Perpetrators of Child Sexual Abuse : Social Constructionist and Traditional
PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE:
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST AND
TRADITIONAL EMPIRICAL APPROACHES
5 ' , CHANELLE VI LIA LYELL
Thesis presented in fulfilment of the 'requirements „ of the degree -
D. LITT:. ET PHIL.
PSYCHOLOGY
IN THE
FACULTY OF ARTS
at the
RAND AFRIKAANS UNIVERSITY
PROMOTER: PROF. MARIETJIE JOUBERT
AUGUST 1998 Prefect (moved): But we have every desire to respect that compassion, Mrs Ponza. We should like you to tell us, however ...
Mrs. Ponza (speaking slowly and distinctly): What? The truth? It is simply this ...that I am...yes, I am Mrs Frola's daughter ...
All (with a sigh of satisfaction): AN
Mrs Ponza (still speaking slowly and distinctly, carrying straight on): ...And Mr Ponza's second wife ...
All (astounded and disappointed, in subdued tones): Oh? But how on...?
Mrs Ponza (slowly and distinctly carrying on): Yes! And for myself, I am nobody! Nobody at all!
Prefect: Oh, no, Mrs. Ponza, that just cannot be! You must be either one or the other!
Mrs. Ponza: No! As far as I am concerned, I am just whoever you think I am. (She looks intently at them all, for a moment through her veil, and then goes out. There is silence)
Laudisi: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the voice of truth! (He throws a derisive, challenging glance round the company.) Are you happy now? (He bursts out laughing) Hal Hal Hal Hal
Pirandello (1962, p.87) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am/ si,ncerely grateful/ to- the follow i44.0,people. who- helped/ mew make thi/s, study pos ,sthie:
My Promoter, Prof Marie Ii Joubert, for her superior guidance, advize ct,nd. support
All the/ mein/ who- ge,vter-owsly volkotteered/ to- participate. Cn. thi/s, study, without whose. co--operatto-n. thi* study would/ not have. been/pasiarie.
Joan/ van/ N Ceicerki m y mentor and/ frtendi.
Belycv, for her endiewpatte 14v eaCavuj, my the,k3:
R 6cv, far tackUng , the. arcluows, to of typ Cn -this thesi.k.
My parents; Hugh. and/ Laanda/, for their support and/ ong&Cvtg- Cvttere/st i vv my cant-I/nue& acacie,vnia
Lto-ne/ who- offered/ support an& and/ who- tolerated,/ me/ througiv the/ worst of Mine*
---o0o---
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS PAGE
SUMMARY (I ) OPSOMMING
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
1.1 Opening Remarks 1 1.2 Outline of the Study 3
CHAPTER 2: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM AS POST-MODERN PSYCHOLOGY
2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Pre-modernism to Modernism to Post-modernism 6 2.3 Linear Causality vs. Systemic Thinking 13 2.4 Cybernetics 14 2.5 Constructivism 16 2.6 Social Constructionism 20 2.7 Concluding Remarks 25
CHAPTER 3: NARRATIVE AND PSYCHOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 26 3.2 Language and Meaning 26 3.3 Narrative 29 3.4 Defining Narrative 30 3.5 Purpose of Narratives 34 3.6 Narrative and Psychotherapy 35 3.7 Hermeneutic Psychotherapy 39 3.8 Concluding Remarks 41
CHAPTER 4: PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: A REVIEW OF THE TRADITIONAL RESEARCH LITERATURE
4.1 Introduction 42 4.2 Historical Perspective — Paedophilia across Cultures and Times 42 4.3 Definitions and Terminology of Child Sexual Abuse 45 4.3.1 Problems with Definitions 45 CONTENTS PAGE
4.3.2 Definitions of Paedophilia 47 4.4 Social Interactional Skills 49 4.5 Affect with Specific Reference to Empathy 56 4.6 Sexuality and the Presence of Sexual Pathology 58 4.7 Substance Abuse 64 4.8 Abused-Abuser Hypothesis 67 4.9 Early Life and Childhood Sexualisation of Paedophiles 73 4.10 Distorted Cognitions 77 4.11 Socio-Cultural Critique of Paedophilia 82 4.12 Special Appeal of Children 89 4.13 Personality Correlates of Paedophilies 93 4.14 Grooming Process 96 4.15 Role of Pornography in Child Sexual Abuse 102 4.15.1 Child Pornography 104 4.15.2 Adult Pornography 107 4.16 Concluding Remarks 109
CHAPTER 5: A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST RESEARCH APPROACH
5.1 Introduction 110 5.2 Justification for Doing Qualitative Research 113 5.3 Social Constructionist Research 114 5.4 Research Design 114 5.5 Role of the Researcher 115 5.6 Position of the Participants 116 5.7 Data Collection 117 5.8 Data Analysis 118 5.9 Concluding Remarks 120
CHAPTER 6: NARRATIVES OF PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
6.1 Introduction 121 6.2 Introducing the Participants 121 6.3 Emerging Themes 123 6.3.1 Childhood 123 6.3.2 Sex Education 131 6.3.3 Participants' Understanding of the Sexually Offending Behaviour 133 6.3.4 Selection of Children 138 6.3.5 Perception of the Effects of the Offending Behaviour on the Victim 142
CONTENTS PAGE
6.3.6 Perceptions of the Judicial System and the Effects of the Offending Behaviour on the Perpetrator 145 6.3.7 Impact of Pornography, Alcohol and Drugs on Their Behaviour 149 6.3.8 Value of Therapy and Control over Offending Behaviour 149 6.4 Concluding Remarks 151
CHAPTER 7: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS 7.1 Introduction 153 7.2 Social Interactional Skills 153 7.3 Empathy 156 7.4 Sexuality and Sexual Pathology 157 7.5 Substance Abuse 159 7.6 Abused-Abuser Hypothesis 160 7.7 Early Life 161 7.8 Understanding the Sexually Offending Behaviour 164 7.9 Socio-Cultural Critique of Paedophilia 165 7.10 Special Appeal of Children 168 7.11 Personality Correlates of Paedophiles 172 7.12 Grooming Process 173 7.13 Pornography 175 7.14 Value of Therapy and Control over Offending Behaviour 176 7.15 Perceptions of the Judicial System 177 7.16 Unspoken Themes 179 7.17 Concluding Remarks 180
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 8.1 Discussion 182 8.2 Strengths of the Study 182 8.3 Limitations of the Study 184 8.4 Recommendations for Future Research 185 8.5 Final Comments 185
BIBLIOGRAPHY 188 (i) SUMMARY
This study has aimed at exploring the narratives of perpetrators of child sexual abuse within a social constructionist research approach.
Tape-recorded conversations were held with twelve participants who were engaged in a treatment programme at Childline Johannesburg and Childline KwaZulu Natal. The conversations with these men served to punctuate the participants' own experiences both in childhood and throughout the course of their adolescent and adult lives in order to elicit meaning and understanding of their offending behaviour. These narratives were compared to the traditional empirical research literature.
The narratives highlighted some similarities to the traditional research literature; however, various differences were also noted. The similarities pertain particularly to:
their experiences of having had traumatic and disruptive childhoods; an apparent lack of empathy for the victim; the employment of a wide range of rationalisations in order to explain their offences; a lack of self-esteem; a dearth of sex education in their home environment.
Differences between narratives and the traditional research literature encompassed:
the role of alcohol as a causal factor in offending; the belief in the abused-abuser hypothesis; the notion that most offenders begin their aberrant pattern of offending in adolescence; an absence of the popular stereotype that paedophiles are sexually and/or physically attracted to children.
The participants in this study indicated an emotional attraction to their victims.
---o0o--- OPSOMMING
Hierdie navorsing is daarop gemik om die narratiewe van kindermolesteerders met betrekking tot seksuele misbruik binne 'n sosiaal konstruksionistiese benadering na te vors.
Gesprekke is met 12 deelnemers, wat betrokke was by 'n behandelingsprogram te Childline Johannesburg en Childline KwaZulu Natal, gevoer en op band vasgele. Gesprekke met die betrokke mans was daarop toegespits dat hulle punktuasie gee van hulle eie ervarings tydens hulle kinderjare, adolessensie en as volwassenes om sodoende betekenis en begrip vir hulle oortredings te genereer. Hierdie narratiewe is met tradisioneel empiriese navorsingsliteratuur vergelyk.
Die vertellings het sekere ooreenkomste met die tradisionele navorsingsliteratuur uitgelig. Sekere verskille het egter ook na yore gekom.
Die ooreenkomste het spesifiek betrekking op:
traumatiese en ontwrigtende ondervindings tydens hulle kinderjare; in klaarblyklike gebrek aan empatie vir die slagoffer; die aanwending van 'n wye verskeidenheid rasionaliserings ter verduideliking van hulle oortredings; 'n gebrek aan eiewaarde; die gebrek aan seksonderrrig in die huislike omgewing.
Verskille tussen vertellinge en die tradisionele navorsingsliteratuur het die volgende ingesluit:
- die rol van alkohol as in oorsaaklike faktor vir oortredings; (iv)
die opvatting van die oortreder-oortredingshipotese; die opvatting dat die afwykende patroon van oortreding reeds tydens adolessensie begin; die afwesigheid van die algemene stereotipe dat pedofiele 'n seksuele en/of fisiese aangetrokkenheid teenoor kinders ondervind.
Die deelnemers aan die navorsing het 'n emosionele aangetrokkenheid tot hulle slagoffers openbaar.
---o0o--- CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE OF THESIS
A policeman comes across a man who is on his hands and knees under a bright streetlight, apparently searching for something. In response to the policeman's enquiry, the man says he is looking for his key which he dropped as he attempted to put it in the keyhole of his front door. The policeman points out that the door is several metres away from where the man is searching. "Yes", the man replies, "but the light is better over here".
1.1 OPENING REMARKS Throughout the development of research on paedophiles and paedophilia, researchers appear to have behaved very much like the unfortunate man in the story, looking for answers where "the light is better". Traditional empirical research has identified certain variables perceived to be consistent with paedophilia, and these have been given priority by researchers to the relative exclusion and neglect of other factors. Traditional research has followed the scientific dictum that, in identifying and explaining these variables which occur in paedophilia, the researcher would be able to arrive at a true picture of the occurrence and existence of paedophilia itself.
This current study has attempted to move away from a description of variables as identified by the traditional empirical research and endeavoured to capture as much as possible of the multi-faceted tapestry of the lives of paedophiles. This study served to punctuate the participants' own experience in such a way as to avoid a description of the truth or the true picture.
In the past two decades, there has been a shift from modernism to post- modernism and hence an emphasis on the social construction of reality. According to Hoffman (1990), social constructionism sees all human knowledge as arising in the social interaction between people. The advent of post-modernism has also meant the re-evaluation of the narratives that individuals tell to make sense of their experience (Ryan, 1982). Social constructionism has challenged the validity of traditional research methods while social constructionist research stresses the individual's experience rather than relying exclusively on quantitative analysis. The dangers of drawing conclusions purely on the basis of quantitative data are outlined by Fischer (1990:6):
Although scores can be helpful in classifying people into general categories and in making related decisions about them, they do not assist in understanding the individual in his particular situation or in making concrete suggestions about that person's actual life.
The impetus for the current research study arose from the writer's clinical experience in working for an organisation which is aimed at the intervention, assessment and treatment of children who have been sexually abused. It eventually became evident that in order to offer effective services to children and also to manage child abuse effectively, it would be necessary to do something to include the treatment of the perpetrators of abuse. Furthermore, if we wish to keep children safe from abusers, we need to work intensively, extensively and painfully with perpetrators in order to interrupt their cycle of offending - such work is the best form of child protection we have. Incarceration rarely addresses the problem and offenders are recycled back into the community at the same level of risk as before. It therefore seems imperative to create an awareness of influences, experiences and characteristics that have shaped the lives of paedophiles in order to structure treatment programmes which would change their offending behaviour.
The research done up to now on the perpetrators of child sexual abuse focused mainly on attempting to identify profiles, traits and pathologies associated with the perpetrator. A wealth of literature has been generated
2 and the questions that have been asked have not rendered simple single factor explanations, but rather divergent and complex facts.
In this study the researcher will attempt to use methods of enquiry that evolved from the field of Psychotherapy. Thus, the researcher tries to enter the world of the research participant with an open and receptive attitude and with as few preconceived ideas as possible. This approach differs greatly from the attitudes of a researcher who attempts to prove or disprove a hypothesis, or to establish pathology in a research subject.
The "co-created" data generated through this method will be juxtaposed with existing knowledge gained by using traditional empirical methods.
This research project invites the reader to explore the narratives of twelve men who have perpetrated sexual offences against children. In accordance with social constructionist ideas, the researcher does not see the research as a finished product but as one side of the ongoing conversations of paedophiles. No list of research findings about paedophiles encapsulates knowledge fixed for all time and knowledge borne out of the investigation may warrant further investigation on a large scale.
It is a widely held belief that between ninety per cent and ninety-eight per cent of sexual offences against children are committed by men (Butler, 1985; Groth, 1982; Driver, 1990), at the same time though, the phenomenon of female child sexual abusers as a rare occurrence is now being challenged. Although this thesis will focus on the male perpetrator, the growing awareness of adult female sexual offenders and the seriousness of the problem is acknowledged.
3 1.2 OUTLINE OF THE STUDY
In Chapter Two, the researcher outlines the development of modernism to post-modernism, paying particular attention to cybernetics, constructivism and social constructionism as used by therapists.
Chapter Three focuses on narrative and language in the context of social constructionism as used by therapists.
Chapter Four explores the traditional research literature and in particular certain traits and variables commonly perceived to be associated with paedophilia.
Chapter Five discusses the research approach of this study.
Chapter Six contains the narratives of each participant. Themes are articulated and each participant's experiences captured within each theme.
Chapter Seven concentrates on a comparative analysis between participant's stories and the traditional research literature in order to elucidate any significant similarities and/or differences. The researcher includes her own remarks based on the findings revealed by the analysis.
Chapter Eight is the concluding chapter in which the study is evaluated and where recommendations for future research are made.
4 CHAPTER TWO
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM AS POST-MODERNIST PSYCHOLOGY
Mental talk is largely performative - that is, it does not mirror or map an independent reality, but is a functional element in social process itself. (Gergen, 1989: 206)
2.1. INTRODUCTION
This chapter explores the developments of post-modernism together with the development of systemic thinking, cybernetics, constructivism and social constructionism.
Kearney (1987:41) states that ...the pre-modern idea of image (such as in Plato) was thought of as a mirror which faithfully reflected reality, and the modern image (such as that of the existentialist philosophers) was conceived as being that of a lamp which projected light onto reality; the post-modern image in turn is seen as a multiple looking glass where mirror on mirror mirrored is all the show.
Most of the authors who explored systemic thinking, cybernetics, constructivism and social constructionism have used these paradigms in relation to the doing of psychotherapy. From this way of doing psychotherapy, a new way of thinking about research emerged with the use of "participants" instead of "subjects". Of particular note is the research conducted in South Africa by researchers such as Hamilton (1995) and Kotze (1994).
This chapter will also include a review of the literature pertaining to this orientation to therapy, as the attitudes reflected herein influenced this researcher's orientation to her research.
5 2.2 PRE-MODERNISM TO MODERNISM TO POST-MODERNISM
During the past two decades, there has been a transition from a pre-modern age to a modern age to a post-modern one. People in pre-modern societies had little need to struggle with questions about identity and belief, because the pre-modern mind saw itself as mirrored in every detail of its world. As long as there was limited contact with outside influences, pre-modern society remained stable (O'Hara & Anderson, 1991).
There were psychic anchors everywhere: in the myths that explained the cosmos; in the environment of signs, symbols and metaphors that gave form to thought; in the rituals and customs that shaped decision and action; in the social organisation that assigned to every person a clear role and reason for being (O'Hara & Anderson, 1991: 20).
Contact with other cultures and confrontation with a world that held a variety of rules as human selfhood, inevitably set in motion the transition from pre- modern to modern society.
The modernist movement of the 20th century was a reaction to the moral certainties and philosophical idealism of the Victorian era. The distinguishing characteristic of modernism was taking a closer look at small units rather than general theorising about big ideas (Doherty, 1991). Modern civilisations formed more complex social structures, usually containing people of different cultural heritages. Urbanisation put more people in proximity to others with different beliefs and cultural traditions, and issues of pluralism began to invade daily life. Modern civilisation attempted all kinds of rules to manage differences, for example, civil rights, ghettos and apartheid. Most people formed allegiances to institutional beliefs, such as religion, which defined their reality. Furthermore, a great intellectual movement - the Enlightenment - attempted to establish universality based on reason (O'Hara & Anderson, 1991). In the words of David Harvey (as quoted in O'Hara and Anderson 1991: 21), "...the Enlightenment took it as axiomatic that there was only one
6 possible answer to any question. The world could be controlled and rationally ordered, if we could only picture and represent it rightly."
According to Bradbury and MacFarlane (1976), modernism constitutes a broad range of thinking, and one of the most important features of this is a belief in social advancement. Another feature which outlines the modernist way of thought, is a belief that unitary and objective truth is attainable (Gergen & Kaye, 1993).
According to Kvale (1992), modernist psychology has been characterised by the following:
A passion for external legitimation, in so far as psychology has sought to emulate what is perceived to be practices in the natural sciences, to the extent of using language similar to that used in physics.
- A quest for universality whereby psychology has attempted to formulate theoretical laws which are potentially applicable to all behaviour.
A rigid rationality which emphasises hypothetical-deductive theories and an intervening variable design, correlating linear variables, with prediction and control as the criteria for science.
- A desire for commensurability wherein modernist psychology has sought decision making procedures to compare heterogeneous theories.
In a major sense, modernism in Western culture may be linked to the process of mechanisation and its advances in science and technology. Scientists were making advances in the use of steam and electricity and the development of these resources, while human beings were on the verge of mastering the fundamental order of the universe. Within the intellectual establishment, such developments were concerned with establishing specialised domains, each possessing a basic logic of justification (Gergen, 1992a). Furthermore, this era highlighted order, progress and the promise of 7 objective knowledge, and science was thought of as being able to provide an undeniable source of intellectual and moral authority. This paradigm enabled us to rely on those who had expert knowledge to cure, to lead and to predict. Modernism thus painted a picture of an ordered world in which a single voice could prevail: the voice of objective truth (Gergen, 1992a).
Doherty (1991) suggests that Freud was a quintessential modernist, focusing on uncovering the unconscious process through analysis. He ignored the impact of the larger social context, believing in the microcosm of the individual rather than the macrocosm of society. O'Hara and Anderson (1991) state that psychoanalysis was a critical social institution whose task was to help individuals adapt to the contradictory demands of the modern world. Psychoanalysis provided a context within which a patient could deal with chaotic irrationalities and bring them under the control of the normalising ego. Freud was firmly on the side of reason. Psychoanalysis was thus seen as the truth for many of Freud's followers.
Behaviorism also reflected modernist thinking in which stimulus-response cycles were analysed. Early family therapy theories which focused on the micro-environments of family interaction, further reflect modernist thought. From the mid 60's to the 70's, structural family therapy dominated, in which it was assumed that there were universal organisational patterns in families. This was a subsequent modernist attempt to identify the universal codes and structures governing all human languages, customs and behaviours. Led by Salvador Minuchin, structural family therapists believed that they could identify the basic patterns underlying family process. These therapists also believed that they had expert knowledge of family transactional patterns and that it was their duty to establish the goals and set the direction for therapy (Doherty, 1991).
Frank (1987) supports Gergen's assumption regarding a belief in unitary and objective truth. Frank suggests that this underlying assumption was rooted in empirical methods to derive fundamental truths, and that these traditional research methods were devised to discover relationships between facts, i.e. 8 objectively definable, measurable phenomena. Facts are believed to be confirmed or refuted by the objective criteria of the scientific method.
At the core of modernism lies the knowable world and the belief in universal properties wherein a study of single instances may be generalised to other instances. Following the justification of logical philosophy, modernist psychology has been committed to a belief in truth through method and these empirical methods teach us about the fundamental character of psychology: false beliefs can be abandoned and we can move towards the establishment of reliable truths of the objective world (Gergen, 1992b).
The method used in empirical research was hypothetical-deductive experimentation which was the modernist method of uncovering the laws defining how humans would respond to various stimuli.
According to Frank (1987), these traditional methods of exact science are refuted within post-modernist thought and are ill-suited to deal with the meanings and value of the content of psychotherapy.
According to Mair (1990), our lives are shaped by the stories we tell and too often we focus our attention on methods by which data are collected and transformed into certain kinds of accredited signals of legitimated meaning, rather than imaginative telling. It is further stated that when a person
...is not able to tell her story, she is impoverished and crippled. When a person does not hear herself reflected in the stories being told about her kind, she is deprived of elements of awareness that give legitimacy and perspective, and a certain reality to her life (Mair, 1990: 123).
In an earlier article, Mair (1989b) suggests that modernist research has led us to report on some aspect of reality, rather than telling stories in particular ways to meet the dictates of the group.
9 We have been lead to a position of blindness, supposing that psychological science is chipping away, in impersonal and unbiased ways, at the reality of things and events. We have not been encouraged to suppose that we are choosing to tell tales in particular ways, for particular ends, and for the approval of particular audiences (Mair, 1989b: 2).
While modernism comprised an aesthetic of purity, clarity, order and analytical abstraction, post-modernism tends towards elaboration, eclecticism and inclusiveness (Doherty, 1991).
