Sexual offending results in drastic negative consequences for victims and their families. The nature of this offending behavior results in very strong public reactions and opinions about this subgroup of offenders. It is important to consider public perceptions or attitudes, particularly in the context of community reintegration of sexual offenders. Attitudes are an expression of favor or disfavor toward a particular entity and formed as a result of both direct and indirect experiences. Public attitudes inform and impact policy development, reintegration approaches, and community-based support for sex offenders. It is essential to understand public attitudes toward sex offenders because attitudes are linked to behavior, and as a result, the public’s responses to this group in the community may limit an offender’s ability to successfully reintegrate and refrain from reoffending. This article addresses public perceptions regarding sex offenders, specifically examining beliefs, feelings, impressions, attitudes, stereotypes, and views about adult male sex offenders, who make up the majority of convicted sex offenders.
Media Influence
Many members of the public do not directly interact with sex offenders, and in the absence of direct contact, public attitudes are influenced by depictions of sex offenders in the media. Researchers in the United States, United Kingdom, and New Zealand have found that the majority (between 74% and 90%) of the general public report that they obtain information related to sex offenders from media outlets, and only a minority access official crime statistics to learn about this group. Beyond the lay public, even U.S. legislators involved in creating sex offender policy have indicated that they receive a portion of the information that informs their legislative decisions from news accounts. In light of this reliance upon the media for information about sex offenders, it is worth considering the nature and quality of this information.
Media focus is primarily on high-profile, heinous violent sexual offenses that are repeatedly and extensively covered. These events are emotionally charged and tend to elicit panic and fear. Compared to other violent crimes discussed on TV news, sexual crimes are also more likely to be presented in a fear context. Persistent focus on these horrific events, which in fact occur relatively infrequently, contributes to the public’s panic and indignation toward sex offenders.
The media also contributes an inaccurate representation of sexual offenders and perpetuates erroneous information about them. In one U.S. study completed in 2012, researchers found that sex offender myths were presented in about one third of randomly selected U.S. newspaper articles. Myths included that sex offenders have high recidivism rates, are a homogenous group, and do not respond to treatment. Myths were also present even while discussing the effectiveness of particular sex offender policies.
Media portrayals of sex offenders are also perceived as negatively impacting a sex offender’s ability to successfully reintegrate into the community. One 2012 Canadian study found that media portrayals were perceived as detrimental to an offender’s ability to find employment and stable housing and to make positive relationships, all of which are factors related to recidivism.
With this in mind, it is reasonable to assume that media portrayals have influenced public attitudes toward sex offenders and have perpetuated stereotypes and erroneous beliefs the public holds.
Public Feelings and Perceptions
Sex offenders are highly stigmatized, and public feelings toward this group are more negative than toward other types of offenders. Generally, the public detests all offenders of sexual crimes, and in particular, more negative feelings are reported toward contact child sex offenders. The public also reports a high amount of fear of convicted sex offenders, fear that varies by type of sexual crime. For example, one U.S.-based study found that pedophiles and incest offenders were the most feared, while the offenders convicted of statutory rape (i.e., sexual intercourse with someone below legal consent age) were the least feared.
Generally, results from North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand indicate that the public collectively views sex offenders as being at high risk to reoffend, often overestimating recidivism rates by 3–5 times. The public also believes sex offenders are generally resistant to treatment and therefore cannot be rehabilitated. Other commonly endorsed myths found across several studies were the general myth of homogeneity of this group (i.e., all sex offenders are more similar than different, and there is little variation among this offending group); that the majority of sex offenders were abused as children; that half of sex offenders are seriously mentally ill; and that sex offenders tend to use aggression and force when committing a sexual offense. Finally, researchers have found that the public generally tends to overestimate the number of offenders who are strangers to their victims, or fear stranger danger. Interestingly, one U.S. study conducted in 2009 found that respondents who reported knowledge of a local neighborhood sex offender (obtained through public sex offender registries) were more apt to endorse the stranger danger belief.
Attitudes About Sex Offender Policy
Beyond these general beliefs about sex offenders, public attitudes related to different sex offender policies have also been researched. Generally speaking, research conducted in the United States suggests that the public has high levels of support for management policies that provide added restrictions, monitoring, and sentencing/incarceration for sex offenders. These policies include community notification, GPS/electronic monitoring, and residence restrictions. The public also believes that these policies are effective in reducing recidivism, despite evidence to the contrary. Notably, several studies have shown that the public would support these policies even without evidence they reduce offending behavior. Further, many citizens in one 2011 U.S. study indicated they were aware of their state’s sex offender registry; however, the majority (60%) reported they had never accessed it because they had no interest in the information. The public also has differential levels of policy support based on offender types; for example, higher rates of support for offender registration were found for offenses involving child victims, in contrast with offenses involving spousal rape.
Although the term sex offender is intended as a neutral descriptor, the term itself is laden with negative connotations and stereotypical beliefs and has been found to impact one’s level of support for particular policies. Researchers in 2015 investigated the impact of the label sex offender and found that when this label was used, rather than more neutral phrasing, responders were more certain in their support for various restrictive management policies (i.e., the label increased attitude certainty).
Importantly, the public’s perceptions of sex offenders and sex offender management are complex and not uniform. For example, one U.K. study from 2008 found that the public identified treatment and rehabilitation as being prime objectives of incarceration, alongside punishment and public safety. The public was also in support of sex offenders receiving additional support on release and indicated a tolerance, to a certain extent, of offender resettlement in the community.
