim Gykiere, and Wouter Wanzeele, a study dealing with “wrong” or “deviant” fantasies and whether offering aid before action occurs may actually be the key to reducing cases of child sexual abuse. In “Let the Burden Fit the Crime: Extending Proportionality Review to Sex Offenders,” Erin Miller suggests closer review of sex offender restrictions would not only address constitutional proportionality concerns, but may also more effectively focus sanctions on offenders who actually pose a greater threat of reoffending. Laura Widman and Michael Olson look to creating a tool that could assess “automatic attitudes about rape and does not rely on self-reports” and “examine the association between automatic rape attitudes and sexual assault perpetration” in a new study, “On the Relationship Between Automatic Attitudes and Self-Reported Sexual Assault in Men.” And finally, Ralph and Lois Gerstein assess the federal response to rape on college campuses in “White House Issues Task Force Report Dealing With Sexual Assault on Campus.”

Keywords: preventative therapy; anonymity; increasing self-control and willpower; BMW of North America, Inc., v. Gore; punitive to compensatory ratios; limitations of self-reporting methods

Affiliations:  1: Contributing Editor.