In post-modernism, objectivity as a pre-condition for acceptable scientific attitudes is currently placed in parenthesis (Maturana & Varela, 1987) or rejected outright (Bruner, 1986). The post-modern idea of multiplicity and multiple realities, and plurality of voices, undermines the belief in objective truth and knowledge as objective reality. The post-modern individual finds himself or herself in a society in which there are no universal norms or values, and instead a proliferation of competing woridviews (McHale, 1992). Gergen (1992b) sees post-modernism as emerging from new 'socialising technologies' such as radio, fax, television, photocopy and mass transportation, which have exposed the individual to countless contradictory opinions. From the moment that we awaken, we are "...faced with a multitude of opinions, cultures, values, fears, needs and aspirations. Bombarded with contrary opinions, arguments, facts and information from multiple sources, we find it even more difficult to believe that objective conclusions can be reached about anything" (Gergen, 1992b: 52). When individuals are faced with such differences, truth becomes a questionable word. Deconstructionists see all meanings attached to phenomena as replete, with internal contradictions and being open to perpetual re-evaluation (Degenaar, 1989; Doherty, 1991; Selden, 1989).
Post-modernism is thus witnessing the erosion of modernist thought and the emphasis is on challenging who we really are and undermines all previous assumptions of truth and order (Gergen, 1992b). At the same time, Lyotard 10 (in Sarup 1988), claims that science no longer focuses on the question of whether or not an idea is true, but on whether or not it is useful. Post- modernism has radically decentered the human subject and the idea of "...man as the sovereign source of truth, the master and possessor of nature" is no longer seen as valid (Kearney, 1987: 40). Focault (1977) proposed that explanatory theories of humankind are far from representing objective truths and instead reflect instruments of social power which are imperialistic. In support of this view, Doherty (1991) claims that post-modernist social scientists abhor universal theories, because no social theory can claim validity outside a particular historical context or value system. What appears to be supported by science is in fact based on social beliefs, ideology and myth, according to Kitzinger (1990).
Post-modernism is anti-positivist in nature, attacking as it does the assumptions of objectivity which characterise modern science, and post- modernists reject any position that consists of a totalising truth or an ideal discourse (Hoffman, 1993a). From a post-modern perspective, it appears that everything that psychological science has taught us about people's emotions, thought processes and motives, constitutes a cultural myth, according to Gergen (1992b). It is further stated that "...the self is not there, obdurate and enduring, knowing and knowable, but rather a by-product of Western ways of putting things" (Gergen, 1992b: 56). Post-modernism presents us with the challenge of bringing about a new and more spacious idea of what the self is (O'Hara & Anderson, 1991).
During the past forty years, leading sciences have become more concerned with the idea of language (Sarup, 1988), while post-modern critics are deeply concerned about language but far less certain about its meaning. Deconstructionism, the literary movement of post-modernism, dismisses structuralism as an attempt to explain absolute reality. Deconstructionist critics such as Derrida and de Man endeavour to uncover the many competing themes in texts, arguing that the author's narrative 'deconstructs' itself as the reader discovers the inherent oppositions within it (Doherty, 1991). Ryan (1982) in turn suggests that post-modernism has been rooted in 11 the development of deconstruction and that there is no privileged position outside language which can ensure fixed meanings and objective truth. In this way, post-modernism replaces a conception of a reality independent of the observer with notions of language as actually constituting the structures of a perspective social reality (Kvale, 1992).
The advent of post-modernism has also led to the re-evaluation of narratives. Post-modern ideas have started to influence the notion of psychotherapy via family therapy and the use of systems theory in this field. White (1992) who interprets theory and practice of psychotherapy from a narrative point of view, claims that psychotherapy assists individuals in the telling of new stories which have multiple meanings, while White and Epston, as quoted in Doherty (1991:39), see the main work of psychotherapy as "reauthoring lives and relationships".
Post-modernism therefore requires one to relinquish the claim of final authority of any psychological school and in addition requires one to abandon the idea that categories of dysfunction are objective truths (Gergen, 1992b). The categories of dysfunction as listed by the DSM III-R, create the illusion of objective discourse and lend credibility to therapists as experts who identify the defects (O'Hara & Anderson, 1991). A few years after this statement was made by O'Hara and Anderson (1991), the DSM-IV was published. This publication continued the trend of creating categories of dysfunction and the post-modern thinker would be critical of this persistence. Post-modernism has thus fuelled the trend of eclecticism, resulting in a breakdown of allegiance to specific models of therapy. Multidimensional therapy is supported and `purism' has become old fashioned (Doherty, 1991).
In essence, post-modernism embraced a wide range of attitudes and the personal ego is seen as diffused rather than a unitary phenomenon. According to Selden (1989:72),
The only unifying idea of post-modernism is that of the absent centre. The post-modern experience is widely held to stem from a profound 12 sense of ontological uncertainty. Human shock in the face of the unimaginable (pollution, holocaust, the death of the "subject") results in a loss of fixed points of reference.
2.3 LINEAR CAUSALITY VS. SYSTEMIC THINKING
According to Auerswald (1985), linear thinking epitomises an epistemology based on Cartesian-Newtonian philosophy and is based on the assumption that reality exists, can be proved and is independent of the observer (Rapmund, 1996). In terms of this paradigm, a field of study is seen as independent of the observer (Auerswald, 1985) and is based on the assumption of reductionism, linear causality and objectivity. The cause-effect perception suggests that an event can be determined by knowing the quantifiable characteristics (Sive, 1993).
However, for example, Einstein's theory of relativity and Planck's quantum theory demonstrated that more complex phenomena could not be explained in this way, and the notion of an objective reality was questioned (Rapmund, 1996). The universe now came to be seen as a whole whose parts are inter- related. Systemic theory developed a shift in interpreting behaviour from the Cartesian-Newtonian philosophy that reality exists, can be proved and is independent of the observer, to seeing behaviour in terms of reciprocal and circular patterns of behaviour (Janoski, 1984).
With a linear cause-effect conception, pathology was viewed as residing within the person and was believed to be caused by specific factors. In contrast to the linear conception of pathology, the systemic paradigm sees pathology as residing in complex, dysfunctional patterns of interaction (Sundberg, Taplin & Tyler, 1983).
In systemic thinking, the emphasis shifts from understanding objects to understanding events and patterns and according to Keeney (1983), human
13 behaviour is seen as reflecting different types of organisation which show an overall balance.
2.4 CYBERNETICS
Cybernetics can be seen as a further development of the systemic paradigm, and according to Wiener (in Sluzki, 1985: 26), cybernetics has been defined as "The science of communication and control in man and machine", highlighting the focus on interactional processes in systems and feedback cycles. The emergence of cybernetics focused on discerning patterns of organisation that underlie behaviour, and this cybernetic epistemology was concerned with changing our focus from the object to the wholeness of interaction (Keeney, 1983).
Cybernetics exists on two levels, and the suggested difference lies in the positioning of the observer of the system.
The first level is that of simple cybernetics in which the system is viewed in terms of inputs and outputs. Translated into therapeutic terms, the observer (in the case of therapy, the therapist) delivers his intervention from the outside and observes the effects of his intervention (Keeney, 1983). At the second level, the system is seen as a whole, with the therapist/observer no longer seen as detached, but becoming a part of the system whereby the therapist/observer and client/subject become recursively connected (Keeney, 1983).
Sluzki (1985) refers to observed systems (first-order) and observing systems (second-order). According to Keeney (1983), the observing therapist is an integral part of the system and co-constructs with the client the meaning of therapy. Within the domain of research, this implies that "data" is co- constructed by researcher and participant. Keeney (1983) however, uses the concept of cybernetics (second-order) while Von Foerster (1984) refers to cybernetics of observing systems in contrast to cybernetics of observed
14 systems (first-order). Varela (1979) differentiated between allopoietic systems (first-order) and autopoietic systems which are self-organising (second-order). The study of autopoietic systems would reflect a second-order cybernetics.
First-order cybernetics views the observer as being objective. According to Sive (1993), linear epistemology sees the world in terms of cause-effect relationships and the outcome can be predetermined by having knowledge of the causal factors with an emphasis on empirical methods to derive fundamental truths. The move to second-order cybernetics was prompted by an interest in the broader ecology of patterns (Bateson, 1979) and emphasis was thus placed on recursiveness of process, self-reference of the therapist/observer, and punctuation of reality (Kotze, 1994).
In addition, the move to second-order cybernetics implies a simultaneous existence of multiple distinctions drawn by the observer (Dell, 1986). It allows you to see that your interpretation is one among several possible versions (Keeney, 1983). Because of the different views and multiplicity of meaning and the different realities that each person creates, it is no longer possible to speak about a universe, but a multiverse of realities (Tjersland, 1990). Becvar and Becvar (1993: 89-90) state:
Perception now becomes a process of construction; we invent the environment in which we live as we perceive/construct it. We create our reality, our world, by assimilating and accommodating input via our conceptual structures or personal world view.
Furthermore, a first-order cybernetics view would assume that a person could influence another by using a technique (i.e., I programme you, I teach you, I instruct you) and the therapist is seen as the expert who unilaterally changes the family system (Hoffman, 1993b). The therapist/observer working from a second-order cybernetics approach would promote the idea of co-constructed meanings (Hoffman, 1981).
15 According to the second-order view, systems are viewed as self-creating, independent entities (Hoffman, 1993), and the therapist is less likely to determine specific goals (Hoffman, 1981). The therapist takes a detached position so that the operation can be reflexively viewed. This position enables you to be aware of how your relationship to the operation influences it (Hoffman, 1990). When viewed through a second-order lens, the therapist is no longer regarded as the expert (Minuchin, 1991), and problems do not have an objective existence, but are created through language and conversation (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988).
These ideas tie up with the belief that the world we live in is created by us as individuals according to what makes sense to us. Constructivism is therefore a central proponent of second-order cybernetics (Efran, Lukens & Lukens, 1988).
2.5 CONSTRUCTIVISM
The core of constructivism represents a preference for the Kantian model of knowledge over the Lockean. Kant, an 18th century philosopher, regarded knowledge as an invention of an active organism interacting with the environment. In contrast, Locke, the founder of British Empiricism, saw knowledge as the result of the outside world imposing a copy of itself onto our minds. Kantian thought therefore assumes that the individual creates mental images and Lockean thought assumes that mental images are representations outside the individual (Efran, Lukens & Lukens, 1988). In this way, the difference between traditional thinking and constructivist thinking is mirrored in the basic outlook of Kant and of Locke.
Constructivism developed further out of the writings of Maturana and Varela (1980), Von Foerster (1984) and Von Glasersfeld (1987), and were elaborated on by Keeney (1983) and Dell (1985).
Maturana discovered that the perceiver determines what is perceived. He discovered that a frog does not see an object in the same way that humans
16 do. In fact, the frog does not see the object (e.g. the fly) unless it is moving from left to right across the frog's vision. It is in this way that Maturana drew a parallel by saying that in a five-member family therapy session, there are five families being described, and not five views of the same family. Different members depict different realities (Crosby, 1991). Varela (in Crosby, 1991) echoed the same principles and stated that the focus should be on the properties of the observer rather than on the observed.
Maturana and Varela (1980), as well as Von Foerster (1984), attended to the biology of cognition, concluding that all knowledge is a construction rather than a reflection of objective reality. Howard (1991) supports this view by stating that all mental images are creations of people, which differs from the traditional thoughts of objectivism that there is a free-standing reality and truth can be discovered. This view is elaborated on by Efran, Lukens and Lukens (1988: 28) as follows:
Objectivists are inventors who think they are discoverers - they do not recognise their own inventions when they come across them. Good constructivists, on the other hand, acknowledge the active role they play in creating a view of the world and interpreting observations in terms of it.
Constructivists stress that people do not live alone but are "part of an ecology of other autonomous observers" (Keeney, 1983: 50) and view therapy as a co-creation of meanings of experience. These co-creations broaden options (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Held, 1990) which implies a shift from an 'observed system' reality (the belief in objective truth) to an 'observing system' reality (the belief that we can only know our own constructions of others and the world.) (Hoffman, 1988).
Traditional realist therapy holds the belief of imposing the correct view on the client in order to fix the objectively-defined problem (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988). Furthermore, it locates the symptom as being a property of the
17 individual (Hoffman, 1988) and the shift to constructivism locates the problem within the context of the family.
For the constructivist, "everything said is gained from a tradition" (Varela, 1979:28), and has meaning only when viewed within that tradition. If something is taken out of context, it has no meaning and if placed in a new context, it has a new meaning (Efran, Lukens & Lukens, 1988). Sluzki (1988: 50) outlines the role of the therapist in the following way:
The most the therapist can do is to elicit from clients their own alternative descriptions of their perceived reality. These alternatives can only arise from their client's own pre-existing cognitive and linguistic structures - they cannot be imposed from without.
Watzlawick (1984: 150) adds that
...constructivism in its pure, radical sense is incompatible with traditional thinking. As different as most philosophical, scientific, social, ideological or individual world images may be from one another, they still have one thing in common: the basic assumption that a real reality exists and that certain theories, ideologies, and personal convictions reflect it more correctly than others.
Therefore, constructivism holds that we can never really know what is 'really' out there and that reality is created by ideas that are shaped by the observer's social and cultural context.
A criticism which has been levelled at constructivism is that of naive solipsism, suggesting that if there is no independent objective reality, it is possible to construct innumerable realities that are all theoretically legitimate (Kotze, 1994). However, constructivists do not argue in this direction. Constructivism does not deny the existence of a world outside the individual's mind, but emphasises the existence of a co-constructed reality (Efran, Lukens & Lukens, 1988). Over and above this, innumerable realities give the
18 the choice as to what reality he chooses and implies taking responsibility for the reality chosen.
It is also interesting to note that Kelly (as quoted in Maddi, 1980) did not subscribe to naive solipsism. For Kelly, events do have an actual separate existence from the person but are unimportant when understanding the personality until they are construed by the individual.
A final criticism is suggested by Coyne (1985:341) who posits that constructivism fails to take into account the effects of a real independent reality, especially a dominant social reality. He states:
Taken to an extreme, a constructivist perspective becomes systematically misleading and a poor guide to therapeutic intervention. Constructivist writers (e.g. Von Glasersfeld, 1984 and Watzlawick, 1984) are careful to distinguish their views from the age - old fallacy of solipsism - that reality is only in the mind. At the same time, they give little consideration to constraints on what reframings of our experiences we will accept (Furthermore), there is little acknowledgement that to the extent that reality is a construction, it is a social construction and adaptation to influences that are independent of our thought.
For Coyne, constructivism presents us with the danger of ignoring forces external to us that 'really' could affect us. However, according to Efran (1991), constructivist theory may be well-suited to people who are caught up in situations that seem objectively hopeless and people who are subjected to harmful external forces. Realists who describe a condition as factual, render it fixed and potent which may result in those who are immersed in such a condition to adopt a passive, resigned stance.
19 2.6 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
Social constructionism developed out of second-order cybernetics and constructivism and its origins have also been traced back to George Kelly and his Personal Construct Theory (Mair, 1989a).
Social constructionism in many ways relates to constructivism, and many authors use the two terms interchangeably (Efran & Clarfield, 1993; Efran, Lukens & Lukens, 1988; Gergen, 1985). However, the two should not be confused, as constructivism was developed from a biological and individualistic vantage point (Maturana & Varela, 1987) and social constructionism strongly emphasises language (Hoffman, 1990). Gergen (1985:266) suggests the following: "Social constructionist enquiry is concerned with explicating the process by which people come to describe and explain the world".
Social constructionism requires accepting the ambiguous nature of knowledge and involves a multi-method approach to research, including qualitative descriptions of the person in relation to the world (Kvale, 1992). Social constructionism therefore asks the scientist
... to join the hurly-burly of cultural life and to become an active participant in the construction of the culture Rather than telling it like it is, the challenge is for the post-modern psychologist to tell it as it may become (Gergen, 1992b:27).
Social constructionists challenge the idea of singular truth and doubt the validity of objective research. Hoffman (1993a:9) suggests that "...we cannot ever really know what 'social reality' is, and therefore traditional scientific research with its tests and statistics and probability quotients, is a pious hope if not a downright lie". Social constructionism can be seen therefore, to hold as its basic tenet, the eradication of objectivity. Reality is constructed through social discourse and is not discovered through objective means. We live in a
20 multiverse, with as many descriptions as describers and reality is construed through conversation (Real, 1990). Furthermore, Gergen (1985:3) states that, "Our experience of the world does not dictate the terms by which the world is understood". This thought further criticises the positivist-empiricist conception of knowledge and thus invites one to challenge the objective basis of conventional knowledge.
The significance of social constructionism could further be seen as emerging against the backdrop of two competing intellectual traditions (Gergen, 1985). Logical empiricists traced the source of knowledge to events in the real world. This "exogenic perspective" views knowledge as a map or mirror of the real world (Gergen, 1985:269) and the experimental psychologist sets out to employ methods for establishing objective knowledge about cognitive processes. This investigator therefore claims to have achieved an accurate representation of the world. This view according to Gergen (1985:269) supports the "exogenic perspective". In contrast, the "endogenic perspective" suggests that knowledge is dependent on processes. "Humans harbour inherent tendencies, it is said, to think, categorise, or process information, and it is these tendencies that are of paramount importance in fashioning knowledge" (Gergen, 1985:269). Social constructionism can therefore be seen to transcend the empiricist theory and challenges knowledge as mental representation (Gergen, 1985). Finally, giving up the notion of objectivity means accepting the multiple facets of humans and being more congenial to the idea of pluralism and diversity in solutions (Kruglanski, 1988). The implication for psychotherapy is that the therapist can never be seen as standing apart from the therapeutic system - he or she is always within the system and co-creates through conversation (Fruggeri, 1993). The same applies to the position of a researcher.
Social constructionists have challenged the fundamentals of traditional psychology and according to Hoffman (1993b) the notion of clear developmental stages in the human lifespan is also challenged. In support of this view, Gergen (1982) warns of the danger of assuming that there is only one universal standard by which humans can measure their functioning. 21 Hoffman (1993b) suggests that emotions as recognisable states in all cultures and within all people should be discounted and instead be viewed as construed in the interaction between people. Furthermore, the notion of diagnosis is also rejected, and Anderson and Goolishian (1988) suggest that diagnosis results in the therapist reaching an understanding based on his or her private observations. These observations reflect the objective criteria that result in a diagnosis. In this widely held view, the therapist as expert is emphasised. Thus, the social constructionist perspective which emphasises the language domain, moves us away from the notion of empirical objectivity and according to this view, a problem only exists if it is described or communicated. Towards this end, therapy begins by taking the client's definition of the problem.
As mentioned earlier, the social constructionist perspective can be seen as focusing on the importance of language in social interchange and further holds that what we know evolves primarily within language. As we move through the world, so we build up and construe our ideas and experiences in conversation with others (Hoffman, 1993b). Gergen (1985:4) states that, "The terms in which the world is known, are products derived from historically situated interchanges among people. Understanding is therefore not automatically evident by the forces of nature, but rather an interchange between people in relationships". Gergen (1985) provides the example of the broad historical variations in the concept "the child" in which it is suggested that such changes are not reflections of changes in the actual object, but that these changes are lodged in historically contingent factors.
According to Anderson and Goolishian (1988), the family therapy field viewed from a social constructionist perspective suggests that system can be described as existing only in language whereby organisation and structure result with social interchange. This view contrasts sharply with the traditional view (Minuchin, 1991) in which meaning is derived from observing patterns of social organisation.
22 Furthermore, this view holds that our beliefs are social inventions generated through social discourse, and Hoffman suggests further that
... this theory posits an evolving set of meanings which arise out of the interactions between people. These meanings are not skull-bound and may not exist inside what we think of as an individual mind. They are part of a general flow of constantly changing narratives (Hoffman, 1990: 3).
Anderson and Goolishian (1988) present five main premises which summarise the basis of their thoughts on social construction ism, namely that:
Human systems are language-generating and meaning-generating systems. Meaning and understanding are socially construed, and we arrive at meaning and understanding when we engage in a meaning-generating discourse. A therapeutic system is one in which a meaningful dialogue is achieved and is directed towards dissolving the problem. The therapeutic conversation is a mutual search, a two-way exchange in search of new meanings which will lead to the dissolving of problems.
(The researcher is aware, however, that research does not aim to dissolve problems and what is described above relates specifically to psychotherapy.)
The role of the therapist is that of an expert conversationalist who could create a space for and facilitate a dialogue. Thus, "The therapist is a participant-observer and participant-manager of the therapeutic conversation" (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988: 372).
A number of social constructionist writers (Anderson, 1993; Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; Anderson & Goolishian, 1993; Hoffman, 1993b) have 23 challenged the role of therapist as expert. Anderson and Goolishian (1988) define the role of therapist as participant-observer and strongly emphasise the "not-knowing" approach. The therapist's position is collaborative and is thus seen as part of the problem system. Furthermore, the role of participant- manager is one which facilitates a dialogue; the therapist does not control the interview nor direct change. The "not-knowing" approach is influenced by hermeneutic theories and requires that our understanding is not limited to prior experiences (Anderson & Goolishian, 1993). The therapist's role is to co-create with the members of the problem system and according to Coale (1992:12) "... the therapist enters and connects with these realities so that new meanings can be credibly introduced". Co-creations of new meanings occur 'dialogically', therefore therapy within this framework is highlighted by a conversational endeavour in which there is a mutual search for understanding. The therapist is constantly informed by the client, and understanding results from the dialogue instead of from predetermined theoretical theories (Anderson & Goolishian, 1993). It is further suggested that understanding is always a process "on the way" and never fully achieved (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988). For Shotter (1993:183) "... language does not exist in a predetermined code for linking inner psychological events to outer events in social life". In this context, understanding does not mean that we ever understand the other person, but rather that we are able, through dialogue, to understand what it is that the other person is saying.
Narrative has become increasingly important in psychotherapy which utilises a social constructionist perspective (White, 1986; Parry, 1991). White and Epston (1989) suggest that narrative allows clients to 'reauthor' their lives by taking account of alternative stories about their experiences. Bruner (1986) believes the key elements of narrative incorporate discourse and telling, the telling being the act of narration that comprises the story. Narratives are assisted by the use of a 'reflecting team'. The original hidden team behind the one way mirror, characteristic of the original Milan School of Family Therapy, is replaced by the 'reflecting team', which would discuss the family in front of them with the family being able to accept or reject any part of the discussion
24 (Anderson, 1987; Hoffman, 1993b). The reflecting process results in a more egalitarian relationship between client and professional (Anderson, 1993b).
