8 of 8

Write now Article Tools

Working in the juvenile sex offender treatment field can be a very awakening experience. The question I propose is that society at large tends to look at the obvious culprits to crimes. Yes, adult males are the dominant sex offenders in society. However, where did the come from? Maybe rather than just focusing on what the nightly news and daily papers feed you for information, enraged citizens should realize that these adult males where once a victim too!

Hence, the field of work I am currently employed. I see adolescent males age twelve to nineteen, all of which are sex offenders. These young men committed often times violent and heinous crimes against younger peers or siblings of opposite or same sex. These young boys come into our program with little or no remorse nor regret for the crime they have committed. They typically show signs of a non-developed empathy compartment, as well as an inability to demonstrate humility, displaying extravagant and often times inflated egos and entitlement.
Why is any of this important? Because a majority, if not all, were victims of a similar crime done to them by older boys or adult males. Sexual molestation of children seems to be a crime that cycles from a victim to victimizer. A constant never ending cycle left unchecked by society because the thought that those adults, who commit crimes of such sexually explicit anger and demeanor, could ever have been a victim brings to light a growing concern amongst people who deal with sex offenders on a daily basis.
There is an obvious growth in the amount of sexual crimes committed by adolescent males in the United States daily. Yet, we would debate and argue that these adult male sex offenders need the maximum punishment! To what cost and for how long will we look at the post-problem? We need to examine the dynamics of what creates a sexual predator and a sexual offender. The nature of a sexual deviant runs parallel to our society's desire for more. Sell more of this and thatutilizing sex. Our society is inundated with sex. We turn on the television and sex oozes out of the tube. We turn on the radio and the music speaks to us of big breasts and bending a woman over. We open a magazine and the articles are of half dressed or half naked women stretched out in provocative positions.
Could all of these images feed into an adolescents deviant sexual behaviors and their heightened sexual awareness? Were do we really start? I propose this question, do we continue to incarcerate those who molest and prey on people sexually when we as a culture turn our heads and say what's good for business is all that matters?

Learn more about this author, Erin Launiu.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Child sex offenders: Do the children have a chance?
We want to hear your view. Write now!