Sex Offender Reintegration Process

Words: 2013
Pages: 9

Introduction
Sexual offenders often face many challenges once they are released after their sentence, and are reintegrating back into the community. The reintegration process can be viewed as difficult due to the lack of support in throughout the process, the stigmatization they face from the community, and the overall perception of sexual offenders not deserving to be treated like individuals with human rights. Without the needs of sexual offenders attended to post-release there is an increased risk of reoffending (Scoones, Willis, & Grace, 2012). In order to deter both sex crimes and other crimes, it is essential that services not only turn their attention to the needs of victims, but those of the sexual offenders as well.
Purpose
This paper
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Successful programs should hold the idea that sex offenders require the chance to build their life after they are released, and if not given the opportunities or tools this will increase their chance of recidivism. The model assessed by Scoones. Willis, and Grace, was the Good Lives Model (GLM). This model has similar tenets to ones suggested by Ward, which in essence believes in the importance of a strengths-based approach when assessing sexual offenders (Scoones, Willis & Grace, 2012; Ward, 2007). In order for desistance to occur, factors related to fulfilling a “prosocial life” need to be assessed. These factors usually include looking at the individuals’ strengths, along with the environmental factors. Factors could include the age of the individual, their work or job status, education level, general outlook on success, and other factors that could put them as risk of reoffending (Scoones, Willis & Grace, 2012). While the study does not follow up with the participants to see if there was follow through, the study does positively supports the idea of using a strengths-based assessment in the reintegration process in order to reduce …show more content…
Research supports that for there to be successful reintegration, a stable job can decrease the risk of recidivism (Tolson & Klein, 2015). While this is an essential part of reintegration, the actual process of finding employment is another obstacle sexual offenders face. Brown, Spencer, & Deakin, analyze the results of a qualitative study which interviewed sex offenders on the process of gaining employment after they were released from prison (2007). The study addressed the employers about their opinions of hiring sex offenders. A societal norm associated with sex offenders is a strong stigma of sexual deviancy and distrust that follows them long beyond their sentence (Tolson & Klein, 2015). In the Brown study, the offenders used as their participants reported the challenges of finding employment that paid well, being limited on what they could apply for, and the overall feeling their sexual offence would result in negative reactions from potential employers. When reviewing the interview of employers, the study found that almost half of the employers they interviewed would not have employed a past sexual offender (Brown, Spencer & Deakin,