In opposition to social constructionism, Fruggeri (1993) points to a criticism which accuses it of solipsism and an approach which renders the therapist impotent. Furthermore, Efran and Clarfield (1993) have opposed the notion that one view is as good as the next. The therapist cannot evade being an advocate of a particular position. Minuchin (1991) further suggests that social constructionists and their distaste for traditional psychotherapies such as behavioural concepts, undermine the historical advantages of family therapy. In addition, he believes that social constructionism ignores the effects that institutions and socio-economic conditions have on individuals. This point is illustrated by families in poverty who "have been stripped of much of the power to write their own stories. Their narratives of hopelessness, helplessness and dependency have been co-written, if not dictated, by the social institutions" (Minuchin, 1991: 49).
2.7 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Chapter Two has considered the contrast between pre-modernism, modernism and post-modernism, pertaining particularly to the evolution of social constructionism as a post-modernist psychology, and has outlined the development of cybernetics in terms of linear causality and second order cybernetics.
Chapter Three will focus on the development of narrative as a fundamental component of social constructionism.
25 CHAPTER THREE
NARRATIVE AND PSYCHOLOGY
We inhabit the great stories of our culture. We live through stories. We are lived by stories of our race and place... we are, each of us, locations where the stories of our place and time become partially tellable (Mair, 1988: 127).
3.1 INTRODUCTION
According to White (1992), it is through narratives which people have about their lives and others' lives, that they are able to make sense and give meaning to their experiences. The development of post-modernist thinking has led to a renewed interest in the notion of narrative and language. This chapter explores the notion of narrative and the use of narrative within therapy.
3.2 LANGUAGE AND MEANING
Our understanding of language has changed significantly over the past fifty years. No longer is language thought to represent nature and events in some direct way. Language and words are recognised as being multiple in meaning and having alternative interpretations (Mair, 1990). The relation between meaning and language as described by Anderson and Goolishian (1988:378) suggests that "meaning and understanding do not exist prior to the utterances of language, but come into being within language". Therefore, it can be assumed that life is experienced within language and the meaning attached to experiences occurs within the parameters of language.
26 In recent decades, researchers have concluded that scientific knowledge can never reflect objective, value-free reality (McNamee & Gergen, 1993). Meaning derived from experiences and views about the world are guided by language, and according to Freeman (1993) there is no world apart from language.
Language is central to all social activities and communication involves abstract notions, actions and events removed in time and space. Communication therefore depends on people sharing a complex symbolic representational system. In addition, language is not just a code for communicating, but as Potter and Wetherell (1987: 9) suggest:
... it is inseparably involved with processes of thinking and reasoning. Just as it is difficult to imagine sophisticated communication without language, it is hard to see how complex abstract reasoning could be performed by people without a language.
Human systems are seen as existing only in the domain of language. They communicate with each other and are in conversation with each other. This domain of meaning is referred to as a linguistic or a conversational domain (Maturana & Varela, 1987). When we say language, we refer to linguistic and contextually relevant meaning generated through words (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988).
The functions of language have been outlined by Potter and Wetherell (1987: 35) as follows: .
Language is used for a variety of functions and its use has a variety of consequences; language is both constructed and constructive; the same phenomenon can be described in a number of different ways; there will be variations in accounts;
27 there is no fool-proof way to deal with this variation and to sift accounts which are literal or accurate from those which are rhetorical; the constructive and flexible ways in which language is used should themselves become a central topic of study.
An emphasis is placed on language as the medium for self-construction, and Harre (1985:259) described the human infant as an 'apprentice person' who has to acquire the linguistic resources for acts of self-description. Self- experience is formed as a child learns grammar and conversationally acceptable ways of presenting oneself as a person (Shotter, 1984). According to White (1995), meanings are arrived at through the stories which we tell, and people interpret their experiences through their stories.
People come to psychotherapy because they suffer from the meanings they attach to the behaviour of others and themselves (Frank, 1987). Language is the therapeutic means through which meanings and problems change (Coale, 1992).
Change in therapy is achieved through dialogue, and Anderson and Goolishian contend that ...
There is only the process of the constantly evolving reality of language use. Thus, there are no facts to be known, no systems to be understood, and no patterns and regularities to be discovered. This view demands that we give up the view of humankind as the knowers of the essences of nature. In its place is substituted a view of human- kind in continuing conversation (1988: 378).
In the therapeutic relationship, a person enters the relationship with his/her own reality and this reality is deconstructed and a new story co-constructed. This process is a linguistic one (Anderson & Goolishian, 1993). However, according to Coale (1992), language should not be the only vehicle through which meanings can change. It is one reality. Meanings can change through
28 behaviour as well, and it is suggested that a "both/and" perspective be utilised. This is particularly relevant in therapy with less verbal clients.
With a view to the creation of reality in the linguistic process, Von Glasersfeld (1988) suggests that language itself creates reality. If all knowledge is the result of individuals' constructions, then it follows that meaning associated with language is also subjective. Real (1990) suggests that reality is constructed through social discourse - through language - and it is agreed upon through conversation. In conversation, participants engage in dialogue that enables each one to offer his/her perspective and hear the perspective of others (Griffith, Griffith & Slovik, 1990).
3.3 NARRATIVE
Focusing on language and the meaning thereof, has meant a development in the interest of narratives of peoples' experience (Lax, 1992). Self-construction and the construction of identity is located in the stories which people tell.
Narrative (storytelling) approaches to understanding human action have recently become popular in psychology. Cultural diversity takes on a different perspective when viewed from a narrative approach. Various authors have suggested that identity is the issue of life-study construction, that psychopathology is a life story gone awry, and psychotherapy a story repair (Bruner, 1986; Mair, 1989b; Sarbin, 1986). The idea that people make sense of their experience through stories has become increasingly influential in the social sciences (McLeod & Balamoutsou, 1996). In addition, Bruner (1986) has argued that narrative represents a distinct way of knowing quite different from the paradigmatic knowledge used in the scientific community. Mair (1990: 127) states: Stories are habitations. We live in, and through, stories. They conjure worlds. We do not know the world other than as story world. Stories inform life. They hold us together and keep us apart. We inhabit the great stories of our culture. We live through stories. We are lived by the stories of our race and place. It is this enveloping and constituting function of stories that is especially important to sense more fully. We 29 are, each of us, locations where stories of our place and time become partially tellable.
3.4 DEFINING NARRATIVE A narrative is the story of events involving descriptions of the people and other circumstances involved (Squire, 1990). A story can be defined as: "A unit of meaning that provides a frame for lived experience. We enter into stories, we are entered into stories by others and we live our lives through these stories" (White, 1992: 80).
People arrange "their experiences of events in sequences across time in such a way as to arrive at a coherent account of themselves and the world around them ... This can be referred to as a story or self-narrative" (White & Epston, 1990:10).
Robinson & Hawpe (1986) state that no one definition can include the range of items which comprise people's stories. McAdams (1985) in turn, suggests that a narrative is a sequence describing a protagonist motivated to carry out goal-directed behaviour.
According to Bruner (1991), narrative essentially comprises the following characteristics:
An account of events occurring over time (i.e. human time rather than clock time). A narrative incorporates specific events but is embedded in a story that is generic. Narratives describe people's actions in situations that are governed by choice. Narrative consists of someone expressing an intention and someone trying to extract meaning. There is often a gap between what is expressed in the text and what the text may mean.
30 Narrative usually involves the violation of a cultural norm and narratives with a setting are crucial to the formation of culture. The emphasis is not on the verifiability of the narrative, but rather how convincing it is.
According to Squire (1990), various forms of narrative exist. As with detective stories, narratives begin with a problem: they try to investigate it and resolve it logically. Such texts acquire knowledge about the individual through events and behaviours rather than through meanings. A second form of narrative which is more closely aligned to social constructionism, is one in which therapists use their own and their subject's autobiographical narratives more explicitly, and challenge the conventional discourses. These narratives allow for the expression of subjectivity which conventional discourse narratives exclude, allowing specific groups to structure their representations of themselves and the social relations which affect them.
According to Luborsky, Barber and Diguer (1992), each narrative has three core elements, i.e. a wish or intention on the part of the protagonist, followed by a response by another person, and finally the action or response of self. These narratives can be viewed in two ways: firstly, they are measured as to the adequacy with which they describe what really happened, and secondly, they could be presented as ideas that we try and strive towards (Widdershoven, 1993).
People tell stories about their life. Stories tell us about people's lives, and in turn tell us who we are and reveal information pertinent to identity. A person's identity can be seen as the unity of a person's life as experiences and told in stories that express the experience (Widdershoven, 1993). This view is supported by Anderson (1993a:309), who suggests that when a person expresses himself, the self is formed and others are informed as to who that person is.
By expressing oneself, one is simultaneously forming one's self. The act of expressing oneself is the act of constituting one's self. Maybe
31 performing is a better word than expressing. That is, when a person is performing, this performing is informing oneself and others, and simultaneously forming one's self.
Stories are based on life and life is articulated in stories. Stories interpret life as it is experienced and in telling stories we try to make sense of life (Widdershoven, 1993). In support of this, Sluzki (1992) suggests that stories set the frame for understanding ourselves and others. These understandings develop out of interaction and discourses. Narrative creates the opportunity for language to describe the nature we know. The view of reality as a multiverse of meanings created in conversations, moves us away from concerns about unique truths (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988). Understanding does not mean that we totally understand another person; only through dialogue can we understand what the other person is saying. We never fully understand, since understanding is a process that evolves. In order to understand and interpret expressions of others, we have to rely on our own lived experience (Anderson & Goolishian, 1988; White, 1992).
Narrative is not haphazardly made up. Our culture provides a context in which communities construct stories, shaped by social structures and institutions and in this way, the stories we tell are shaped by the dominant cultural narratives. For example, in the West, gender-specific narratives have been created which outline the ways of being in the world. Stories are therefore co- authored within a community of persons and historically constructed within specific institutions and social structures (Wilson & Epston, 1989). In agreement with this, Rosenthal (1993) contends that a narrated life story represents the biographer's overall construction of his or her past and anticipated life in which important experiences are linked up in a pattern. The given story is representative of what the person considers to be important and reflects the person's construction of a lived experience. In addition to the telling of events, when a person tells a therapist his narrative, there is often little realisation that the narration is merely a selection of certain events out of an unlimited number. These events are selected around the person's taken- for-granted beliefs about himself in relation to others in his life (Parry, 1991). 32 The story therefore is not a life, but only a portion of events about a life which are influenced by the person's beliefs about himself and others. In this way, it becomes possible to re-invent or re-write the story of a person's past, whereby the client chooses a new story according to emerging beliefs about himself, others and life. This is the basis of the narrative paradigm (Parry, 1991).
The development of a narrative is done in conjunction with others and it involves defining who we are through interaction with other people's perceived understandings of us. This is a recursive process in which we create our own reality within a context of a community of others (Lax, 1992).
Emanuel Levinas (in Lax, 1992:71) states that, "The I does not begin with itself in some pure moment of autonomous self-consciousness, but in relation with the other, for whom it remains forever responsible".
Considering the fact that stories are connected to numerous other stories, it is hoped that the story will reach a point in which it is a common story for all parties involved, but at the same time retaining central elements belonging to the individual (Parry, 1991).
Mink (in Widdershoven, 1993:3) suggests that, "Stories are not lived, but told". It is therefore believed that narratives do not represent reality. A narrative paradigm asserts that there is no direct knowledge of the world or that of an objective reality. Our experience of the world is achieved through our experience of it (Geertz, 1986). Reality is what we make it (Held, 1990) and the best we can do is interpret another person's experience based on how they interpret it for themselves (Geertz, 1986).
Whatever sense we have of how things stand with someone else's inner life, we gain it through their expressions, not through some magical intrusion into their consciousness. It's all a matter of scratching surfaces (Geertz, 1986 as quoted in White, 1992:79).
33 3.5 PURPOSE OF NARRATIVES The purpose of the narrative process in psychotherapy is to help people derive alternative meanings for their experiences and assists people to step into some other account or description of who they might be as a person and actively engage in re-interpretation (White, 1995). Narrative should assist in the "re-storying" in which the client is facilitated to find his own voice. When a person finds his own voice, he takes charge of his story and is able to decide who the main characters are and how they will act (Parry, 1991). In relation to this, Wilson and Epston (1989) state that narrative provides the frame for interpretations and for making meaning of experiences. Action can therefore be predetermined by meaning-making and the stories affect the shaping of persons' lives. The narrative metaphor is not a mirror reflection of life, but instead implies that people live their lives by stories.
In addition, narrative is usually context-specific and is able to create understanding of human experience, as opposed to scientific theory which is context-free and only testable by further scientific enquiry. Narrative can be applied to any experience in life and can balance universality with uniqueness. A narrative is not an expression of isolated acts, but places events within a frame of history (Robinson & Hawpe, 1986).
Narrative conveys information which would not be understood if conveyed in literal terms and also provides a useful tool for negotiation as one person can tell his story while another can tell his version of the story (Robinson & Hawpe, 1986). Narrative therefore allows for a tolerance of different stories without the need to obtain a standard true narrative (Bruner, 1991).
Finally, in considering the purpose of narratives and the role of such narratives in relation to experience, Epston, White and Murray (1992: 98) argue that:
It is in stories that we situate our experience that determines the meaning that we give to experience.
34 It is those stories that determine the selection of those aspects of experience to be expressed. It is those stories that determine the shape of the expression that we give to those aspects of experience. It is those stories that determine real effects and directions in our lives and in our relationships.
3.6 NARRATIVE AND PSYCHOTHERAPY Psychotherapy evolved out of modernism and was equipped with theories that explained problems in living, on different levels. Therapists were seen as the authority who would comment and make suggestions on the underlying meanings of people's experience (Parry, 1991). The modernist era attempted to establish systematic and objective knowledge, which would enable society to make accurate predictions about cause-effect relations. According to behavioural scientists, people's narratives about their lives are inaccurate and unreliable, and less preferable than the empirically-based accounts of the scientist. These accounts are believed to contain explicit assumptions regarding causes of pathology and means by which such pathology can be eliminated. The therapist working within this frame of reference enters the therapeutic arena with a well-developed narrative for which there is abundant support from scientific peers. The ultimate aim is to replace the client's narrative with that of the therapist's story (De Amarim & Cavalcante, 1992).
White and Epston (1990:83) on the other hand distinguish between logico- scientific and narrative therapy and suggest the following about therapy which draws upon a narrative frame of reference:
It gives privilege to a person's lived experience; it invites a reflective posture and appreciation of participation in interpretation; it encourages a sense of authorship and re-authoring of one's life in the re-telling of one's experience; it encourages multiplicity and the use of ordinary and picturesque language in detailing the experience;
35 it establishes stories as co-authored and the client remains the privileged author; and finally, it encourages subjunctive mood.
Sluzki (1992) believes that narrative constitutes eliciting dominant stories, new information or alternate views, and creating and anchoring of new stories. According to White and Epston (1989), the narrative therapist attempts to make the individual's lived experience more significant than dominant cultural narratives.
McCabe (in Potter & Wetherell, 1987: 101) suggests that
... the narrative discourse cannot be mistaken in its identifications because the narrative discourse is not present as discourse - but as articulation. The unquestioned nature of the narrative discourse entails that the only problem reality poses is to go and look and see what things there are. The real is not articulated - it is.
And so, the original and traditional theories of the self are not constructions, but present themselves as representations of the real object. For example, trait theories have been considered to be most influential models in social psychology, suggesting that the self is a personality and that therefore the person consists of measurable personality traits, abilities and attributes. A person's behaviour is largely attributed to a combination of such traits (Potter & Wetherell, 1987).
The main objective therefore of the narrative approach has been to displace the focus from the self as entity and to focus on how the self is constructed. According to Potter and Wetherell (1987), the question is not what the true nature of the self is, but rather how is the self talked about. In telling the story, the client provides the therapist with a rough idea as to his orientation towards life (Howard, 1991) and this story becomes the basis of identity which challenges the notion of the stable self with enduring traits (Lax, 1992). The therapeutic process should place an emphasis on methods of making sense as the key to an explanation of the self for there is not one self, for 36 example the extrovert or introvert as suggested by trait theory, but rather a multitude of selves found in various linguistic practices articulated. Trait theory, as with various other theories, becomes one possible way of making sense but should not be a mutually exclusive option. The task of the therapist is to study the variation of interpretations in descriptions of people (Potter & Wetherell, 1987).
The narrative process can be viewed as comprising three stages. The first stage of empathising with the client entails acceptance of the client's narrative as it stands. Understanding and acceptance of the client's narrative entails suspending disbelief and attempting to place one's self in the client's shoes. The second stage entails reading between the lines and deciphering new elements of a story that the patient is not yet aware that he knows. This entails taking a sceptical position and believing that there is more to the client's story. Finally, the third stage involves attending to what is not overtly located in the client's narrative, but in the therapeutic relationship itself. (Berger, 1989).
The therapist is a facilitator of dialogue or of conversations about meanings, the aim of which is to clarify meanings in which the therapist develops a critically reflective process. The responses engender a conversation and the guiding metaphor is that of empowerment (Hindmarsh, 1993). The foreground of one's thinking should be occupied by the client's narrative, and the therapist encourages the client to expand on details, moving the narrative from the general to the specific. It is important for the therapist to bear in mind that he is dealing with multiple realities and a plurality of subjectivities, and although the therapist may hint at themes worth pursuing, it is the client who evolves his own story and chooses specific themes to be followed (Berger, 1989).
Narrative offers the therapist a tool for allowing clients to disregard constraining beliefs so that they can live their stories as they choose and in this way, their stories no longer live them. The narrative therapist seeks no truth and each response is accepted as a unique perspective (Parry, 1991) 37 which becomes important particularly in family therapy when the family often makes the assumption that there is only one truth. In support of the above, Widdershoven (1993) suggests that the emphasis is not on facts but on meanings, and therapists attempt to construct meaningful patterns which provide a context in which actions could be understood.
Therapists should view themselves as co-authors of alternative knowledge, and therapy is largely dependent on feedback from persons about their experience of therapy. In this way, therapists undermine the idea that they have expert knowledge (Wilson & Epston, 1989).
Stories sustain and maintain problems, and therefore any meaningful change in the dominant stories will affect the way in which problems are conceived. The transformed stories are a combination of components of the original story to which characters, plots and order have been added and changed (Sluzki, 1992). The client is encouraged to link experience through the dimensions of time to develop a more coherent narrative. The use of "I" and "you" is emphasised to highlight the presence of the narrator in his or her own narrative (White & Epston, 1990). According to Gergen and Kaye (1993), useful interventions should also include what responses clients elicit from others through interactional patterns. They could explore how they would experience life if they adopted different assumptions.
Finally, Anderson and Goolishian (1988:382) suggest that therapeutic conversations have several basic elements:
The therapist keeps inquiry within the parameters of the problem as described by the clients. The therapist entertains contradictory ideas simultaneously and therefore does not judge rightness or wrongness of any views. The therapist chooses co-operative language which moves the interview towards collaborative conversation.
38 - The therapist learns, understands and converses in the client's language, and evolves understanding through the metaphor of the client's experience. The therapist is a respectful listener who does not understand too quickly. The therapist asks questions, the answers to which require new questions. The therapist generates a conversational context which enables mutual collaboration in the problem-defining process. The therapist maintains a dialogical conversation with him/herself.
An important practice of narrative psychotherapy is the process of externalising the problem. Externalising avoids the blaming of the person by "implying or asserting that he has bad or pathological intentions or traits" (O'Hanlon, 1993:178). By externalising conversations, clients can confront and explore how various issues talk them into who they are as people and how it interferes in relationships. With these externalising conversations, the therapist assists in deconstructing conversations (White, 1995). Different questions are used to map the influence which problems have on people's lives (White, 1991). 'Landscape of action' questions encourage a person to situate the unique outcomes in sequences of events across time. These questions accentuate the more recent and more distant history of the unique outcomes. 'Landscape of consciousness' questions encourage a person to reflect on the meaning of the unique outcomes identified through the 'landscape of action questions' and in this way, 'landscape of consciousness questions' assist clients to accentuate their preferred beliefs that may have been marginalised by the dominant story of their lives (White, 1991: 30)
3.7 HERMENEUTIC PSYCHOTHERAPY Narrative psychotherapy overlaps somewhat with hermeneutics, which underlines that life and stories are internally related. The meaning of life cannot be determined outside the stories told about it (Widdershoven, 1993).
39 Hermeneutics is the science of understanding, and concerns itself with the interpretation of texts. In hermeneutics, the premise is
...that the real only answers when it is questioned. That meaning only becomes apparent in the context of a meaning project ... understanding begins with an initial interpretation of the global meaning of what the patient says (Bouchard & Guerette, 1991: 387).
The hermeneutic stance comprises an approach of questioning and challenging within an attitude of validating the person's point of view. Questions posed are never imposed from a 'knowing' position, but encourage experience to be shared through language. Hermeneutics thus examines a text to elicit beliefs and assumptions that have influenced the selection of material included. It affirms the validity of all points of view (Parry, 1991), and hermeneutic psychotherapy utilises five general principles (Bouchard & Guerette, 1991; Frank, 1987), viz:
Hermeneutics strives to uncover a reality that is not evident and to unveil a construction of a truth. Understanding is a circular-dialectic process, and thus begins with an initial interpretation which presupposes a shared basis of experience. From this interpretation other meanings develop. Hermeneutic understanding is temporal, and thus the meaning attached to the patient's story depends on questions asked. Real understanding requires intimate contact with the internal world of the patient and the therapist is continually aware of his own needs and ways of reacting, in order to place oneself in another's frame of reference. An authentic openness is required to truly understand the other. The therapist should be willing to listen and question his own prejudices and also convey that he is not the expert who knows in advance what the patient will transmit. If these abilities are not present, the therapist will remain trapped in his expectations of meaning.
