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Why do
Molesters Commit Their Crimes?
Why do molesters
commit their crimes? For many of us, this is really the $64,000 question.
Some of the best minds in the country have been at work on this
issue for many years. Unfortunately, there is not a single theory
that explains why adults sexually molest children and young people.
The John Jay
College of Criminal Justice recently completed a study that was
commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
following the adoption of the Charter for the Protection of Children
and Young People. The John Jay Study includes a literature review of
the major studies in this area of research.
Prevention theory
focuses primarily on the "how" of child sexual abuse.
That's because, in our prevention efforts, we are seeking the most
effective way to stop the harm to children. However, the
"why" is also an important consideration in developing our
prevention efforts. Why? Because the why of child sexual abuse helps
us establish policies and procedures designed to frustrate a child
molester's objectives.
Over the years,
several theories have been developed to explain why adults exhibit
this type of behavior. A look at some of these theories will open our
eyes to the complexity of this question.
Biological Theory
-Some researches theorize that there are biological reasons for
sexually deviant behavior, including pedophilia. However, most agree
that biological issues are more likely to be the cause of rape or
other violence rather than child sexual abuse.
Behavioral Theory
-Behavior theorists explain sexually aggressive behavior, including
child sexual abuse, as a learned activity. Behavioral theories
generally have two basic parts: how the behavior is learned and how
it is maintained over time. These theories explain that molesters
learn deviant sexual behavior in the same way that most of us learn
accepted sexual behaviors.
Attachment Theory
-Research indicates that there is some relationship between an
individual's ability to form intimate, effective, age-appropriate
relationships and the individual's propensity toward sexually abusive
behavior. Studies indicate that men who sexually abuse children often
do not have the social skills to develop healthy, intimate
relationships with peers. This deficiency can result in the
activities that we call "grooming," which offenders use to
actually "court" a child.
Cognitive-Behavior
Theory -Distorted thinking patterns form the basis of this
theory. Researchers theorize that these distorted patterns of thought
allow a child molester to justify his or her behavior and to
dissociate themselves from any shame or guilt associated with their
actions. Child molesters are masterful at justifying their actions.
These justifications include such things as:
-
They love the
children and the children love them.
-
They are educating
the children about sex.
-
That the child
initiated the contact.
-
That the child's
failure to resist the offender's overtures shows that the child
wanted the sexual contact.
Integrated Theory-This
theory, developed by David Finkelhor in 1984, integrates several
theories about why people molest children. Finkelhor says that there
are four complex factors that explain why people molest children. The
factors include:
-
Emotional
congruence: the relationship between the emotional needs of the
abuser and the characteristics of children (e.g., an abuser who
suffers from low self-esteem may be more comfortable with children
than with adults).
-
Sexual arousal:
assesses the reasons why children could sexually arouse an adult.
According to Finkelhor, a child molester may be conditioned to having
sex with children because of his or her own victimization.
-
Blockage: refers
to an abuser's inability to have sexual and emotion needs met through
adult relationships.
-
Disinhibition:
points to the factors that assist an adult who is attracted to
children to overcome any of his or her own inhibitions-inhibitions
that might interfere with the desire to have sex with a child.
As we can see,
there are no easy answers to the question "Why do molesters
commit their crimes?" There are many great minds at work to find
the answer to this question, and they need our help. We can make a
difference by:
1. Knowing the
warning signs of a potential molester.
2. Controlling who
has access to our children through careful screening.
3. Monitoring all
programs to assure accessibility to and adequate adult supervision
for all children and youth activities.
4. Being aware of
what's going on in the lives of all the children around us.
5. Communicating
our concerns to the appropriate person(s) and immediately reporting
suspected child abuse to the proper authorities.
By implementing
this five-step plan to protect God's children, we can interrupt the
would-be molester's behavior. Disrupting the abusive behaviors may
result in more molesters seeking the help they need to prevent them
from committing sexual abuse.
Regardless of the
impact on a molester's willingness to inhibit his or her own
behavior, the important thing to remember is that when we create our
environments in such a way that this behavior cannot persist,
children are protected-and that is the ultimate goal. |
