There are plenty of studies that prove that sex-offenders can be rehabilitated.

[trumad]

Jeralyn on the Talk Left blog posted an excellent set of studies that pretty much prove that sex offenders can be treated if they go through therapy.

If this is the case then why are we forcing these guys out of neighborhoods and communities to the point that they have to live under a bridge?

<snip>

Barry Maletzky, MD and Kevin McGovern, Ph.D. of The Sexual Abuse Clinic of Portland Oregon followed about 5000 offenders treated in their clinic and similar clinics between 1973 and 1990 using behavior oriented methods. About 3700 of these were pedophiles -770 were exhibitionists. The remainder were referred for a variety of other paraphilias. Criteria for "success" included:

* No re-arrest
* Self report of no maladaptive sexual behaviors
* Reduced deviant arousal maintained post - treatment as verified on penile plethysmograph
* "Significant other" ratings of patient behavior

Using these stringent measures to follow some men for as long as 17 years post treatment, success was achieved with 94.7% of heterosexual and 86.4% of homosexual pedophiles. Rapists showed 73.5% success, exhibitionists and public masturbators about 92% , with men referred for various other paraphilias ranging from 100% for zoophiliacs to 80% for frotteurs. These data do not represent a controlled study, but the sample is large and with success criteria as stringent as they were, the data gives strong indication that treatment is effective for a great many offenders.
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2005/02/20/115/08784

[Warpy]

1. They have to want treatment

and I strongly suspect the recidivism rate reflects the ones who go through the motions to qualify for early release.

There is no way to tell the difference until they reoffend and destroy somebody else's life.

Still, the success rates are remarkable. I would hate to see people who have been rehabilitated kept locked up forever on the chance that they would reoffend.

It looks like rapists are the most problematic, probably because there is still a tacit acceptance of rape in a patriarchal society. The other behaviors are condemned in the real world, and undoubtedly that helps reinforce the treatment.

[Deep13]

2. I will be anxious to see how these treatments go in clinical trials.

In the mean time, it looks like a lot of assumptions and guess work. Personality disorders are not illnesses that can be cured. Until that changes, I guess I'm going to keep sending rapists and child sex offenders to prison for as long as I can keep them there.

[murray hill farm]

3. I find that very, very difficult to believe...

the success rate is way toooooooo high to be valid when considering any behavioral change...and especially the particular population. I remember in the 90s reading about the great success rate that the "born agains" had with sexually devient populations, but nothing close to these figures. And the "born again" experience really made more sense than the therapy approach, since the born again person..if they truly believed that they could be "saved" was more likely to truly adopt the new behavioral constraints. I speak as a retired private practice psychotherapist...and the history of many, many studies that concluded, without much question that one could no more change their sexual orientation (and this is truly what this is) than one could change from heterosexual to homosexual or from homosexual to heterosexual with just the right amount of therapy.

[High Plains]

4. Mythbusters. Thanks for posting this.

The "sex offenders can never change" meme is all too pervasive, always trotted out, and wrong.

[Madspirit]

5. Many More Reports

Including the info in the DSM, saying at this point in time, there is no successful treatment.
Lee

[lastknowngood]

6. so can an alcoholic but they have to always stay away from the drink

sex-offenders never stay away from their drink. When was the last time your heard a report about a first time sex-offender? It never happens, they are usually caught after many offenses and figure they can get away with it one more time. The only fix is life in prison or a bullet to the brain. Sorry but I got no sympathy for pedophiles or rapists, they inflict a life sentence on each of their victims or they kill them. The average pedophile has 54 victims before they are ever convicted of a crime, that is 54 lives destroyed with the cascading damage to their future and families. If you have DNA evidence I would agree with a 100% death penalty, without DNA life. There are somethings that cannot be excused even once. Sorry if you disagree but that is how I feel.