40 The hermeneutics of narrative therapy challenges the power of any person's story to be taken as the truth and alternative stories and interpretations are given to challenge the received text (Parry, 1991). The hermeneutic therapist undertakes a joint quest for meaning and will focus on the subjective experiences of the client and will therefore be aware of his or her own assumptions and put these aside to liSten attentively.
3.8 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Chapter Three has considered the renewed interest in the ideas of language and has sketched the position of narrative within social constructionism by defining narrative and the purpose of narratives in the therapeutic process.
Chapter Four will go on to examine the various traditional research articles and books which focus on paedophilia.
41 CHAPTER FOUR
PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE: A REVIEW OF TRADITIONAL RESEARCH LITERATURE
The old grey donkey, Eeyore, stood by himself in a thistley corner of the forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, 'Why?' and sometimes he thought, 'Wherefore?' and sometimes he thought 'In as much as which?' - and sometimes he didn't quite know what 'he was thinking about' (A.A. Milne, 1989: "Winnie the Pooh).
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The above quotation reflects the confusion and conflicting points of view of researchers when attempting to explain paedophilia. It is apparent from a review of the literature that popular stereotypes of men who molest children have proved to be false and that misconceptions abound. The dearth of information on paedophilia has resulted in professional literature which is contradictory, ambivalent and potentially dangerous. A serious limitation in attempting to construct profiles of paedophiles is that the vast majority of research is conducted on men who are incarcerated. These samples are unlikely to be representative of the general population of men who sexually abuse, reasons for which will be given in the concluding chapter. In the current chapter, the researcher will explore the existing literature on paedophilia, that is, the experts' construction of paedophilia.
4.2 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE - PAEDOPHILIA ACROSS CULTURES AND TIMES
The image of child sexual abuse of 1885 was that of the helpless victim sold as a 'five pound virgin' to satisfy the jaded lusts of a perverted aristocrat. It was a mercenary, loveless, heterosexual event across a wide chasm of age, power and social class (McIntosh, 1988: 9)
42 A review of the historical literature of child abuse has revealed that sexual abuse and sexual use of children has a long history. From a variety of evidence, we know that incest is an ancient preoccupation of mankind. As an example from Greek mythology, when Oedipus inadvertently committed incest with his mother, and when the truth was subsequently revealed, it led to his mother committing suicide and Oedipus blinding himself (Collier, 1968). The horror of incest is still with us today.
Child sexual abuse is today becoming a public issue, and to understand this, it requires an understanding of its history. It is, however, noteworthy that the concern with child abuse is comparatively recent, apparently starting in the United States of America in 1874 with the case of Mary Ellen Wilson, who endured regular beatings and rape by her father which eventually resulted in her death. A number of service organisations were founded as a result of this and much legislation was passed for the protection of children, both in the USA and the United Kingdom.
The sexual use of pubescent boys was practised in Ancient Greece where young males, barely past puberty were solicited by warriors as portages and lovers (Vangaard, 1972). These boys always took the passive role, since men who allowed themselves to be sodomised were held in the highest contempt (Ungaretti, 1978).
Prehistoric society was patriarchal, with the dominant male reigning supreme. Life was violent and authority was vested in those with physical strength. Children had few rights, they were abused, abandoned and sold into slavery (Kriel, 1991). During the Renaissance, homosexuality and prostitution flourished and records show that very young boys were often victims of sexual abuse (Sussman, 1976). Marquis de Sade who has been associated with sadism and sexual perversion, argued in his "Philosophy in the Boudoir", that punishing pederasty was barbaric (Bullough, 1990).
The growth of Christianity led to the condemnation of these practices, although apparently not to protect the children as much as to prevent 43 onanism (Goodrich, 1976). Boy-lovers were often killed for homosexuality and the boys were not considered victims, but were also punished. Men who loved girls were also faced with serious consequences. In itself there was nothing wrong with having sex with a girl, but the girl was the property of her father and this property was damaged if she was no longer a virgin. This being the case, the father could sue for compensation. In medieval society, questions of rank and social standing were of utmost importance and much therefore depended on the position of the seducer. A man of lower rank than the girl was punished but a man of higher status was left in peace. Once again, it must be emphasised that the difficulty a man faced after having had sex with a girl was totally unrelated to the fact that she was still so young (Brongersma, 1984), and instead had ramifications as mentioned above.
Related accounts from the eighteenth century indicate that adult/child sex were an accepted practice in China, Japan, Africa, Turkey, Arabia, Egypt and India (Trembach, 1977). In 19th century London, the going price for a virginal, 12 year old girl of good background, was reported to be 400 Pounds Sterling (Bullough, 1964). Even as late as the nineteenth century, there were a number of respectable individuals who today would be classified as child molesters. Lewis Carrol was attracted to pre-pubescent girls and enjoyed photographing them nude. Another account is that of 'Bluebeard', Gilles de Rais. He had agents scouring the countryside for subjects, particularly young boys. Many were sexually assaulted before they died and allegedly even after they died, he abused their cadavers. When Perrault originally wrote the story, Bluebeard's victims were his wives, an apt re-telling of history (Bullough, 1990).
During the latter part of the nineteenth century, legislation against indecent behaviour with children was introduced. The age of consent however reveals the arbitrariness of the legislation, since it varied from 12 years in one country to over 21 years in another.
It is evident from this summary that the sexual abuse of children is something which has occurred throughout history. It appears in man's myths, laws and 44 literature, and is not a phenomenon peculiar to the twentieth century alone. Although it has been impossible to fully determine and document the incidence and prevalence of such abuse in previous centuries, research has shown that children through the ages have been subjected to abuse in some form. In today's times, the prevalence of child abuse can however be commented on. As an example, the Child Protection Unit revealed that in 1995, 28 482 crimes against children were reported to their unit. These figures reflect only those crimes against children under the age of 18 years and these statistics are representative of Gauteng only. Of the 28 482 crimes, 16 083 were cases of sexual abuse, representing a staggering 56% of crimes against children (Child Protection Unit, Johannesburg, 1996).
4.3 DEFINITIONS AND TERMINOLOGY OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
4.3.1 Problems with Definitions
In discussing problems with definitions, Araji and Finkelhor, (1986) note that research in the field is underdeveloped and there is much disagreement over what to call the phenomenon. Definitions of child sexual abuse have been used interchangeably with "child molesting", "incest" and "paedophilia".
Because of the multi-dimensional nature of the phenomenon, which covers a wide range of practices and relationships, it is difficult to arrive at an adequate definition of child sexual abuse. Haugaard and Reppucci (1988) provide a detailed discussion on the problems associated with defining child sexual abuse. The term 'sexual abuse' may, in one instance, refer to a case of violent vaginal or anal penetration of a pre-pubescent child, while in another instance, one may be discussing a "loving although exploitative and coercive process of seduction of a child ... which progresses over a period of months or years" (Levett, 1991:12).
A brief discussion of the social and legal definitions will further highlight the problem of reaching a consensual definition in this area.
45 Social and Mental Health Definitions
Schecter and Roberge (1976:60) define child sexual abuse as:
The involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend and to which they are unable to give informed consent or that violate the social taboos of family roles.
Finkelhor (1984) defines child sexual abuse as sexual encounters, between children under the age of thirteen and persons at least five years older than themselves, and sexual encounters between children aged thirteen to sixteen and persons at least ten years older.
Hobson, Boland and Jamieson (1985:104) in turn define the process as "any sexual contact between an offender and victim who, due to age and/or immaturity, is incapable either legally or realistically of giving consent. The specific sexual acts may range from mutual touching and fondling to actual intercourse, and access to the victim is achieved through pressure, coercion or deception".
Faller (1988:11) adds that sexual abuse is "any act occurring between people who are at different developmental stages which is for sexual gratification of the person at the more advanced stage".
A list of these acts has been given by Rauch (1992), as follows: Non-contact sexual abuse: includes sexy talk and exposure of private parts. Sexual contact: this includes the touching of intimate body parts. Oral-genital contact: involves the perpetrator licking, kissing, sucking or biting the child's genitals or inducing the child to orally copulate with him. Interfemoral intercourse: this is intercourse in which the perpetrator's penis is placed between the child victim's thighs. Sexual penetration: this involves the intrusion into an orifice. Four types have been noted:
46 digital penetration (fingers are inserted into anus or vagina) penetration with objects (an instrument is placed into the vagina, anus or mouth) genital intercourse (involves the penis entering the vagina) anal intercourse (involves the penis entering the anus). Sexual exploitation: this involves showing the child pornography or involving the child in prostitution.
Legal Definitions South African law assumes the right to enforce certain codes of sexual morality and considers behaviours which violate these codes to be punishable offences (Burchell & Milton, 1991). Thus, sexual behaviour with children is deemed to be a crime and is punishable by criminal law, as sexual activity by law should be confined to adult persons. However, South African law does not have a crime called 'child sexual abuse' and instead recognises specific crimes against children, the law being a normative science, in the sense that it works through the medium of specific offences (Middleton, 1991). These crimes are identified under Common Law, the Child Care Act, and the Sexual Offences Act and are seen and punished as rape, sodomy, unlawful fornication, incest, indecent assault, indecent exposure, or indecency. As regards the age of consent, the law differs in respect of heterosexual behaviour and homosexual behaviour, i.e. persons are deemed by law to reach the age of consent when they are sixteen and nineteen, respectively (Burchell & Milton, 1991).
4.3.2 Definitions of Paedophilia
Definitions of paedophilia differ and also vary from author to author. Araji and Finkelhor (1986) refer to a paedophile as any person who has masturbated to the fantasy of abusing a child, whereas Langevin and Lang (1985) suggest that this term (paedophilia) applies to any adult who has had sexual contact with a person under the age of sixteen, regardless of sexual preferences and motivations. Still other professionals define a paedophile as any person who
47 would prefer to have sex with a person aged eighteen or younger, even if such activity never takes place in reality (McCormack & Selvaggio, 1989).
To further define paedophilia, we also look to taxonomies of perpetrators, and among the most significant we find fixation versus regression. Fixation is defined as "a temporary or permanent arrestment of psychological maturation resulting from unresolved formative issues which persist and underlie the organisation of subsequent phases of development" (Groth & Birnbaum, 1978:176). A 'fixated' offender is usually attracted to significantly younger persons and peer-age relations are usually situational and seldom replace the preference for underaged children (Groth & Birnbaum, 1978). Regression on the other hand is defined by ...a temporary appearance of primitive behaviour after more mature forms of expression had been attained. A regressed offender has not exhibited any predominant sexual attraction to significantly younger persons and if any such attraction did occur it was situational or experimental in nature (Groth & Birnbaum, 1978:117).
Conte (1991) however suggests that this classification has lost much of its clinical value. A number of problems are cited, for example, that it was developed primarily due to research on incarcerated offenders, and men in prison may be psychologically very different to men who are not. Another problem was that many therapists report an overlap of characteristics in many offenders.
The DSM IV defines paedophilia as the expressed desire for sexual gratification with pre-pubertal children. This classification is unduly narrow by virtue of excluding pubescent children.
For the purpose of the present research, the word 'paedophile' will be used interchangeably with the word 'perpetrator', 'child molester' and 'sex offender'. The word paedophile or perpetrator refers, in its literal sense, to the person who commits an act of sexual abuse and is not intended as
48 interpretation in a diagnostic sense, or to indicate behaviour at the end of a continuum (e.g. from sexualised to abuse - reactive to predatory).
4.4 SOCIAL INTERACTIONAL SKILLS
While he desperately wants acceptance and closeness, he is unwilling to risk being hurt and thus maintains a distance in all his relationships (Prendergast, 1991: 56).
Sexual assault is an interpersonal act of power and control. Because it is manifested in the sexual domain, some have hypothesised that this behaviour is caused, in part, by deficits in heterosocial skills. Studies with heterogeneous samples of sexual offenders have led to a description of characteristics which entail a social-skill deficit as well as an inadequate personality (Abel, Blanchard & Becker, 1978; Grier, 1988; Segal & Marshall, 1985).
The most widely used definition of social skills was proposed by Libet and Levinsohn (in Curran, 1978:58) who define social skills as "the complex ability to maximise the rate of positive reinforcement and to minimise the strength of punishment from others". In addition, the following variables appear to be of importance when defining social skills: social perception, ability to assert oneself in social situations, verbal ability in social situations, social isolation, withdrawal, friendships, fear of rejection and intimacy (Ballard, Blair, Devereaux, Valentino, Horton & Johnson, 1990).
An area which has received considerable attention within sexual assault literature has been the assessment of social interaction abilities or the social incompetence of sexually assaultive men. Descriptive studies (e.g. Clark & Lewis, 1977; Marshall, Barbaree & Laws, 1990) have suggested that the sexual assaulter lacks the normal sexual and social relationship skills necessary to enable him to form relationships with the opposite sex. In a study conducted by Segal and Marshall (1985), rapists were found to be more adequate and more socially skilled than the child molesters. These
49 results were supported by various other researchers (e.g. Overholzer & Beck, 1986) who suggested that child molesters showed a trend towards lower assertiveness. However, Stermac and Quinsey (1985), pointed out the problem with this research in that most research is on incarcerated offenders and this group generally reveals lower social skill ability than community based subjects.
According to Stermac and Quinsey (1985), two recent studies found that child molesters were as good as non-offenders in recognizing that a problem existed, but were more likely to select a socially unacceptable solution and failed to anticipate the negative outcomes. Furthermore, studies which have aimed at assessing social skills in incestuous fathers have also concluded that a lack of such skill is prominent. Parker (1984), for example, reported that thirty one per cent of incest offenders said that they had almost no close friends compared with eleven per cent of the controls who said they had almost no close friends. Strand (1986) also found that incestuous fathers have low levels of group activity and participation. According to Williams and Finkelhor (1990), these findings were confirmed by several other studies revealing high levels of introversion among incest offenders. The only dissenting evidence is from Parker (1984), who, in spite of finding that incestuous fathers had few friends, did not find that they had lower levels of church membership, for example.
McGoldrick and Carter (1980) in turn found that the molester experiences problems with social skills in terms of his own family of origin, his wife, and his children, and this extends to the broader network and context of adults in general. Bagley and King (1990) suggest that these men have difficulty in establishing long-term relationships, are prone to divorce and because of their primary interest in children, tend to marry women who have children. Related research suggests that these men associate and interact with others on a superficial level - they never become intimate with anyone, even their wife or closest friend, they are unable to trust and they maintain a distance in all relationships to prevent being hurt. Safety is of paramount importance and
50 paedophiles often choose loneliness rather than risk rejection (Prendergast, 1991).
Hayashino, Wurtle and Klebe (1995) believe that social anxiety stems from the risk of being negatively evaluated. Overholzer and Beck (1986:686) also cite social anxiety as being pertinent to the etiology of child molestation. According to this explanation, child molesters lack the behaviours necessary to adequately interact socially. One respondent in their study illustrated this point as follows: "With an adult female, falling in love was threatening. I would be judged by someone who knew enough to judge, and I didn't want them to see I was weird, insecure, fearful, a loser. Young girls don't know any better".
In many psychological formulations of the motives of sex offenders, the sexual offence virtually disappears. Most psychodynamic explanations tend to minimise the sexual component of the offender's behaviour and re- interpret it as the ineffectual attempt of an inadequate personality structure to meet ordinary human needs (Herman, 1990). Groth and Hobson (1983: 165) describe the sexual assaulter as a man "...who does not have his life under control and experiences adult life demands and responsibilities as overwhelming and who finds adult sexuality threatening and it confronts him with his unadmitted doubts about his masculine adequacy". Prendergast (1991) explains that perpetrators often measure themselves upwards against others, primarily their peers who are more successful. Perfectionism is part of their syndrome and regardless of how well they do, they "should have done better". They constantly aim at pleasing all around them and are usually willing to buy friendship. They never feel equal to others. Their negative self image has been present since early childhood, and it is so ingrained that it is often next to impossible to change. This eventually leads to social avoidance as a safety measure, and while enjoying compliments at the moment that they are given, they are seldom able to internalise them. This inadequate personality affirms his self-esteem either non-criminally (non-sexually) through sport, power and money, and (sexually) as playboys and ladies' men. Criminally (non-sexually) they affirm themselves through assault and sexually through sexual assault. 51 Wolman (1989:250) defines this inadequate personality as "...that class of personality disturbance in which the individuals are characterised by inadaptability, social incompatibility, and inadequate response to intellectual, emotional, social and physical demands without being grossly physically or mentally deficient upon examination".
Adding to these descriptions, Okami and Goldberg (1992) speak of the inadequate personality as one which is passive, dependent, unassertive and awkward.
Paedophiles also tend to exhibit a defunct self-esteem as a result of which a fear of failure often develops and from that a resultant fear of trying which becomes phobically entrenched. Very often a low self-esteem results in selective perception, where the offender blocks out parts of reality which do not conform to the need to constantly measure upward and to compare favourably to the peer group (Prendergast, 1991).
In describing the most sexually deviate men he had ever known, Selkin (1991) stated that these men perceive their molestation behaviour as quite similar to that of hunters searching for prey. For example, a middle-aged man with a long history of offences against latency-aged boys recounted that "...as a youth he would hunt in the forest and the success in this activity was fundamental to his self-esteem in the family. He referred to his boy victims as prey and kept careful count of their number" (Selkin, 1991:320). Prendergast (1991) states that offenders have a history of being exposed to hurtful remarks (e.g. I wish you had never been born); with his defective self-esteem, he would feel exaggerated guilt at the slightest failure. Fiquia, Lang, Plutchik and Holden (1987) believe that the lack of self-esteem depends on either avoiding intimacy or controlling significant others. Related research comparing child molesters to men who offend against adult women, showed that molesters have significantly lower levels of self-esteem and self- confidence than individuals who offend against adults. In contrast, Groth and Hobson (1983) identified that low self-esteem, helplessness, vulnerability and 52 impaired social relationships are traits found in men who offend against adult women (Hillbrand, Foster & Hirst, 1990).
Peters (1976) reported on the results of the psychological tests given to a large sample of sexual offenders, i.e. that paedophiles turn emotional problems into physical ones, which reflects their low self-esteem. "They feel unable to compete with other men in efforts to attract adult women and because of this, felt inferiority. Retaining heterosexual aims, they then turn to little girls for affection and sexual gratification" (Peters, 1976:409).
According to Gilgun and Connor (1990), isolation plays an important part in the perpetration of child sexual abuse. Isolation is viewed as a quality of the inner life and as a social-psychological characteristic. Psychoanalytically- orientated clinicians view isolation as a symptom of being a divided-self, schizoid, and having tendencies to become isolated and withdrawn under stress. Psycho-socially orientated clinicians characterise the perpetrator's isolation in terms of difficulty in establishing social relationships. In addition, the authors point to the fact that the offender hungers for closeness and a sense of belonging and is often completely out of touch with his needs and has no experience of fulfilling them in healthy ways. These qualities of being out of touch with the self, develop in a social context of which the family is the most important and sets the stage for later sexual abuse of children (Justice & Justice, 1979).
Problems in parent-child relationships lead perpetrators to believe that they were not loveable. Reporting on their study, Gilgun and Connor (1990:79) suggested that the perpetrators' relationships with family members were characterised by "...being left out, ignored, parental preoccupation with their own struggles, and an inability to confide in and feel close to sibling". These men not only experienced themselves as isolated from the family, but experienced their parents as isolated from each other as well. This isolation continued to develop outside the family and all the men described themselves as loners in adolescence. Isolation from age-mates was a form of self-protection and without close friends to help them integrate the new 53 demands of adolescence, the different stages such as handling sexuality and establishing intimate relationships with the opposite sex were by-passed.
Furthermore, Gilgun and Connor (1990) state that isolation is often overcome by invading the boundaries of others so as to avoid the pain of separation. Their sexual invasiveness is a solution to separation. One of the respondents in the Gilgun and Connor study stated that "being sexual with my daughter was a way of making myself feel good" (Gilgun & Connor, 1990:85).
According to Erickson (1959), cognitive, social and biological changes are in ascendancy, and young people learn and depend on peers to manage these major life tests. Peer relationships provide adolescence with a frame of reference in which they test new behaviours, develop social skills, and learn what is acceptable and normal. The perpetrator (as a socially isolated adolescent) deals with these changes alone and as Erickson's (1959) theory predicts, they appear to be filled with shame and self-doubt, and become sexually exploitative of children as a result of being unable to negotiate sexual relationships with their peers.
Finkelhor (1979) in turn stresses the fact that sexual abuse occurs in instances where the individual is a loner and cannot develop adequate peer relationships, as well as in families where the entire family demonstrates a high degree of social isolation. This familial isolation very often promotes incest. Schlesinger (1982) supports this view, stating that the socially isolated stepfather who is dependent on his family to meet his emotional needs, could create the opportunity for incest.
Thornman (1983) observes that most offenders long for intimacy and warmth, because they did not experience it in their own childhood and they turn to their daughters (in the case of incest) in the hope of receiving gratification for this basic need. Affection is thus expressed in a sexual manner. Neubeck (1974) states that very often offenders can readily identify physical gratification as the reason for engaging in sex. Although they claim to attain this goal in adult relations, they claim further that they never achieve 54 the desired intimacy. According to Marshall • (1989), the deficiency in their ability to establish effective emotional relationships is critical to sexual offending. According to Perlman and Fehr (1987), intimacy is dispositional in that some individuals pursue intimacy more persistently than others; also, these individuals define intimacy as closeness and interdependency with partners. The development of attachment feelings and the growth of the capacity to form intimate relationships is largely dependent on early infant and childhood experiences (Marshall, 1989). Bowlby (1980:30) is quoted as saying "...the unchallenged maintenance bond (of attachment) is experienced as a source of security and the renewal of a bond as a source of joy". Thus the development of deep attachment bonds between mother and infant elicits confident, loving behaviour which optimises infant development (Marshall, 1989).
