A new QUT-led study, the first in Australia to focus specifically on victim-survivors' perspectives, has revealed strong support for a range of post-custodial measures for people with convictions for sexual offending, provided those measures reduce reoffending and are matched by appropriate support for victim-survivors.
- First Australian study to explore victim-survivors' views on post-prison measures for sex offenders
- Most participants supported electronic monitoring, psychological treatment, and parole supervision but views on sex offender registers were very mixed
- Support for reintegration measures was contingent on offender remorse and accountability
- Victim-survivors called for improved access to counselling and trauma-informed release notifications
Led by Professor Kelly Richards from QUT's School of Justice, the research gives voice to victim-survivors' views on electronic monitoring, psychological treatment, parole supervision, and Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), and includes a predominantly male cohort - another national first.
The researchers interview 26 victim-survivors (seven women and 19 men), aged 29 to 73 years of whom all but one had experienced child sexual abuse, three had been sexually abused as a child and as an adult, and one who had been raped as an adult.
Only seven of the interviewees reported that their perpetrator had been imprisoned.
Professor Richards said victim-survivors were often portrayed as uniformly punitive, but the findings showed their views were far more nuanced.
"Most participants supported measures that help prevent future harm, not out of vengeance, but because they want safer communities," Professor Richards said.
The study, funded by the Criminology Research Advisory Council, found that victim-survivors valued both containment-oriented measures (such as electronic monitoring) and assistance-oriented measures (such as CoSA), but stressed that support for sex offenders must be contingent on genuine remorse and accountability.
Victim-survivors' views about public sex offender registers were mixed.
"Some supported public registers as they believe that providing members of the public with information about sex offenders would be widely beneficial," Professor Richards said.
"However, many victim-survivors discussed a range of concerns about public sex offender registers, including victim-survivors of sexual offending being identified and shamed or retraumatised by the release of such information.
"Victim-survivors raised concerns about vigilante activity targeting registered sex offenders, the impacts on offenders' reintegration prospects, creating public anxiety and creating a false sense of security for the community."
Professor Richards said victim-survivors wanted to be informed and supported, especially when a perpetrator was released.
"They recognise that perpetrators being released from prison is inevitable and that supporting people with convictions for sexual offending can reduce the risk of reoffending as long as it doesn't come at the expense of victim-survivors' own wellbeing."
Professor Richards said the study had significant implications for policy and service delivery, including calls for trauma-informed, opt-in systems for release notifications, improved access to counselling, and expanded CoSA programs in Australia.
"This research gives policymakers confidence to pursue evidence-based reintegration strategies that reflect the lived experiences of those most affected by sexual violence," she said.
The research team comprised Professor Richards, Associate Professor Jodi Death, Dr Michael Chataway, Associate Professor of Indigenous Practice Chris Emzin, all from QUT; Carol Ronken from Bravehearts Foundation, and Dr Rebekah Chapman (formerly of Bravehearts Foundation).
The full report, Victim-survivors' perspectives on the reintegration of people with convictions for sexual offending, is available via the Australian Institute of Criminology.
(Main image Professor Kelly Richards, inset from top: Associate Professor Chris Emzin, Associate Professor Jodi Death, Dr Michael Chataway)
