Desistance from Sexual Offending: Life Narratives of Recidivism and Redemption

• In Event: Desistance from Sexual Offending

Abstract

Desistance refers to the slowing down, de-escalation, or cessation of offending. For two centuries it has been observed by criminologists as a natural human process for the majority of those who break the law but the field of research on sexual aggression has only recently begun to investigate this phenomenon. The widespread and persistent belief that sex offenders are destined to reoffend (Göbbels, et al., 2012; Harris & Cudmore, 2015; Laws & Ward, 2011; Willis, Levenson & Ward, 2010) has aided the development of an entire industry which is now consumed with the assessment of risk and the prediction of recidivism. To that end, a slew of legislation now exists that aims to control and manage the post-custody behaviors (not to mention the literal, day-to-day, physical movement) of (mostly) men convicted of sexual offenses (especially against children) (Harris, 2015).
The present study utilizes a large sample of men incarcerated or civilly committed for sexual offenses and released to the street in the 1990s. It is the first to explore the narrative differences (revealed during in-depth life history interviews) between the 11 men who reoffended sexually and are back in custody and the 60 men who continue to live offense-free lives in the community. The main focus is on understanding the specific experiences and local life circumstances that shaped each participant’s release and reentry. The personal and offense characteristics of the participants are described and compared, and qualitative content analysis is employed to explore and explain their differential life narratives of redemption and recidivism.

Author

• Danielle Arlanda Harris, San Jose State University