The early histories of sexual offenders are remarkably similar in many respects and characterise men who did not achieve secure attachment bonds in childhood and were, therefore, ill-equipped to develop the skills and capacities necessary to establish intimate adult relationships (Rada, 1978).
According to Marshall (1989), these sex offenders present with an absence of any deep intimate relationships, and describe themselves as loners. If they are married, they report these marriages to be superficial, and feel alienated.
Weiss (1982) suggests that sexual contact is often used to affirm the attachment bond (i.e. evidence that emotional intimacy is present). Consistent with this idea, a substantial number of child molesters describe interaction with their child victims in a manner that reflects "courting behaviour" (e.g. I hoped that she would fall in love with me). Such remarks can be understood as indicating that these men respond to the emotional loneliness produced by their failure to attain intimacy, by pursuing intimacy in quite inappropriate ways. These men equate intimacy with physical intimacy and sexuality (Marshall, 1989).
55 Related research suggests that a deficit in social skills and an inability to form attachments leads to boredom and anger and hence these men turn to children who are less threatening and more compliant to adult demands, to meet these unfulfilled needs (Simkins, 1993). These adult-child relationships are also easier to control and are emotionally safer (Ford & Linney, 1995).
While considerable research has outlined the perpetrators' inadequacy , need for intimacy and lack of social skills, reservations need to be expressed at this thesis, given the numerous incestuous fathers or men who have demonstrated adequate skills at infiltrating single parent families. Therefore, one cannot be too cavalier towards these theories.
4.5 AFFECT WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO EMPATHY
It may be that the crucial difference between molesters and non-molesters is that molesters do not empathise with their victims (Rice & Chaplin, 1994: 436).
How can a perpetrator carry out sex acts against a young child without sensing the fear and trauma the victim experiences? Researchers have developed theories of sexual offences emphasising cognitive, behavioural and environmental factors; however, such theories have paid little attention to affective components. It has been suggested that emotional factors have played a role in the onset of deviant sexual behaviours (McKibben, Proulx & Lusignan, 1994). Allusions to these deficits in the molester's ability to empathise with children warrant further exploration. Empathy provides the motivation to look beyond oneself and see the impact one has on others (Loar, 1994). Pithers (1994:565) defines empathy as "...a cognitive ability to understand and identify with another's perspective, an emotional capacity to experience the same feeling as another". An absence of such empathy appears to be a fundamental deficit in sex offenders according to Finkelhor (1984). However, Marshall and Eccles (1991) state that it is not clear whether this deficit extends to everyone with whom they come into contact or whether
56 it is specific to their victims. According to Peters (1976), the Rorschach shows paedophiles to be significantly more passive than rapists and indicates markedly diminished sensitivity to the needs of others and repression of their own need for affection and sensuous impulses. It is likely, according to this author, that this insensitivity permits them to be oblivious to the problems created by seductive behaviour towards victims.
Williams and Finkelhor (1990) (as quoted by Hayashino, Wurtle and Klebe 1995), in reviewing the characteristics of incestuous fathers, report that they are impaired in their capacity for bonding. In support of this, Parker and Parker (1986), suggest that more incestuous fathers in their sample reported being out of the household during their daughters' first three years, a possibly critical time for bonding. Others who have conducted life history interviews with molesters suggest that they view victims as objects and, being unable to empathise with the child's experience, focus primarily on their own pleasure (Gilgun & Connor, 1989). The molester's self-centredness precludes the possibility of experiencing empathy for others during the abusive act (Gilgun, 1988).
In addition to all this, retrospective studies have reflected mood disturbances, anxiety (Cole, 1992) as well as strong negative affect as an immediate precursor to the crime (Pithers, Kashima, Cumming, Beal & Buell, 1988). McKibben et al. (1994), however, suggest that retrospective data may be distorted by poor recall or may be used to rationalise the offender's behaviour.
Finally, most of the research on empathy and moral conduct has suggested that empathy is positively related to prosocial behaviour and has been found to be an inhibitor of aggression and antisocial behaviour (Miller & Eisenberg, 1988). Not surprisingly, empathy measures have been found to distinguish between adult offenders and non-offender populations. An example of this is demonstrated by phallometric studies which show that arousal to sexual themes is heightened for rapists when women are humiliated or hurt (Barbaree, Marshall & Lanthier, 1979; Quinsey, 1984). This lack of empathy 57 has also been linked to higher recidivism rates (Rice, Harris & Quinsey, 1990).
With this knowledge in mind, Abel (1994) states that it is still perplexing to understand why molesters are often able to empathise with their victims in non-sexual areas, but lack empathy in sexual assaults.
4.6 SEXUALITY AND THE PRESENCE OF SEXUAL PATHOLOGY
One of the most common traits of the repetitive compulsive sex offender is his long-term value belief that sex equals love (Prendergast, 1991: 74).
Freud (1953) initially conceptualised perversions as the expression of early infantile sexual cravings resulting from instinctual sexual drives. The non- deviate adult is normally able to convert these infantile cravings into normal heterosexual' activity but some are expressed as direct acts of perversion. The specific form of a person's perversion is determined by his state of maturation and environmental factors which contribute to fixation at some level of psychosexual development with its concomitant type of perversion.
Object-relations theorists state that when object-relations strivings are incomplete or fixated at a primitive level, the expression of intimacy in an intimate relationship is characterised by the primitive self's need for primary- object connectedness and nurturing. This sexual behaviour may exploit the child as a sexual object, devoid of individual identity. The regressed or fixated self of the perpetrator attaches itself symbolically to nurturing objects and the child is related to in terms of sexual function and sexual gratification (Taylor, 1990).
With regard to paedophilia as perversion, these offenders often report puritanical views towards women and sex (Baxter, Marshall, Barbaree, Davidson & Malcolm, 1984). Two responses on MMPI that most powerfully
58 differentiated paedophiles from other prisoners, in a study by Okami and Goldberg (1992), were "I read the Bible several times a week", and "I go to church every week". This study has been cited frequently to advance the view that paedophiles are preoccupied with religion. Peters (1976) reported that Rorschach administration showed that paedophiles repressed their sensuous impulses; however, this view did not substantiate the hypothesis that the behaviour of the paedophiles stemmed from extreme social sanctions against sensuous impulses or whether the impulses are in some manner related to sensuous repression.
Two authors (Swift, 1979 & Simkins, 1993) report that sex offenders were often raised in sexually restrictive homes where nudity or even discussions on sexuality were not tolerated, and, according to Simkins (1993), often repressive norms existed which made them feel guilty about engaging in sexual relationships and masturbation. Swift, citing Kutchinsky (1979) who indicated that there was a drop in sex crimes after the legalisation of pornography in Denmark, advanced the notion that sexual ignorance is part of the offender's etiology and that pornography might play a role in education. This notion, however, remains speculative.
Peters (1976) stated that having grown up in such dysfunctional families, paedophiles often show high levels of anxiety about their bodily structure. This finding was confirmed by drawings produced by the House-Tree-Person Test. The vast majority also report a paucity of sex education in their homes, stating that most of their early knowledge of sexual behaviour and reproduction came from their contemporaries, friends and acquaintances (Gebhard, Gagnon, Pomeroy & Christensen, 1965), while Ford and Linney (1995) state in addition that juvenile child molesters reported that a major part of their sex education came from watching others.
According to Hazelwood, Dietz and Warren (1992), ali sexual acts and sexual crimes begin with fantasy. The person who molests a child, typically uses fantasy of children during masturbation and these fantasies are instrumental
59 to the commissioning of sexual offences (Abel, Edward, Blanchard & Jackson, 1974; Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Freund, 1987).
According to Howells (1981), learning is established by fantasising about the initial deviant experience and the first experience becomes the basis of fantasies used in subsequent masturbation. This deviant fantasy becomes increasingly arousing through repeated masturbatory experiences. Such processes may account for the gradual development of a sexual preoccupation with child-related stimuli.
Frude's (1982) view is that the picture which emerges about sex offenders is low sex satiation and high sex frustration. Normal men can close the gap by fantasising and masturbating, but evidence suggests that sex offenders do not use fantasy in the same way as normal men do. Related research has suggested that ageing paraphiliacs frequently describe how certain erotic imagery has stayed with them most of their lives (Howitt, 1995). These paraphiliacs become aroused when such imagery relevant to their fantasy is encountered in magazines, videos and elsewhere (Levine, Risen & Althof, 1990). Offenders often indicate that they are bothered by such intrusive sexual fantasies of inappropriate behaviour (Friedman, 1991). It is therefore proposed that therapy should focus on changes in fantasy which could lead to subsequent changes in behaviour (Hammerman, 1961; Hollender, 1963; Reich, 1951). Abel, Becker, Cunningham-Rathner, Mittleman and Rouleau (1988) predict difficulty with this as they are of the opinion that paraphiliacs are reluctant to reveal and discuss the true scope of their deviant fantasies, for fear of social and legal repercussions.
The view of paedophiles displaying aversion to adult females and adult sexuality has emerged as a causal tautology. Langevin (1983) noted that the paedophile may in fact not find women aversive, so much as have a lack of interest in them as sexual partners. Empirical research tends to favour Langevin's suggestion in that paedophiles do not lack interest in adult women but that they have a preference for children instead (Baxter, Marshall, Barbaree, Davidson & Malcolm, 1984; Freund, 1987). Langevin and Lang 60 (1985:204) concluded, "The pedophiles in this study liked adult females sexually and generally in similar ways to community volunteers. They did not show an aversion to adult females or to intercourse and in fact they appeared to enjoy it". This view has been challenged by Paitich, Langevin, Freeman, Mann and Handy (1977) who suggest that sexual desire and sexual behaviour are not necessarily correlated and that it is possible for persons to function "satisfactorily" in heterosexual relationships while experiencing aversive responses to their partners. In addition, there are various other authors for example Marshall, Barbaree and Laws (1990) who have reported results which contradict the above research.
These authors suggest that paedophiliac type sexual orientation is characterised not only by being aroused by children, but also by disinterest in sexual relations with adults. Cole (1992) reported a biologic preference for children and being aroused by children in forty-four per cent of offenders in their sample. Various other research has also confirmed a greater incidence of adults being aroused by children (Marshall, Barbaree & Butt, 1985). In addition, evidence has also been produced which confirms this in men who molest nonfamilial children, but not for incest offenders (Freund, 1987). However, Cole (1992) suggests that it is of primary importance to identify the subgroup of incest perpetrators who are paedophilic and who will show being more greatly aroused by children.
Various other observations were noted in a study conducted by Marshall, Barbaree and Christopher (1986), one of which highlighted the fact that child molesters showed greater arousal by non-consenting sex with children than incest offenders. In contrast to this, Hall, Proctor and Nelson (1988) found that perpetrators exhibited greater arousal by consenting paedophiliac stimuli than by all other stimuli, including consenting sexual intercourse with adults. Levels of arousal by aggressive sexual and non-consenting sex appeared lower.
Further research has pointed to the fact that sex offenders have distorted perceptions of sex and love. In paedophilia, the most often used 61 rationalisation by the offender to the victim when asked a "why" question, is - "I am showing you love" (Prendergast, 1991). This author further suggests that all sexual behaviour serves a purpose and sex offenders have never had sex for fun. It is usually to make them feel better about themselves. Masturbation has always carried a meaning other than pleasuring and it is this other meaning which immediately became imprinted. The most common motive was to feel better about being rejected.
Additional research has also highlighted the fact that perpetrators show high levels of dissatisfaction in relationships. Several authors have pointed to the frustration of sexual outlets (Frude, 1982; Gebhard, Gagnon, Pomeroy & Christensen, 1965; Groth, 1978). According to Frude (1982), the offender often finds himself barred from sexual intercourse with his wife and where the need for sex is not met within the family, men might resort to prostitutes, pickups or have an affair. This alternative is not used by sex offenders and they do not appear to crave sexual contact with women outside the home.
Various authors suggested that perpetrators lack impulse control (Shelton, 1975; Weiner, 1962). Selkin (1991) suggests that the character of sexual offenders is varied and that few general statements about them are warranted; however, various assertions can be defended such as "poor impulse control". He states the following, "Offenders exhibit poor impulse control of their behaviour and poor judgement in several aspects of their lives" (Selkin, 1991:321).
The term Impulse Control Disorder, as used in the DSM IV, subsumes a variety of conditions in which there is failure to resist the drive or temptation to commit acts potentially harmful to the patient or others (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). This construct of impulsivity occupies an important place in the discussion of sex offenders in that poor impulse control is reflected in reports where perpetrators show a history of sexual offending (Awad & Saunders, 1991). These previous convictions are often both of a sexual and a non-sexual nature. Mair (1993) for example reported that theft was a common crime among sex offenders. Furthermore, offenders are also 62 reported to frequently participate in different paraphilias (Abel et al., 1988; Chaffin, 1994). Gibbens, Soothill and Way (1978) noted however that in incest, a large number of fathers were first time offenders.
Speculating on the etiology of pathological impulsivity, some researchers (Gorenstein & Newman, 1980) have suggested that the variety of impulsive behaviour patterns might be manifestations of an underlying syndrome, "disinhibitory psychopathology". In contrast to this, others have seen the manifestations of impulsive behaviour as characterising various psychiatric disorders, for instance, psychopathy (Blackburn, 1974) and episodic dyscontrol (Mark & Ervin, 1970). According to Prentky and Knight. (1986), there is some empirical support which demarcates psychopathy from episodic dyscontrol. Psychopathy reflects general lifestyle impulsivity whereas episodic dyscontrol reflects offence-related impulsivity.
Lack of impulse control may be transient, according to Trowell (1985) and may be due to stress or a personality characteristic, and an inability in offenders to be clear in their own minds about their feelings towards important people in their lives in the past and in their current relationships.
Prendergast (1991) views the notions of impulse control differently. He states that disturbed childhood, poor parental relationships and sexual trauma may explain the development of the sex offender, but this does not justify or exculpate that behaviour. He believes that free will still exists in these individuals despite their background characteristics, and that there are many occasions when these offenders could have altered their course of action. Many sexually assaultive persons admit to instances of rape-in-progress where the victim is subdued, on the ground and exposed; once this has occurred, their need may be satisfied and they leave the scene without needing to rape.
The analogy between sexual offending and other addictive behaviour is not novel and similarity has been previously noted by others (Carnes, 1983; Knapp, 1984). Similarities appear to exist between sex offenders and those 63 with indulgent behaviour problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, obsessive gambling and overeating. This behaviour is characterised by immediate gratification which is followed by delayed negative consequences. A rape or the molestation of a child leads to immediate gratification in the form of feelings of power and control over the victim, and these immediate positive feelings are followed by social disapproval, shame and incarceration (Nelson, Miner, Marques, Russel & Achterkirchen, 1985).
Sex addiction thus begins with a faulty belief system, developed during a dysfunctional early life. This belief system supports impaired thinking which insulates the individual from reality, and then draws him into an addictive cycle of sexual preoccupation, ritualisation, compulsiveness and despair. The cycle is self-perpetuating and often takes over the person's life; this unmanageability of the addictive cycle confirms the faulty belief that he/she is a bad person incapable of being loved and the sexual experience becomes the primary relationship for the addict (Horton, Johnson, Roundy & Williams, 1990).
4.7 SUBSTANCE ABUSE
He says it is not his thing to have sex with children. It only happened because he was very drunk. (Research Subject: Sterling, 1990: 24)
It is often claimed that alcohol intoxication of the offender plays a causal role in most cases of sexual abuse. Since alcohol and drugs impair judgement quite as effectively as a psychosis, they deserve attention.
The use of alcohol is widespread in our society, but the extent of its use and its impact on social and sexual behaviour is quite unclear. The weekend binge, cocktail parties, solitary drinking and bar hopping all represent different social class and subcultural variations of alcohol use. Given this variation, the relationship between alcohol use and sex offense behaviour is obscure.
64 Substance abuse is an escape from a reality which the individual has difficulty in coping with. Its use brings warmth and pleasure just as does sexual intimacy. The sexual abuse under intoxication has addictive qualities because once the adult is caught, it is extremely difficult to break loose, even under threat of prosecution (Kriel, 1991).
Various studies have confirmed higher levels of alcohol intoxication among offenders, but other studies have failed to find a relationship (Herman, 1981; Mandel, 1986; Parker & Parker, 1986).
According to Travin, Bluestone, Coleman, Cullen and Melella (1985), alcoholism should be considered a contributory condition in predicting treatment outcome; they state further that although alcoholism is not considered a causal factor, many sex offenders had drunk just before the crime. Research conducted by Rada, Kellner, Laws and Winslow (1979) suggested that alcohol is more directly causal in child molestation than in rape.
McCarty (1986) cites alcohol abuse as a common characteristic of incestuous abuse. In a study conducted by Elliot, Browne and Kilcoyne (1995), twenty- two per cent of the men in their sample had used alcohol prior to offending; according to Gebhard, Gagnon, Pomeroy and Christensen (1965), alcohol is a factor in nearly thirty per cent of all paedophilic offences and the importance of alcohol in the offender's social life was much larger than the control group. Howells (1981) suggested that substance abuse is proportionately less in sexual offenders than violent offenders, but that half the paedophilic offenders in their study were drinking at the time of their offence. Pierce and Pierce (1985) reported a lower incidence of substance abuse in cases where boys were being abused and a significantly higher amount of alcohol consumption where girls were being abused. Mrazek and Kempe (1987) defined an alcoholic as drinking a fifth of a bottle or more per day or drinking to the extent that social and occupational adjustment is impaired. Using this definition, Mrazek and Kempe (1987) found that nearly twenty-five percent of men imprisoned for sexual abuse with pre-pubertal 65 children were alcoholics. An interesting finding by Gebhard et al. (1965) is that in their study, twenty-five per cent of offenders who had relations with their daughters younger than 12 years old, were alcoholics, and alcohol intake with others decreased as the age of the child increased. Herman (1981) found that approximately forty-six per cent of the fathers were heavy drinkers and relations took place while drunk, but these fathers admitted that they drank to gain courage for the approach. Finally, Selkin (1991) stated that he would be comfortable in defending his assertion that many offenders drank heavily and that a disproportionate number used street drugs.
Alcohol consumption may therefore be seen as causal in sexual abuse or as a means to overcome inhibitions in those who are predisposed to abuse (Marshall, Barbaree & Laws, 1990) and many believe that substance abuse is used as an explanatory factor in order to minimise the offender's behaviour.
Furthermore, offenders exhibit a high level of heterosocial anxiety which, together with their identified skill deficits, may be etiologically related to their attraction to children. This social incompetence may, for some paedophiliac offenders interact in combination with other factors such as alcohol intoxication to account for their sexually assaultive behaviour (Fiquia, Lang, Plutchik & Holden, 1987). Scully and Marolla (1984) suggest that the offenders' use of alcohol served to take responsibility away from themselves and allows them to see themselves as "nice guys" who had a lapse for which they cannot be blamed.
It appears therefore that there could be a connection between sexual abuse and alcohol even though various researchers have not found meaningful correlation between the two. Groff and Hubble (1984) reported that over eighty per cent of their sample of offenders did not report any alcohol consumption prior to the assault; Lee (1982) in turn believes that the stereotype of the alcoholic offender describes only a minority of offenders, and found that only fifteen per cent in this sample could be classified as alcohol abusers. Katz and Mazur (1979) state that there is no causal
66 connection between alcohol and abuse and the same degree of alcoholism is evident in non-sexual criminal offenders.
Finally, Marshall, Barbaree & Laws (1990) state that studies of this nature do not reflect appropriate representative samples and there is a lack of appropriate comparison controls. It is not clear whether alcohol abuse is characteristic of sex offenders specifically, in a general prison population or of a demographically similar population of men who have not committed crimes.
4.8 ABUSED-ABUSER HYPOTHESIS
The young man tells how he was sodomised by his father until he was old enough to reject his advances. He is now in prison because he raped and sodomised over 22 young boys (Holmes, 1983: 264).
Failing to find any readily apparent mental disorder that characterises sex offenders, psychological investigators may have increasingly focused on aspects of their developmental histories that might offer clues to their behaviour. The hypothesis most frequently posed is that sex offenders were themselves sexually victimised in childhood. According to Herman (1990), the sexual offence is understood as a re-enactment of the early trauma. It has also been hypothesised that child incest victims will be predisposed as adults towards abusing their own children (Gentry, 1978; Meiselman, 1979). The precise etiology of paedophilia is largely unknown, but there are certain notions about it, one being that sexual abuse in the offender's childhood causes paedophilia. According to Freund, Watson and Dicky (1990), this belief is based on numerous offenders reporting that they too were childhood victims of abuse. However, the abused - abuser theory has various versions differing in regard to specificity: the most specific version suggests that childhood sexual abuse causes paedophilia while the most general version suggests that such sexual abuse renders a man prone to committing sexual offences in general (Freund & Kuban, 1994).
67 One might therefore speculate about how paedophilia occurs inter- generationally in families. Are boys with a paedophile in their families more likely to offend when they are older? Research into the family background of paedophiles revealed the following: of the parents who were sexually deviant, eighteen-and-a-half per cent of them had had some exposure to sexual deviancy in their own family of origin; families who had experienced paedophilia had been exposed to paedophilia in their own family of origin as well, and (b) families which did not have paedophilic experiences nevertheless had sexual deviancy (not involving paedophilia).
This data therefore indicates that paedophilia is a familial disease not associated with an increased familial risk of other paraphilias (Gaffney, Lurie & Berlin, 1984).