Demographic Differences
The relationship between attitudes toward sex offenders and particular demographic variables has been investigated, with mixed findings. Variables typically studied include age, gender, educational level, political orientation, parental status, marital status, and level of contact with sex offenders.
Some studies have found differences related to certain variables such as gender and education, while others have not. For example, several studies have found significant differences among genders. Females generally report more punitive and negative attitudes and estimate higher rates of recidivism for sex offenders compared to males; however, these are not universal findings. In several studies, higher educational levels have also been associated with more rehabilitative/positive attitudes toward sex offenders. More rehabilitative attitudes have also been linked with younger age, more liberal political orientation, and having no children, although these patterns are not consistently observed. A few North American studies have found that ethnicity or minority status was associated with more negative attitudes toward sex offenders and less belief in rehabilitation. Findings related to marital status have been inconsistent.
In general, increased contact with offenders is associated with less negative attitudes, although variation exists depending on the nature of the relationship or interaction. Persons with more contact with sex offenders in a treatment setting, or who have specialized education, have more positive attitudes toward sex offenders when compared to students and general community members. There is less certainty when it comes to the impact of victimization on attitudes. Several studies that surveyed persons with personal experience or who are close to a victim of sexual violence found that this factor had no influence on general attitudes toward sexual offenders and the endorsement of myths toward this offending group. In contrast, other studies have found that former victims or persons who are close to a victim or perpetrator of sexual violence had less negative attitudes toward this group and endorsed fewer misperceptions about them. The relationship between demographic variables and attitudes is complex and requires further study.
Modifying Attitudes
Some evidence suggests that attitudes toward sex offenders can change as a result of training and/or education; however, the findings are not conclusive, and more research is required in this area. Several studies conducted in the mid-1990s and early 2000s in the United States and United Kingdom suggested that shortly following training regarding sex offenders, the public and professionals who work with this population had significantly more positive attitudes. In 2012 and 2014, American and New Zealand researchers found that following a brief psychoeducational intervention via a discussion group, attitudes toward treatment of sex offenders in a student sample improved significantly. When students were presented with informative media portrayals of sex offenders (vs. typical media portrayals as discussed earlier), there was a significant improvement in their beliefs about sex offenders. For example, after reading an informative media story about sex offenders, student participants were less likely to endorse particular myths about sex offenders and less likely to overestimate their rates of recidivism.
Other researchers have been unsuccessful in altering attitudes. A 2010 review of the limited research on attitude change toward sex offenders suggested that brief educational programs might be ineffective at changing the attitudes of professionals working with sex offenders, including those of prison employees and police officers. Although there is some evidence for short-term change in attitudes, it is unclear if these changes will have long-term impact.
Generally, researchers have observed that feelings (i.e., the affective component of attitudes) are more ingrained and thus less amenable to change. Providing educational information can be influential in changing attitudes toward sex offenders, and an emphasis on the cognitive aspect, including stereotypical thoughts about this group (e.g., they are at very high risk to reoffend, they cannot be treated), is an important target to focus on.
“Not In My Backyard” Phenomenon
A final noteworthy factor when considering attitudes toward sex offenders and sex offender management policies is the “not in my backyard” phenomenon. This can refer to an aversion to directly interacting with sex offenders; it may also refer to the idea that while many may endorse positive attitudes toward sex offenders and rehabilitation, these attitudes may not translate into behavior. For example, although someone may recognize a need for and support sex offender rehabilitation and reentry broadly speaking, when asked specifically, this individual would not support a community-based treatment facility being built in his or her own neighborhood. This suggests there is a divide between attitudes on a proximal/personal level and policy level, which has implications for successful offender reintegration.
The limited but growing research related to perceptions of sex offenders and the resulting wide-ranging practical implications have provided a great deal of information; nevertheless, more research is required.
References:
- Brown, S., Deakin, J., & Spencer, J. (2008). What people think about the management of sex offenders in the community. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 259–274.
- Corabian, G., & Hogan, N. (2012). Collateral effects of the media on sex offender reintegration: Perceptions of sex offenders, professionals, and the lay public. Sexual Offender Treatment, 7(2), 10.
- Fortney, T., Levenson, J., Brannon, Y., & Baker, J. N. (2007). Myths and facts about sexual offenders: Implications for treatment and public policy. Sexual Offender Treatment, 2(1), 1–15.
- Harris, A. J., & Socia, K. M. (2016). What’s in a name? Evaluating the effects of the “Sex Offender” label on public opinions and beliefs. Sex Abuse, 28(7), 660–678.
- Koon-Magnin, S. (2015). Perceptions of and support for sex offender policies: Testing Levenson, Brannon, Fortney, and Baker’s findings. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(1), 80–88.
- Malinen, S., Willis, G. M., & Johnston, L. (2014). Might informative media reporting of sexual offending influence community members’ attitudes towards sex offenders? Psychology, Crime & Law, 20(6), 535–552.
- Olver, M. E., & Barlow, A. A. (2010). Public attitudes toward sex offenders and their relationship to personality traits and demographic characteristics. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 28(6), 832–849.
- Payne, B. K., Tewksbury, R., & Mustaine, E. E. (2010). Attitudes about rehabilitating sex offenders: Demographic, victimization, and community-level influences. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 580–588.
- Willis, G., Levenson, J., & Ward, T. (2010). Desistance and attitudes towards sex offenders: Facilitation or Hindrance?. Journal of Family Violence, 25(6), 545–556. doi:10.1007/s10896-010-9314-8.