In assessing the abusive backgrounds of offenders, Pelto (1981) found ten times as many childhood sexual abuse experiences in the histories of offenders as compared to non-offender controls, while Langevin (1983) found over five times as many. In an attempt to explain why sexual victimisation later leads to enactment of sexual abuse, Groth, Hobson and Gary (1982) theorised that the perpetrator tries to combat feelings of powerlessness inherent in being a victim and many may reverse roles with the perpetrator and in doing so, feel powerful.
In a study conducted by Awad and Saunders (1991), the incidence of child sexual abuse was significantly higher among child molesters than men who assaulted adults. Both groups had comparatively high rates of having been physically abused as children.
Related research revealed that fifty-three per cent of incarcerated molesters in the sample claimed to have been victims of childhood sexual abuse (Earls, Bouchard & Laberge, as quoted in Ames & Houston (1990).
68 Based on the relative incidence of childhood victimisation among rapists as well as a comparison between assaultive and non-assaultive home environments, one may conclude that early sexual victimisation of a child is more significant to the etiology of child molestation than it is to the etiology of rape (Seghorn, Prentky & Boucher, 1987). Groth (1979a), however, found that approximately one-third of rapists as well as child molesters had experienced some form of sexual trauma during their formative years. In a related study by Seghorn et al. (1987), it was found that rapists who were molested as children were more likely to have been molested by family members, whereas child molesters were more often assaulted by non-family members. This finding is noteworthy especially in the light of several reports indicating that the closer the relationship of the assaulter to the child, the greater the subsequent psychological damage (Gibbens & Prince, 1963; Landis, 1956).
While children react to sexual abuse in a variety of ways, one common response is to become sexually reactive. They mimic sex, abuse animals, masturbate or use sexual language to antagonise adults. When these sexually reactive children enter adolescence, precocious sexual behaviour becomes grounds for incarceration. If these juveniles are not rehabilitated, as adults they risk becoming rapists or child molesters (Muster, 1992). This re- enactment theory has implications for understanding paedophilia, but has not been researched to the extent to which re-enactment has been researched in rapists (Howitt, 1995). Burgess, Hazelwood, Rokous, Hartman and Burgess (1988) studied serial rapists, each of whom had attacked a minimum of ten women. When asked whether they had ever been sexually abused as children, they emphatically denied it. However, their self-reported earliest sexual experiences were assessed for abuse and three-quarters of the rapists reported episodes which were coded as sexually abusive by the researchers. This re-enactment process according to Howitt (1995) is an attempt to deal with the confusion generated by the sexual aspects of the abuse: the child becomes unable to control his own arousal and becomes pre-occupied with sexually arousing thoughts and it has been suggested that
69 the age of the offender's own sexual victimisation may be an important factor in determining his choice of victims (Greenberg, Bradford & Curry, 1993).
Various explanations have been posited with regard to why the abused child grows up to become an abuser. Behaviourists explain the cycle of abuse in learning terms, that is, as an adult the vicitimised child either directly models the (experienced) sexually abusive behaviour, or the experience of child molestation is associated with arousal and through conditioning processes such behaviour is seen as attractive (Wenet, Clark & Hunner, 1981). One problem with such theories is that only a small portion of men who are molested grow up to become molesters. However, it might be that a child who himself has experienced ineffective parenting may find the sexual molestation by an adult far more attractive, since it involves intimacy, compared with a child who has had a secure attachment bond and whose need for intimacy is therefore satisfied in a more appropriate way (Marshall, 1989). Related research by Bagley, Wood and Young (1994) suggests that the adult at risk is the one who was emotionally abused or neglected as a child, and he often develops an attachment to a male who sexually exploits him; this attachment involves an internalisation of the role of the abuser as a means of fragile ego integrity. In Finkelhor's terms, they may have "arrested emotional development" (1984:56) and a need to feel powerful and controlling. For the insecure child who desperately needs intimacy, therefore, the sexual abuse by an adult may provide a possible model for this later pursuit of intimacy; consequently, he may also learn to identify intimacy with sex, which will be to his disadvantage as an adult (Marshall, 1989).
Groth (1982) points to the fact that in most cases of mother-child incest, the mother too has been a victim. The psychological bases of maternal paedophilia are those of inadequacy, loneliness, immaturity, vulnerability, and helplessness. Urquiza and Capra (1990) expand on this by stating that the typical outcome of childhood sexual abuse is compulsive sexual behaviours and sexual acting out.
70 The principal psychological impact of sexual abuse may be one of fear (especially of adults) and possibly one of anger. This would be consistent with the child molester's turning away from adults and directing his interest towards children, who are safer and less threatening. The fact that rapists were victimised more often by females may explain their selection of women as targets for their offences (Groth, 1979a). It has also been observed that the child molester will later duplicate his own victimisation in the form of age of the victim and type of act committed which correspond with his own childhood experiences (Burgess & Holmstrom, 1974).
Prendergast (1991) suggests that the differentiating factor between men who were sexually abused as children and became perpetrators and those who did not, is their experience of the sexual trauma. For those men who did grow up to become abusers, the sexual trauma was invariably never discovered, never reported or never properly treated. According to Goldstein (as quoted in Swift, 1979), fewer boys than girls report their abuse. Silence often surrounds the boy who is sexually victimised as his victimisation may be proof that he failed in his masculine role to defend himself; to share his trauma is to advertise defeat. Furthermore, the adolescent learns that sexual involvement of this nature would not be tolerated by his peers and anger at the perpetrator and his parents who should have protected him replaces love. Sexual dysfunctions begin at that point and continue into adulthood with the degree of dysfunction depending on the depth of the original trauma (Prendergast, 1991).
Victims who repress their trauma often become satyrs to prove their manhood. In a non-sexual manner they may achieve this through sport, power and money, and sexually through sexual abuse or as playboys, ladies' men and macho personalities. Victims who accept their trauma's as deserving may become mama's boys, hen-pecked husbands or sexually seductive paedophiles or exhibitionists (Prendergast, 1993). The men who do not become sexual offenders, usually have a strong self-esteem, having a good relationship with an adult at the time of the abuse in whom they could confide as well as good sexual knowledge at the time of their molestation, 71 several friends, success at school and in sport, and enduring self-confidence; also, they were generally long-term, goal-orientated boys rather than boys who lived day-by-day (Prendergast, 1993).
Despite all the evidence of the so-called cycle of abuse, there is still a dearth of information which could explain what is virtually a male monopoly of this type of behaviour. Since girls are sexually victimised at least two or three times more often than boys, this theory would predict a majority of female offenders rather than male offenders (Herman, 1990). According to Freund, Watson and Dicky (1990), many paedophiles may falsely claim to have been abused which makes the molestation theory essentially untenable. There appears to be some formal support of this view in Hindman's (1988) study: paroled adult male offenders were interviewed during 1980-1982 and again in 1982-1988. Hindman explained that in the period 1982-1988, the offenders would undergo lie-detector tests to evaluate their claims; if their self-reports of abuse were false, they would go back to prison. Without the lie-detector test and its implications, claims of childhood abuse were made by sixty-seven per cent of the offenders, but this figure dropped to twenty-nine per cent when the test and its implications were introduced. According to Howitt (1995) however, it is an open-ended question as to why these differences in fact occurred. The differences may be self-serving excuses or a tentative acceptance of their childhood abuse which is insufficiently strong to survive the threat of imprisonment.
Two other studies of adult sex offenders of children and adolescents attempted to deal with the issue of comparison groups by comparing the prevalence among sex offenders of childhood and adolescent sexual contact with adults with such contact among rapists (Seghorn, Prentky & Boucher, 1987; Tingle, Barnard, Robbins, Newman & Hutchinson, 1986). As both studies placed sex offenders of male and female children and adolescents into a common group, the findings of any potential differences in prevalence rates between the two groups was thus obscured.
72 A further two studies among adult sex offenders of children and among comparison groups, investigated childhood and adolescent histories of sexual contact with adults (Condy, Templer, Brown & Veaco, 1987; Groth, 1979a). These studies were more sophisticated in that prevalence rates of adult sex offenders of children compared with other sex offenders with non-sexual offenders and with normal non-offenders. However, sex offenders of male and female children were again placed into a common group giving rise to the same blurred results as the two previous studies.
Finally, Finkelhor (1984) argues that research generally shows relatively low reported frequencies of abuse in offenders' childhoods, and Hansen and Slater (1988), in a review, concluded that sex abusers did not differ from other sex offenders and non-sex offenders in respect of abuse.
As can be seen from the discussion above, there is significant variability in the prevalence of self-reported childhood abuse among offenders. Sampling and methodological differences among the studies may account for the variability in findings (Garland & Dougher, 1990) but even so, the possible significance of the abused-abuser hypothesis should not be overlooked.
4.9 EARLY LIFE AND CHILDHOOD SEXUALISATION OF PAEDOPHILES
My mother and dad would fight, and they would have these blowups, and splits and everything. Whenever they went back together, there was never anything said in front of the kids. Us kids were thrown into complete chaos (Gilgun & Connor, 1990: 78).
Common sense would suggest that child abusers are very different to "normal" people. Many researchers have searched for the special paedophile ingredient. The list is endless, but none of the simplistic views seem adequate in explaining paedophilia. This section takes a closer look at the early life and childhood sexualisation of paedophiles in an effort to find characteristics peculiar to a paedophile's childhood.
73 It is clear from a review of the general literature on attachment that the nature of the relationship between a child and his/her parents is critical to the development of the capacity for intimacy in adulthood (Parks & Stevenson- Hinde, 1982; Seidman, Marshall, Hudson & Robertson, 1994). The literature on intimacy and loneliness has established a clear relationship between the presence of intimacy problems and aggressive disposition (Marshall, 1989). Also, sex offenders are reported to have had disruptive childhoods of the kind we would expect to damage attachment bonds and result in intimacy problems in adulthood (Seidman et al., 1994).
Besides case reports, there has been little research on the effects which offenders' families had on the sex offenders during their formative years. Sears (1957) indicated that a nurturing interaction between adult and child is necessary in order for the child to identify with its parent and reported that the formative years of sex offenders are characterised by abuse and ineffectual parenting styles with parental nurturance often replaced by anger, hostility, uninvolvement and abuse. Levant and Bass (1991) support this view of the family as a reference group and further hypothesised that sex offenders would identify less with their parents.
A study conducted by Awad and Saunders (1991) revealed that the majority of offenders in their sample came from a disturbed family background. Among the offenders' mothers, approximately twenty-five per cent of them had a history of depression; two of the mothers had committed suicide and another two had a history of psychiatric symptoms. Approximately thirty-three per cent of the offenders' fathers had a history of alcohol abuse and ten per cent had a history of drug abuse. Thirteen of the offenders came from families in which sexual deviance among relatives was known and two of the mothers were prostitutes. The researchers explain the offenders' deviance as being a learned behaviour, a repetition of what they were exposed to at home.
74 The theory about a dysfunctional family unit is further supported by research conducted by Hanson, Lipovsky and Saunders (1994) who report that perpetrators were often exposed to chaotic families where there was marital conflict, parental divorce and substance abuse. Knapp (1982) reporting on clinical impressions of families of offenders, found that the families were either very rigid and enmeshed or very chaotic with a great deal of role confusion. A more recent study by Olson (1986) revealed that families of sex offenders are characterised by greater family cohesion when compared with other delinquents but Ford and Linney (1995) found that child molesters were often victims of parental violence and that they reported more intra-family violence than status offenders or rapists.
Related research found that eighteen-and-a-half per cent of child molesters came from families where other members of the family exhibited sexual deviancy. It was also found that families of paedophiles exhibited paedophilia and that families of non-paedophilic paraphiliacs exhibited a non-paedophilic paraphilia (Gaffney, Lurie & Berlin, 1984). A review of additional literature revealed that disturbed paternal relationships pervaded the offenders' life history. Williams and Finkelhor (1990) found significant evidence of paternal mistreatment or rejection. For most men, the absence of an adequate male role model in childhood tends to leave emotional scars and a review of the literature confirms that incestuous fathers seem to lack a core masculine identification (Baker, 1985; Berkowitz, 1983; Finkelhor, 1984; Parker & Parker, 1986). Caffaro (1991) explains the effects of parental rejection as resulting in the child being unable to give up the external object and thus the child handles the frustration by internalising the aspects of the loved-hated parent in order to control the objects in the inner psychic world. Kernberg (1975) suggests that these internal representations become the object- relational unit whereby the introject is repressed and retained as a psychological representation of the parent. According to Fairbain (1954), these representations eventually undergo various splits and the other people are seen in terms of the individual's own needs.
75 Forward and Buck (1978) attribute the perpetration of sexual abuse to a domineering mother who controlled the life of her son to such an extent that he never developed a positive self-image and confidence to do things on his own. Prendergast (1991) indicates that paedophiles come from homes where there is at least one "never-to-be-satisfied" parent. No matter what the child does, it is never good enough to satisfy his parent/s. One cause for later offending is attributed by Gilgun and Connor (1990) as being life-long isolation which begins in the family of origin and extends into adolescence.
In a population where the adult pathology is explicitly sexual in nature, it is psychologically meaningful to posit that one of the important antecedents of such pathology could be found in early sexual experiences (Seghorn, Prentky & Boucher, 1987). Studies in the late 1980's indicated that early deviant sexual behaviour can lead to a pattern of repeated sexual offences in adulthood (Becker, Rathner & Kaplan, 1987), and that many adult sex offenders admit to having offended in adolescence and that their offending behaviour increased over time (Becker, Hunter, Stein & Kaplan, 1989). This view is supported by later research which indicates that approximately fifty per cent of adult offenders report that their first offence occurred when they were adolescents (Bischof, Stith & Whitney, 1995), while related retrospective research cites that almost sixty to eighty per cent of offenders committed sexual crimes in adolescence (Ford & Linney, 1995).
Prior to the 1980's, adolescent sex offences were not taken seriously - typically they were explained as normal experimentation or developmental curiosity. The problem was thus either minimised or denied (Bischof et al., 1995). However, knowing that many juvenile offenders continue their crimes as adults, attention would need to be focused on the juvenile sex offender and his early life experiences, but there is a scarcity of research in this particular area (Becker et al., 1989).
Abel, Mittleman and Becker (1985) suggested that the majority of sex offenders experienced deviant sexual arousal and behaviour before the age of eighteen. Available studies indicate that there is a high prevalence of 76 neuropsychiatric disorders in juvenile sex offenders (Kavoussi, Kaplan & Becker, 1988) and related studies have shown that a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders also exist and include depression, auditory hallucinations, paranoia and thought disorder (Lewis, Shankok & Pincus, 1979). A high incidence of conduct disorders are also prevalent, which may imply that sexual offences are committed due to poor impulse control and antisocial behaviours (Kavoussi, et al., 1988). It has also been found that the adolescent perpetrator often exhibits psychosocial characteristics similar to adult offenders in that they tend to be loners who have little skill in establishing close or meaningful relationships, they are often underachievers who find few outlets for personal expression or sense of identity, their orientation to life is immature, and they are more comfortable with children than with their peers (Groth, 1977).
As mentioned previously, adolescent perpetrators are often exposed to neglectful, rejecting parents (Davis & Leitenberg, 1987) as well as social isolation and parental maltreatment (Worling, 1995). Lakey (1994) reported that these adolescent perpetrators very often live in transient families where men and women may come and go. This lack of stability and consistency, coupled with confusion about one's own sexual identity and a real sense of powerlessness in the family, could combine to result in sexual offending.
4.10 DISTORTED COGNITIONS
"I thought it was my wife". This was said by a larger man with a large wife about his four year old daughter whom he quite by accident had sex with (Salter, 1988:60).
Ever since Cain denied responsibility for the whereabouts of his brother, the tendency to recount events in a favourable way to oneself has been a consistent failing of human behaviour. According to Kennedy and Grubin (1992), Freud pointed out that distortion of the past can be subtle and unintentional, while Nietzsche observed that when memory and pride are at 77 odds, it is memory that ultimately gives in. In court cases, this can be seen in the lack of congruity between participant and witness statements (Loftus, 1992).
An issue so commonly associated with the treatment of sex offenders is that of denial and minimisation (Hollin & Howells, 1991). Child molesters hold these cognitive distortions which maintain their deviant behaviour and which include rationalisations, justifications and excuses (Hayashino, Wurtle & Klebe, 1995). It is further suggested that these distorted cognitions are the sine qua non of the sex offender that allows them to construe the behaviours and motives of their victims as sexual and allows them to justify their offending behaviour and indeed very often the type of offence as well. The following are statements made by intrafamilial abusers: "It's better to molest your own child rather than commit adultery" and "I've taught her everything else, why not about sex?" (Howitt, 1995:93).
Cognitive factors must therefore be considered in any complete explanation of the dynamics of child molestation (Abel, Becker & Cunningham-Rathner, 1984; Finkelhor & Araji, 1986; Horley, 1988). These cognitions may provide a key consideration with respect to both the etiology of child molestation and its maintenance. Learning about the different thoughts of child molesters may assist in understanding sexual assault more broadly (Horley & Quinsey, 1994; Marshall & Barbaree, 1990).
Brief perusal of the psychological literature reveals that cognition in sexual assault remains virtually unstudied. According to Segal and Stermac (1990), the reason for this may be manifold, yet one explanation is that cognition has been emphasised in studies relating to, for example, unipolar depression, while studies focusing on sexual assault have been dominated by models of deviant sexual arousal.
With regard to rationalisations, Horley and Quinsey (1994) suggest that offenders perceive themselves as sexually undesirable and due to this rationalisation of their self-perceived repulsiveness, they may view women in 78 a similar way. According to Frude (1982:217), some fathers may overcome their inhibitions by rationalisations such as, "The child is old enough to understand", or "physically mature", or they may point out that their daughter is "old for her years". Various researchers (Meisselman 1979; Hansen, Gizarelli & Scott, 1994) remark that fathers may minimise the harm of sexual abuse and rationalise their behaviour by stating that sexual abuse and incest is a common occurrence; also, offenders are supportive of male sexual entitlement and they are narcissistic, uninhibited men who believe that their own sexual impulses must be fulfilled.
Another cognitive distortion that has been cited is that of denial. Barbaree (1991) suggests that denial can manifest in three ways: complete denial that anything took place, admission of sexual relations, but denying that it was an offence, or admission of physical contact, but denying existence of the sexual elements. Langevin (1985) suggests that men who commit sex offences show numerous forms of denial. They tend to deny the allegations, the extent of the abuse, and their problematic sexual behaviour. More subtly, some admit to offences but only under very special circumstances or according to their own idiosyncratic definitions. For example, a paedophile may describe fondling a child as being emotionally supportive and playful (Haywood, Grossman, Kravitz, & Wasyliw, 1994). Sex offenders may also deny deviant fantasy, deviant sexual arousal and the effects of these behaviours on victims (Haywood & Grossman, 1994). Denial is also often used to avoid discussion regarding detail, which would be too embarrassing for the perpetrators (Becker, Kaplan, Cunningham-Rathner & Kavoussi, 1986). According to Kennedy and Grubin (1992), offenders may deny their offences to the extent that they convince themselves that they are not guilty. Herman (1981:22) in turn, has written "...denial has always been the incestuous father's first line of defence". In support of this, Salter (1988:97) pointed to the fact that offenders only expose a fraction of the problem, and wrote that "...one offender who admitted intercourse with his daughter, but for a shorter period of time than his daughter charged, eventually reversed his story when the treatment team recommended that he be removed from his home for failure to comply with treatment. Upon reversal, he easily told 79 enough details of the abuse to clearly substantiate his daughter's charges. When asked why he had lied about the abuse ... he was unable to answer. It seemed to him that in some fundamental way, what he was admitting to was infinitely less objectionable than what he was denying, even though the sexual activities were the same."
Minimisation is often used to shift responsibility to factors beyond the offender's control (Marshall, 1994). According to Barbaree (1991), three forms of minimisation are noted, namely that offenders may minimise harm to the victim, they may minimise the extent of previous offences, and finally they may minimise their responsibility for the offences.
Many sex offenders tend to shift responsibility to another person (e.g. the victim was being seductive) or to some other factor (e.g. intoxication). Lanyon, Dannenbaum, Wolf and Brown (1989) suggest that sex offenders also minimise the extent of their own personal problems and deviant behaviour patterns. In this way, there is some assurance that by minimising their role as perpetrators, they have less incentive to avoid inflicting similar abuse in the future (Murphy, 1990). It has also been found that in therapy too, many offenders minimise their actions and exhibit less self-disclosure (Fiquia et al., 1987).
Offenders have also been found to hold attitudes which legitimise their crimes in their minds. Rapists have negative views of women and often endorse the rape myth, which condones violence against women. Likewise, child molesters tend to hold cognitive distortions to maintain their deviant behaviour (Conte, 1985). These views entail not only sex with children, but more general views regarding children. Gore (1988) and Stermac and Segal (1990) found that child molesters saw children as being seductive, as wanting sex with an adult and as being able to consent to sex with an adult; the latter added that child molesters judged children to be more responsible than the offenders for sexual contact with an adult. This act of justification attempts to show that the action was not wrong, whereas an excuse admits that an act is wrong, but gives a reason for it (Kennedy & Grubin, 1992). According to 80 Austin (1961) (as quoted in Potter and Wetherell, 1987), when someone is behaving in a bad or untoward way, two alternative strategies are open to the person, that is, either an excuse or justification.
Jones and Nisbett (1972) point out that there is a pervasive tendency to justify actions by attributing them to situational requirements or to personality disposition. According to Hewstone and Jaspers (1982), an individual will attribute behaviour of another person to the group to which the other person belongs. This serves to protect the stereotype to which the "in group" and the "out-group" belong. In applying this theory to discourse of child sexual abuse, Sterling (1990) suggests that men who have not committed an act of sexual abuse would explain the behaviour by placing blame either on the attributes of the offender, which they believe they do not share, or by placing the responsibility on the victim, thus protecting the interests of the group to which they belong.
Prendergast (1991:07) suggests that at the time of the offence, a common justification is, "Well you've gone this far, you may as well finish". Salter (1988:99) provides a further example of justification, where an incarcerated child molester who refused to participate in a research event asked whether the project could be used to detect a child molester. When the author replied that it could be, the molester stated, "Then it is not in my best interests. This behaviour isn't immoral, you know, it's just illegal."
The general picture that emerges from this overview is that child molesters use justification to construe sexual abuse in accepting terms or else they deny and minimise the effect. However, much remains unknown about the way in which these explanations interact with other factors to facilitate the offence.
81 4.11 SOCIO-CULTURAL CRITIQUE OF PAEDOPHILIA
Howie, a compulsive pedophile, exerted control without saying a word, his smile alone told the children what pleased him and how they could get his acceptance (Prendergast, 1991:54).
Various theoretical explanations have been drawn upon to explain men's violence. These have included psychoanalytic themes, social learning theories, and socio-political theories. In this section, the researcher will explore the socio-cultural critiques and theories of men's violence and how they interrelate with perceptions of patriarchy. The socio-cultural explanation includes the societal and cultural forces which serve to broaden an understanding of rape and sexual abuse. This view, however, is only one explanation among several others and should be seen as part of an aggregate explanation and not as an attempt to provide a unitary theory.
The relationship between social attitudes and sexual aggression towards children has not been examined extensively, however, Hearn (1990) asserts that an explanation of sexual abuse needs to be understood in terms of men's violence, and by focusing on men's violence against women, the explanation of men's violence in the context of child abuse could be expedited.
According to Lisak (1991), feminist analysis of rape located the cause of rape to be in the culture in which it is embedded. As the myriad manifestations of a misogynist and patriarchal culture were articulated, it became increasingly clear that rape could be defined as a concrete acting out of culturally normative beliefs and images. The objectification of women in advertising, the denigration of women in pornography, and the institutional oppression of women as encoded in the legal system, could be documented as examples of cultural norms that inexorably lead to rape. In addition, literature has also long emphasised the perception of women's masochistic wishes to be raped
82 (Brownmiller, 1975). The theme of the seductive child has also been portrayed throughout the literature and popular writings such as Lolita are replete with examples of permissive attitudes towards sexual contact with children. Implicit in these writings, are testimonials of children viewing these sexual activities as beneficial and of children being able to consent to these activities (Stermac, Segal & Gillis, 1990). Professional literature has also been found to support this notion of unharmful sexual contact between adults and children. Brongersma (1984) writes that the child often likes the adult as well as the sexual relationship between them. Finally, the criminal justice system also perpetuates these negative attitudes and very often the officials question the veracity of children's accusations as well as children's complicity in sexual assault (Stermac et al., 1990).
Rapists viewed within the context described above, are seen as normal men who act out what their surrounding culture perpetuates. This view is supported by Herman (1990) who states that in feminist analysis, sexual assault is intrinsic to a system of male supremacy. Sexuality involves the erotisation of male dominance and female submission. The unanswered question posed by this author is not why some men rape, but why most men do not. Attempts to explain the offender's motivation have focused on psychopathology and it has been common to describe these men as sick. Feminists however contend that these men are all too normal.
Within a socio-cultural perspective, females are characterised by a lack of power relative to males, in political, social and economic spheres. A high value is often placed on male models of thought and consequently many positions in legal, financial and social institutions are occupied by males (Darke, 1990). Also, characteristics developed by society and ascribed to females, such as dependency, emotionality, weakness and passivity, are considered less desirable than those attributed to males, such as strength, logic, aggressiveness and independence (Unger, 1979). implicit in the concept of masculinity, is the notion of sexual dominance, that is, males are encouraged to exercise leadership and control, particularly over women. Conversely, femininity implies submission, particularly towards males with 83 concomitant displays of patience, caution and restraint (Lips, 1981). This cultural reality both reflects and maintains the power imbalance between women and men (Darke, 1990) and in this way, males, by virtue of this power differential, possess the means and the ability to control females. Society has a long history of male dominance, for example, corporal punishment of women and children by the male head of the household (Dobash & Dobash, 1979). Although less acceptable in today's times, domestic violence continues with great frequency (MacLeod, 1987) and a man in crisis seeking a victim for abuse will find a female or a child to be a safer target than another male (Darke, 1990).
The process of forming gender identities in children is ensured through powerful influences both inside and outside the child's immediate interpersonal world. Parents usually play a central role in this process, providing their children with models of behaviour which reinforce gender appropriate behaviour and suppressing that which is inappropriate (Lisak, 1991). Wash and Knudson-Martin (1994:394) define gender identity as
...the way in which a person perceives himself or herself to be in reference to masculinity and femininity. These deeply ingrained images define not only our attitudes, expectations and ideals regarding our behaviour, but also include images of others - what we expect they should and will do.
Ideals of masculinity suggest that men are more separate and autonomous than women and that they should be more powerful, in control and sexually omnipotent (Kaschak, 1992; Persor, 1993).
According to Wash and Knudson-Martin (1994), a destructive sense of male entitlement is related to previous relationships which were characterised by unfairness and a lack of care. This is then often carried into their current relationships and when this position of entitlement is challenged, the men may feel a significant loss in their perception of their role as provider, their role of being in control and they may see themselves as inadequate in their 84 male role. The following quote provides an example of such male entitlement: "A man was to bring home the bacon and nobody messes with you. I mean I was the king of the castle, I was the man of the house. I was the boss, the president, the dictator ..." (Wash & Knudson-Martin, 1994:399).
According to Hearn (1990), men's violence against young people is a development of dominant-submissive power relations that exist in "normal" family life. These power relations include tension and stress, psychological violence, and physical violence. Men may resort to such violence when their power and privilege are challenged and other strategies have failed. In addition, men's violence against young people may develop in association with feelings of threat when women do not do what men expect in terms of the house work, child care, and sexuality; soon, frustration and anger at possible potential loss of power may be acted upon in a sphere where there may be less resistance (Hearn, 1990). Research conducted by Pothast and Allen (1994) revealed that perpetrators of child sexual abuse are no more masculine than non-clinical adult groups. The findings yielded a trend opposite to the predicted direction and concluded that in a culture which devalues femininity, especially in men, effeminate males in particular may have a low self-esteem and they may attempt to overcome feelings of inadequacy by sexually exploiting children.
Various theories have connected men's over-mothering (and under-fathering) as infants with the development of excessive dependency on their mothers and subsequently other women (Hearn, 1990). Chodorow (1978) (as quoted in Hearn, 1990) suggests that a more emphatic individuation of boys takes place initially from the mother and subsequently from others. This entails the defensive establishment of ego boundaries as an overlay on emotional insecurity. In turn, these defences may develop to form compensatory hypermasculinity and forms of violence when women do not satisfy men's dependency needs. These arguments, although couched in terms of mother- son and husband-wife relationships, can be extended to violence against young people.
85 The past two decades have brought a proliferation of theory and research based on the premise that behavioural differences between men and women largely reflect culturally-determined sex roles. Accordingly, it has been asserted that more men than women sexually abuse because masculine socialisation leads men to value aspects of sex that are focused on competence and dominance (Glaser & Frosh, 1988; Posthast & Allen, 1994). However, Sterling (1990) contends that feminist research into socialisation is problematic. For example, in Dworkin's (1981) work on pornography, she analyses what she refers to as a male supremacist ideology which she views as having several tenets: male entitlement, the celebration of male physical strength, the inculcation of fear into women and the power of sex. While this is useful, Sterling suggests that it sees power in the hands of men and fails to see the way in which men are locked within discourses, and the way in which women are invested within the particular power-related positions within which they are constituted. Also, the quest for power and control seems to hold special prominence among the factors contributing to child molestation (Russel, 1984). The offender may feel helpless in dealing with life, he may feel sexually inadequate, and interacting with children may seem an ideal way to reduce stress and gain self-reassurance and feelings of power, control and potency. The childhood arena is safer and virtually ensures winning for the offender, as children are often taught to submit to adult authority and are less likely to protest about inappropriate behaviour. Furthermore, children have limited sexual knowledge, thereby allaying the offender's anxiety regarding sexual inadequacy (Friedman, 1991).
As control is an overwhelming need of sex offenders, it manifests in various ways, other than a sexual way. The perpetrator may exert control by making the victim dependent on him for love and affection. When the victim becomes older and the offender feels his control is slipping, the victim may be dropped and replaced by a younger, more inadequate and dependent child. Even in non-contact sex offences, such as exhibitionism, control exists: As soon as the offender gets the intended victim to look at his exposed genitals, a smile appears on his face, the cognition 'gotcha' occurs" (Prendergast, 1991:33). In rape or other forms of sexual assault, control is short-lived, the danger being 86 that the only ultimate and total control is murder - and this progression can and does take place. In sexually assaultive behaviour, the control elements are often more important than sexual gratification itself (Prendergast, 1991). Control may also manifest in getting the child to initiate sex - to the offender this may equal conquest and be proof of masculinity and superiority; in gaining this control, the offender compensates for his inadequacies and gains power, since most of his life, he has felt powerless (Howitt, 1995).
Various other authors express similar sentiments with regard to the importance of power and control for the sex offender (Amir, 1971; Groth, 1982; Howells, 1981). Although power can be defined as both an ability and a feeling, there is also the notion of creating an impact on the environment. Sexual assault represents a blatant attempt to physically and emotionally control another person (Lips, 1981).
However, the need for assault or misuse of power to contain sexual elements is not readily apparent without recognising the social construction of heterosexual sexuality. Historically, the ownership of women encompassed female sexuality and reproductive abilities. Rape violated a husband's exclusive access to his sexual property, thus confounding patrilineage (Clarke & Lewis, 1977; Darke, 1990). In today's times, a woman's value continues to be based on her ability to attract men and provide a sexual or reproductive service (Lips, 1981). Sexual power is one of the few sources of power available to women and in the eyes of the aggressor, to control women sexually may represent the denigration of her most fundamental value. A sexual assault is a gross personal invasion of bodily integrity and it is proposed that sexual assault therefore provides men with control and dominance (Darke, 1990). According to Caffaro (1991), for many incestuous fathers, the only way to let go of what seems feminine is to devalue or ridicule it. They tend to denigrate women and characteristics perceived as 'not masculine'. "To perpetrate or forcibly elicit sexual activities against another's will must represent the ultimate in power and control. To be powerless to stop such abuse, must represent the ultimate humiliation" (Darke, 1990:59).
87 Furthermore, the theme of power through sex runs in accordance with the theme of real men who are sexually prolific and technically excellent. When the perpetrator does not succeed in non-sexual areas of his life, he turns to sex to compensate (Taylor, 1990).
According to Clarke and Lewis (1977), sexual gratification is not the primary aim, but it is not difficult to visualise the conditioning process which may lead to the erotisation of behaviours used in sexual assault. According to Herman (1990), the offender's craving for sexual domination is reinterpreted as a longing for human intimacy and his wish to control others is re-interpreted as an ordinary masculine need for mastery. Since normative concepts of manhood do include the domination of women and children to some extent, the offender's desire to share in adult male prerogatives is validated.
As regards sexual domination, sexual abuse may be seen as the perpetrator stepping beyond the bounds of restrictions which are seen as acceptable male defined behaviours, thus controlling women and girls to keep them within the bounds of such restrictions. In the case of child sexual abuse, female children are subjected to double power dynamics, because they are female and because they are children, allowing the offender a great sense of power (Sterling, 1990). According to Levett (1989), silence is also a strategy which retains power and control; being a victim of sexual abuse carries with it a stigma and as such, silence becomes a self-protective strategy. Women and children pay the price of loss of control over the way they are viewed when they do speak out. Vogelman (1990:30) draws a similar parallel with the occurrence of adult female rape and states that, "The power of rape as a societal control mechanism is strengthened markedly with regard to the non- reporting of rape to the police." In addition, he supports the notion that socialisation is responsible for perpetuating sexist ideas and behaviours which encourage rape and facilitate the social control of women. He contends that studies of hermaphrodites present convincing arguments for the theory that sex role behaviour is learnt, in that these individuals are often raised in such a way that their sex role socialisation does not correspond with their
88 sexual anatomy. A boy with defects in the penile area and which conceal his biological sex may be brought up as a girl.
4.12 SPECIAL APPEAL OF CHILDREN
I guess the most important part would be when we first started touching. It's kind of new and close. I guess the fact that my touching could give him an erection meant a lot to me, and it also meant a lot to me when he touched me (Gilgun, 1994:467).
In the proposed typology of the child molester, it is necessary to take into account the nature and quality of the relationship established by the offender with his victim.
Gilgun (1994) stresses the importance of taking into account how perpetrators view their relationships with the child. As humans we are social creatures and have an instinctual drive to get close to others of our species. For many men, intimacy is closely associated with vulnerability, and often sex is equated with power, control and masculinity. Many child molesters substitute sexual contact for the closeness, touch and affection they crave, but fear, and this explains the paradox when the molester insists that he truly loves children; he sees contact with them as nurturing and affectionate (Salter, 1988; Segal & Marshall, 1985). Also, the paedophile is characterised by loneliness, and the relationship with the child gives him a feeling of closeness and warmth (Revitch & Weiss, 1962).
Peters (1976) highlights a pattern in which the emotionally dependent man withdraws from an active dominant spouse, usually begins drinking and then molests a girl over whom he exercises control and who is not likely to reject him. The feelings of fear with regard to rejection and abandonment cause intense panic and these overwhelming feelings of disintegration spring from regression and fixation to one of the first three levels of object-relations
89 development - psychotic, borderline or narcissistic (Herman, 1985). The primitive self of the perpetrator reaches out to a child-object for nurturing and safety. If the child responds, the primitive self feels grounded. The strivings for sexual contact begin when the primitive self yearns for symbiotic bonding and in this way, the primitive self seeks to escape the pain of abandonment through bonding with the symbiotic attachment to a child-object (Taylor, 1990).
According to Li (1990), sex offenders can often identify certain characteristics in children which they find particularly attractive; these relationships are often their first choice, rather than a substitute for adult sex when it is lacking. In his respondents' accounts, children are portrayed as gentle, warm, generous, innocent, truthful and affectionate, whereas adults are described as selfish, narrow-minded, materialistic and without depth of feeling. Interaction with children is more enjoyable, the offenders can simply be themselves. To many paedophiles, the childhood world represents the best of life. In a study conducted by Elliot, Browne and Kilcoyne (1995), the respondents also identified certain child characteristics which were important: the child being pretty was important as noted by one subject - "I am turned on by little girls wearing tights and mini skirts" (Elliot et al., 1995:584); the way in which a child behaved was also important, and most of the offenders were attracted to children who lacked confidence or had a low self-esteem. A large percentage found that sex with children was more satisfying and that children were more sexually attractive than adults. Howitt (1995) added that behaviours such as friendliness and openness were also noted as being important. Paedophiles developed relationships with children as if they were romantic love and courtship, not as replacements for adult relationships or because of thwarted libidos. Li (1990) suggests that paedophilia is not primarily due to a need for sex, but rather a need for love and a need to be wanted. Paedophilia is further construed as a matter of romantic relationships and not casual sex. Attraction occurs from the fascination with the innocence and lack of inhibition in children's lives as well as the desire in the paedophile to remain in childhood. Paedophiles often consort with children and despite a great disparity in their ages, enter into peer-type relationships with them. 90 Sexual contact is often as a result of this peer relationship and not because they get given gifts and bribes (Gudjonsson, 1986). Friedman (1991) suggests that it is not uncommon in this peer relationship to have perpetrators describe their victims in terms which defy credibility. He may explain that his victim is not a stereotypical nine year old, but rather a mature, intelligent, sophisticated and sensual young woman, and he is very likely to be sincere in these protestations. There also appears to be a minimum differential between the perceived age of victims and the emotional or experienced age of the offender. Selkin (1991) states that developmental experiences shape the selection of victims, for example, if the underlying mechanism is a kind of narcissistic identification, a person would be most likely to be attracted to a child of the same sex as himself; however, if the need is to feel powerful and omnipotent, the adult may be more inclined to choose a girl. Preference may also be highlighted by early sexual experiences and therefore an early pleasurable experience with a girl may lead to sexual preference for girls.
Groff and Hubble (1984) identifies three kinds of child molesters: (i) paedophilic molesters who are attracted to children in general, (ii) promiscuous offenders who seek children and adults for sexual gratification, and (iii) endogamous offenders who confine their interests to children within the family. The last group make adequate social adjustment, but turn to children when frustrated by their adult sexual partners.
Waterman (1986) in turn suggested that the more passive, dependent offenders may be drawn to abuse younger children, whereas the more aggressive types may be likely to abuse older children and teenagers.
According to Naerssen (1990), the interaction between perpetrators and victims serve four fundamental purposes for the perpetrator, the first being fun and games, in which the relationship gives the child the opportunity to realise the sensation of sexual pleasures in a context that is playful and non- committed. The second purpose is affective and offers love, affection and friendship; the third purpose is economic in nature in which interactions are 91 regulated by means of a financial agreement; and finally, the formation of sexual identity in which the child can explore what sexuality means to him.
Simkins (1993) and Groth and Burgess (1977) suggest that the developmental immaturity of perpetrators causes them to relate more easily to children and that they feel safer and more comfortable with a child.
Fitch (1962) in turn states that perpetrators are consistent in their choice of gender of their victims, despite a widely held belief that the victim's gender may be a purely chance factor and a somewhat arbitrary one. Groth and Birnbaum (1978) support this view and state that offenders are specific as regards gender of the victim and the type of act committed; this selection is based on needs which were not met in childhood. The paedophile exhibits an inability to cope with the difference between his own childhood and that which he idealises in his view of others' developmental years. According to Lanyon (1986), this idealisation influences both the choice of victim and the anxiety associated with the social approaches to healthy adults. Panton (1978) suggests further that molestation results from a carefully cultivated inducement of young children, precipitated by the child molester's fear of rejection and failure in adult heterosexual advances.
According to Alexander and Schaeffer (1994), the perpetrator who abuses young children is operating out of motives such as nurturance and separation, as opposed to the perpetrator of older victims who is motivated by power and dominance.
Finally, Gilgun (1994) developed a typology of victim-perpetrator relationships and placed these on a continuum in which perpetrators could show fluidity across the several categories. The avengers were perpetrators who aimed at harming the child; sometimes this meant harming the child's sexual body parts or hurting the person who loved the child by having sex with this child. The takers approached the child as if they were a commodity to be used and then discarded; they exploited the child sexually and did not seem to care about the consequences of their behaviour. Controllers bargained for sexual 92 favours which may have involved allowing the child to do ordinary things, e.g. going outside to play, in return for sexual favours. Conquerors used various ploys to get the child to become sexual, for example, they may pose as buddies or playmates. Finally, lovers viewed themselves as infatuated or in love with their victims and perceived the victim and themselves as soulmates and integrated themselves into their victim's personalities.
4.13 PERSONALITY CORRELATES OF PAEDOPHILES
A portrait of the paedophile? Perhaps this is an irrelevant question, because it seems on the whole that a paedophile is a person like you and me (Bernard, 1985:86).
A number of researchers have attempted to classify the paedophile through psychometric instrumentation. The MMPI has been used for decades in attempts to identify perpetrators of sexual abuse and to assess their psychopathological characteristics. Unfortunately, psychometric attempts to elucidate a consistent profile have been unsuccessful (Vaupel & Goeka, 1994). Nevertheless, the MMPI has been used extensively and has appeared to be helpful in identifying psychopathological characteristics, even though no homogeneous group can be identified.
Langevin, Paitich and Freeman (1978) found that forty-seven per cent of their sample who were tested on the MMPI had a diagnosis of a personality disorder, many demonstrated psychopathic traits, and a few showed paranoid thinking.
Erikson, Luxemberg and Walbek (1987) found passive-aggressive traits as well as dependent personality features among paedophiles. Levin and Stava (1987) described sex offenders as emotionally and socially immature. According to the researchers, child sex offenders have high scores of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia and social introversion. Kalichman (1991) found that in using the MMPI, child molesters showed high scores on
93 Hs and Sc, suggesting significant difficulties in developing interpersonal relationships and the experience of social alienation. In addition, the higher scores on F, Pa and Pt provide further evidence that molesters of children experience higher levels of emotional disturbance and psychopathology (Graham, 1987). Kalichman (1991) concluded that those who offend against children present a different level of psychological disturbance than those who commit sexual offences against adults. The child offenders in this study appeared more emotionally disturbed, immature and distressed than their adult offender counterparts who appeared more antisocial, sociopathic and defensive. These findings correlate with Finkelhor and Araji's (1986) hypothesis that the personality of sex offenders appears to be congruent with the developmental period of their victims. It therefore appears that offenders of children are more regressed in their pathology, whereas sexual offenders of adult women are more emotionally restrained and antisocial in their pathology.
Related research compared non-forceful child molesters with those who had used force, and the findings indicated that non-forceful child molesters have a lower self-concept and a stronger need for approval, whereas the assaulter showed greater hostility, was socially alienated and had poor impulse control (Panton, 1978). Williams and Finkelhor (1990) cite that an estimated ten per cent of child molesters are psychiatrically ill. Unfortunately, psychiatric disturbance is a vague concept, and for example, Scott and Stone (1986), using the MMPI, found that a group of perpetrators did not show any mean score outside the normal range. However, these findings are inconsistent with a study conducted by Langevin, Handy, Day and Russon (1985) - in their MMPI evaluations, they found that seventy-two per cent of the sample had at least one clinically elevated score, while a study by Kirkland and Bauer (1982) found that ninety per cent had at least two clinically elevated scores. Howitt, (1995), Okami and Goldberg (1992) suggest that the MMPI provides no clear-cut trends that may help us to understand paedophilia
Chantry and Craig (1994) used the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Personality Inventory to assess child molesters, violent offenders and non-sexually 94 aggressive felons; their results showed child molesters to be more passive- aggressive, anxious, depressed and more conforming than the other samples, and also more emotionally detached and more emotionally labile. Bolton, Morris and MacEachron (1989) also reported introversion, shyness and a passive stance in paedophiles, compared with incest perpetrators who were found to be more controlling and domineering.
Related research by Ames and Houston (1990) found that men whose offences were committed against children had higher frequencies of avoidance and dependent personalities than men who aggress against adult women. This finding supports the stereotype of the weak, passive, inept man who turns to children for satisfaction and sexual fulfilment.
Various other researchers have noted personality disorders in their samples of molesters. Herman (1990) suggests that many do not suffer from psychiatric conditions, psychotic disorders or mental retardation but that many do meet the criteria for personality disorders. In addition, paedophilic interest could be traced back to narcissism, according to Howells (1981). It is seen to be a product of the narcissistic relationship between the child and mother whereby mother loves herself excessively and regards her child as an extension of herself. The child is a recipient of excessive love and acquires a narcissistic attitude; this narcissism is seen as projected in the form of an idealised version of children. Early psychoanalytic theorists suggested that narcissism resulted from Oedipal fixation where an immature object of the same sex is chosen, while the paedophile identifies with his mother and sees himself in the child. Other theorists have pointed to the fact that narcissism is evident in exhibitionism and is motivated by the desire for admiration (Okami & Goldberg, 1992).
Other than narcissism, anti-social traits are also frequently reported. Morral (1988) describes the perpetrator as impulsive and as someone who has an inability to postpone gratification and who does not experience feelings of guilt. Awad and Saunders (1991) found that fifty per cent of the molesters in their sample had a history of anti-social behaviour predating the offence and 95 strived to satisfy their sexual needs without regard for their victims. This view is supported by Chaffin (1994) and Malamuth, Sockloskie, Koss and Tanaka (1991). Some anti-social molesters may victimise children depending on availability (i.e. if children are available, they will molest them, just as if a car is available, they will steal it). Finally, Ganzarain (1992) describes molesters as people who have a lack of real empathy and are self-centred. This ability to place themselves above the law characterises an anti-social trait.
Reviewing the above, one can conclude that no common paedophile profile is possible, despite a common notion that sex offenders have a common psychopathological profile. This is often the case in legal proceedings where testimony often includes, "This man couldn't have done it, because he doesn't fit the profile" (Conte, 1985:345). There appears to be considerable variation in research on psychopathology, and virtually every characteristic has been found not to be present in at least some cases.
4.14 GROOMING PROCESS
We called it our secret game. When we played, I felt like a child safe from the pressure and failures of my grown-up life. I seduced her with play. I slowly made it sexual - always fun and pleasurable (Taylor, 1990: 425).
Beyond its sheer magnitude, one of the more startling findings of epidemiological research on child sexual abuse is how embedded the sexual abuse of children is in the basic fabric of the abused child's life. One of the consistently documented findings in the field is the high rate of abuse by known and frequently trusted adults.
The initial approach by the molester may occur in the context of what appears to be a normal or even supportive relationship (Grauerholz & Koralewski, 1991). Conte, Wolf and Smith (1989: 330) conclude that "teaching children about the relationship warning signs so that they can identify risk situations seems virtually impossible, since so many of the relationship risk factors are
96 normal, and often positive aspects (e.g. an adult paying attention to a child) of adult-child relationships."
Consistent with this view, other studies with offenders indicate that the majority of perpetrators describe engaging a child in a relationship for example by trying to be their friend before abusing them (Conte et al., 1989; Groth & Birnbaum, 1978; Peters & Murphy, 1992; Taylor, 1990).
According to Grauerholz and Koralewski (1991), the victimisation process occurs gradually and may begin with normal affectional contact or in the context of ordinary activities, and is a characteristic modus operandi of a child molester. It is often this "ordinariness" of the abuse which might entice the child into the activity and then make it difficult for the child to extricate himself or herself from the situation. Much of the grooming behaviour is almost indistinguishable in its early stages from the ordinary non-abusive social affection commonly directed towards children. Part of the internal rationalisation of the child molester is that this grooming is good for the child and this is further reinforced by guardians who describe how nice he is and how well he relates to children.
According to Peters and Murphy (1992), this grooming process may be the reason why children often delay reporting the abuse, as the techniques used to groom the child, e.g. buying gifts, showing affection, giving praise and developing a warm relationship, add to the establishment of emotional dependency of the child on the adult perpetrator.
Considerable evidence indicates that child sexual abuse does not usually involve violence or severe force, and instead is a deliberately planned event (Horton et al., (1990). The image of the child molester as a violent rapist/lust murderer is now no longer part of American sexual folklore. This prototype has been debunked so often in the popular and professional literature that it may be said to have been replaced more recently by another
97 prototype: the non-violent, passive person who uses tricks and bribes, and various subtle methods of coercion to secure the co-operation of his victim (Okami & Goldberg, 1992).
In a study conducted by Groth and Birnbaum (1978), a frequent approach or method used to engage the victim was by seduction or enticement (thirty per cent of the sample); victims were bribed, tricked or pressured into the sexual activity by means of reward.
According to Taylor (1990), play provides children with a mechanism for emotional expression, communication and bonding and in this scenario, the perpetrator attempts to connect and bond with the child through sexualised play. Seduction through play is a common strategy used by molesters because it is narcissistically gratifying. In the sex game scenario, the perpetrator plays with the child in a sexual fashion. Over time, the sexual activity gradually increases. The perpetrator achieves a feeling of bonding and nurturing both through the shared play and through the physical closeness of the child. The secrecy involved in the play makes the perpetrator feel special, as though the nurturing object were his exclusively (Groth, 1982; MacFarlan & Bulky, 1982). This sexualised play as a means of bonding, may arise from the perpetrator's own childhood experience as a victim; bonding and nurturing may have become sexualised during his childhood and are re-enacted with the child victim (Taylor, 1990).
The sex-pressure offence is characterised by a relative lack of physical force in the commissioning of the offence, and in fact the offender generally behaves in counter-aggressive ways. His typical modus operandi is either one of entrapment, in which he takes advantage of having put the child in a situation where the victim feels indebted or obligated to the offender, or one of enticement, in which he attempts to cajole the child into sexual engagement. The offender often bribes or rewards the child with attention, affection, approval, money and gifts (Groth & Burgess, 1977).
98 Offenders generally insist that their abusive behaviour was impulsive and unplanned, and that they had no warning of what they might do; they often describe feeling helpless and not in control (O'Brien, 1986), yet in most cases it will be transparently clear, upon reconstruction of the events leading up to the abuse, that preparations of some sort were indeed made. It is almost always possible to retrospectively learn how the offender begins to "set up" the conditions for his abusive behaviour (Freeman-Longo & Bays, 1988).
In a study conducted by Elliot et al., (1995), offenders revealed more than one type of strategy to approach the children or their families. Most often they offered to play games with the children or teach them a sport (fifty-three per cent); many also gave bribes, took them for an outing or gave them a lift home (forty-six per cent); some used affection, understanding and love (thirty per cent), and some told stories involving lies, magic or treasure hunts. One in five offenders claimed that they had gained the trust of the victim's whole family in order to be able to abuse the child. Eighty-four per cent of the men said that once they had developed a series of successful strategies, they approached children with that same method every time. The majority of abusers engaged the child in sexual activity such as kissing and sexual touching, and then slowly desensitised the child into other sexual activities.
The majority of offenders coerced children by carefully testing the child's reaction to sex, by bringing up sexual matters or having sexual materials around, and by subtly increasing sexual touching.
Research by de Young (1982), Russel (1986), Warner-Kearney (1987) and Christiansen and Blake (1990), revealed that perpetrators use trust, favouritism, alienation, secrecy, boundary violations and evaluation in the socialisation process of sexual abuse. Trust is established through bribes, spending time together and assuring the children of the "rightness" of what they were doing.
99 De Young (1982) refers to "evolved incest" in which the father pays special attention to his daughter, while making increasingly intimate sexual advances as time passes. Fathers also use "courting behaviour", showing favouratism and bribing their daughters to participate in incestuous acts. Warner-Kearney (1987) described one father who bought gifts for his victim and told her that she would have to reciprocate by being nice to him. Fathers make it clear to potential victims that reciprocity is expected if favours are accepted. Victims also report that their fathers began treating them as "special"; this usually meant that the potential victims were treated differently to other siblings (Horton et al., 1990) and were systematically alienated.
Alienation from siblings and friends occurs because of the privileges and special favours, and also because fathers often dominate the lives of their daughters so much that they are not able to interact normally with their peers. All such alienation serves to further isolate daughters from support groups and possible sources of help, and cause them to be even more dependent on their fathers (Horton et al., 1990).
Furthermore, a stifling environment of secrecy is usually built by perpetrators once trust has been established. Fathers often use subtle, persuasive rationalisation such as, "Mom wouldn't understand how special we are together. Ours is a special love that others wouldn't understand" (Christiansen & Blake, 1990).
Boundary violations occur as a rejection of accepted norms of modesty and personal intimacy and are most noticeable in bathing, dressing and bathroom behaviour. Christiansen and Blake (1990) suggest that fathers may insist on bathing with their daughters, soaping and washing the child and teaching the child to reciprocate. Through language and conversation, sexual themes can be extended beyond the bathroom and perpetrators could speak to their victims by using sexually explicit content.
Lastly, fathers generally attempt to determine if their daughters are receptive to further intimacies. Only after such reassurances will the fathers begin the 100 specific sexual activities, in other words, the daughter has been "groomed" to desire and enjoy things sexual in nature (Christiansen & Blake, 1990).
According to Campagna and Poffenberger (1985), reconnaissance is one of the first steps in seeking out a victim. In order to acquire a "feel" for an area, a paedophile may perform a careful surveillance of neighbourhoods, arcade game rooms, recreational centres and playgrounds. Infiltration ensures availability of victims. Over the course of several months, he will strive to promote a reputation of honesty, reliability and show himself to be a trustworthy person. At the community level, he may join child-oriented groups and religious agencies, and once his reputation has been established, the child molester will begin to entice children away by bestowing special favours on a child, by lures or bribes. The offender then gradually introduces the topic of sex to the victim and to avoid exposure, the molester will bond his victims by rewards, threats, blame and possibly blackmail by taking pornographic pictures.
Howitt (1995) speaks of bribery as often being the most frequent way of obtaining sex and that threats are not so common. The enticement process is also characterised by "being a friend" to the child, playing games, giving money and tangible gifts such as candy, toys, beer and drugs. According to Conte et al. (1989), their sample of offenders provided data on "how to abuse a child"; among the examples were:
If you have a repertoire of jokes that move from risky to pornography, have porn magazines lying around. Talk about sex. Watch the kids' reactions. Stick your head in their bedrooms while they are in their bedclothes. Act like it is a natural thing. Be sympathetic. Try a lot of compliments. Have accidental contact with their breasts (Conte et al., 1989:298).
Wyre (1987) describes the molestation process as a cycle of behaviour which is repeated with and for subsequent children. There are three typical stages
101 which overlap quite considerably and are not too distinct. These stages are as follows:
Stage 1. The offender begins this stage by masturbating and fantasising to old sexual experiences, which leads to fantasies about future contacts. A child is befriended and the trust-building process continues for a while.
Stage II. Digging deeper, the offender finds out the boy's home and school problems. This enables a 'counselling role' to develop.
Stacie ///. By now, the offender is being visited at home by the boy and physical contact of a non-sexual sort begins to take place; for example, wrestling or watching television together which allows an arm to be placed around the boy. The sexual offender increasingly masturbates and fantasises about this soon-to-be sexual conquest. Sexual touches start, but fully clothed, and at a subsequent meeting, the boy's genitals may be touched. Warnings are issued about not telling anyone. Mutual masturbation, oral sex, and later possibly buggery may complete the sequence.
4.15 ROLE OF PORNOGRAPHY IN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
What I desperately want is one or two pictures of young girls and/or boys young enough to have no pubic hair - say between 10 and 13 years old - even if there's no sex involved because they may be too young. I would be happy as long as there is close-up and lots of detail (Extracts from confiscated letters that had been sent to a South African pornographic distributor) (Child Protection Unit, 1996).
Legislation regulating the availability of pornography continues to be a controversial issue in most Western societies. There also appears to be conflicting evidence with regard to the role of pornography in committing sex offences. Despite an overwhelming majority of researchers supporting the link between pornography and sex offences, there exists some evidence which suggests that pornography does not lead to an increase in sexually
102 offending behaviour. One of the most well-known studies in this regard is the study conducted by Kutchinsky (1979) where he studied crime rates in Denmark before and after the legalisation of pornography. Kutchinsky's data showed a decrease in the number of reported sex crimes after pornography was legalised and he suggested that the cathartic effect of pornography siphons off potentially dangerous sexual impulses. However, Carter, Prentky, Knight, Van der Veer and Boucher (1987) state that this finding should not be construed to indicate that pornography functions as an inhibitor to sexual acting out. The use of pornography to relieve an impulse does not preclude its role in intensifying an already active and rich fantasy life. Such intensification is supported by the greater use of pornography prior to offences by child molesters. Thus, if an individual is prone to acting on his fantasies, it is likely that he will do so irrespective of the availability of pornography or his exposure to it.
A study conducted by Goldstein, Kant, Judd, Rice and Green (in Condron & Nutter, 1988) found that a high level of exposure to pornography during adolescence among sex offenders was not significantly different to exposure to pornography by non offenders. Of note is that Cook and Rosen (in Condron & Nutter 1988) found that sex offenders had less exposure to pornography than other criminals. Related research by Goldstein et al (1971), suggested that adolescent exposure to pornography was significantly less for sex offenders and transsexuals than for the control groups and that only approximately fifteen per cent of rapists reported that they had imitated sexual behaviour found in pornography.
From the findings, the researchers do not appear to present conclusive evidence in the causal effect of pornography on sexual offending. However, various other researchers have presented compelling evidence related to the effects of pornography on paedophiliac behaviour.
One such study by Carter et al. (1987) yielded several important findings, viz: both the experimental and the control group reported similar exposure to pornography but child molesters indicated significantly more exposure than 103 rapists and were more likely to employ pornography in the commissioning of the offence. Various other researchers have speculated that the earlier and more frequent exposure to pornography may be related to deviant sexual behaviour (Ford & Linney, 1995). Davis and Braucht (1973) found that exposure to pornography in early adolescence was related to an increase in sexual deviance as well as to a generally more active sex life. Abel et al. (1985) suggested that forty-two per cent of child molesters in their sample alluded to pornography in their adolescent years and later implicated its effect in the commissioning of their offences. Finally, Marshall (in Van Rensburg, 1995), stated that eighty-seven per cent of girl child molesters and seventy- seven per cent of boy child molesters regularly use pornography.
4.15.1 Child Pornography
Wyre (1990) alerts us to a wide category of material known as child erotica. This includes all material associated with children or childhood. To any normal adjusted adult, child erotica has no sexual connotation, containing as it does, toys, games, books about children and photographs of fully clothed children. However, to paedophiles, even the most innocent material can be sexually arousing.
Wyre (in Tate, 1990: 16) states the following:
Some of the men I work with masturbate whilst looking through Mothercare. They find photographs of toddlers very arousing. Yet these are quite ordinary pictures: so ordinary, in fact, convicted child molesters are allowed to have them in prison.
Child pornography on the other hand would appear to be a permanent record of a child being sexually abused. The pictures, films and tapes range from revealing stills of naked children through to more explicit shots of their genitalia thumbed apart, to the recording of anal and vaginal abuse and intercourse. The children are commonly required to have sex with other youngsters as well as with adults. Almost invariably their faces, chests and
104 genitalia are coated in semen when the adult men ejaculate over them, and they are occasionally photographed having sex with an animal (Tate, 1990).
According to Lanning (in Tate, 1990), the situational child molester is not an automatic collector of child pornography; however, the preferential child molester - a practising paedophile - is almost certain to possess a significant quantity of child pornography. Evidence of the direct link between child pornography and habitual child molesters came with the discovery of a pornographic mailing list: thirty to forty per cent of customers were convicted sex offenders (Tate, 1990). If this figure seems unimpressive, one should remember that relatively few child molesters are ever caught.
A second strand in the relationship between pornography and paedophilia is its power to reinforce the paedophile's attraction to children as well as his self-justification process. According to Wyre (1990: 11), "Validation is important to paedophiles. Child pornography convinces them that the feelings and desires they have towards children are not wrong."
Tomkinson's (1982) view is that the notion that children in pornography actually enjoy the abuse is central to the issue of validation. In child pornography films you see stilted attempts to have the children smile as they are being abused and child molesters often focus on these semi-smiles to try to convince themselves that the children are having fun. In addition, child molesters don't only view the material they collect - they catalogue and index it as well. This obsessional cross-referencing is a classic hallmark of paedophilia. A paedophile invariably maintains detailed, neat and orderly records (Child Protection Unit, 1996).
The case of Oliver Brooke, Professor of Paediatrics at St. George's Hospital in South London, demonstrates the above point. He sought out pictures of children in sexual acts and compiled them into an organised collection of albums which were very carefully recorded. He would make detailed notes on the pose or position involved (Tate, 1990). A further example of this is illustrated by a paedophile convicted in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court 105 in 1989 for indecently assaulting young girls and boys. He kept a detailed journal of the children's names, ages, height, nipple width, breast development, penis circumference as well as a detailed description of their genital area and growth of pubic hair (Child Protection Unit, 1996).
According to Wyre (in Tate, 1990), there is without doubt an element of paedophilia which involves sadism. It is quite clear that for some paedophiles, the ultimate thrill is to kill the child while having sex with him or her. He further states that paedophiles have told him of their experience of child pornography which started out as pictures of mutual masturbation and ended with them watching videos of rape, torture and death of a child.
The Marquis de Sade in The 120 Days of Sodom elaborates on having his characters "depuce" or deflower girls of between three and seven years old. Other pre-pubescent girls were strapped above a fire and lightly roasted while "gentlemen" repeatedly buggered them. In other scenes fathers violently raped their own daughters in front of admiring audiences (de Sade, 1966). According to Tate (1990), Donatien-Alphonse-Francois de Sade (1740-1814) lived out this sadistic lust in real life. His final imprisonment was for whipping and lacerating teenage girls with knives, whilst sexually abusing them. One typical victim was Rose Keller, who was flogged with a knotted whip until sections of her skin were flayed off. de Sade then poured heated sealing wax into the open wounds. Tate (1990: 168) further states
Two hundred years later, Ian Brady was to become intoxicated by de Sade. Brady and Myra Hindley, the Moors Murderers, were responsible for taking pornographic photographs of child victims and both the pornography and the abuse involved a level of torture that shocked England when the case came before Chester Assizes on 19 April 1966.
106 4.15.2 Adult Pornography
Related research has indicated that not only child pornography, but general adult pornography has a cause-effect relationship with sexual abuse of children. Van Rensburg (1995: 13) states:
As our censorship laws are liberalised we're having to confront the debate about the connection between pornography and the sexual abuse of children. And it won't help to convince ourselves that drawing the line at child porn and bestiality will keep abuse at bay: adult porn is being used to procure victims for pedophiles.
Paedophiles often possess and use pornography in the grooming process of finding, seducing, raping and/or sodomising young children. The South African Child Protection Unit corroborates these findings by stating that pornography is used not only in order to sexually arouse paedophiles, but for titillating children and persuading them that what is asked of them is acceptable (Child Protection Unit, 1996). Related research suggests that a magazine such as Hustler which is generally considered to be adult pornography, is collected by paedophiles and is used as part of their methods to lower the inhibitions of the child. Pornography is thus used to convince children that deviant sex acts are normal, thereby breaking down some of their resistance to sexual advances (Van Rensburg, 1995).
The paedophile who riveted thousands of listeners when he called in to a talk show on Radio 702 said that he was sexually aroused by seeing a pornographic video in which an adult raped a two year old girl.
Research conducted by Marshall (1988) confirms the notion that sex offenders are receptive to information that confirms their beliefs. These men are ready to believe that children want to have sex with adults. Child pornography suggests this and also clearly demonstrates that the man in the scenario is in control of the sexual interaction. The sexual offender will have his view of women and children confirmed, and the pornography will further
107 confirm his belief that the power over a woman or a child will confer masculinity upon him.
The following extracts from an article in Femina (1995) provide further evidence of the direct link between child abuse and pornography:
1989 Pat Schmidt, 57, Sandton Fire Chief and respected charity worker, charged with indecently assaulting seven girls under 16, raping two under 12 and possessing pornography - including a video of him with the victims
1990 Gabriel Marais, 35, executive director of the S.A. Youth Foundation, convicted of indecently assaulting a 15 year old school boy who said that Marais had first showed him a blue movie and took nude pictures of him
1991 Johan Roux, fined R1000 and ordered to pay for the psychiatric treatment of an 11 year old girl of whom he took pornographic photographs
1994 Man of 44 convicted in Pietermaritzburg Regional Court of committing indecent acts with his daughter for 12 years from when she was six, having sex with her from age eight, and watching a pornographic video with his five year old son after fondling him
According to Van Rensburg (1995), the pornography industry assiduously attacks all the child, family, society and religious values that bind families and societies together. The following extracts illustrate the above point and are taken from the book "Soft Porn plays Hard Ball - Its tragic effects on women, children and the family " by Dr. Judith A. Reisman, 1991 (in Van Rensburg, 1995: 6-7).
108 Santa Claus, as a symbol of Christmas, religion, love and benign and benevolent authority, has come under attack in the porn industry. For example: His pants down to below his knees, Santa is shown graphically mounting his reindeer from behind for sex.
Snow White, smiling, trustfully asleep in her little bed. All seven dwarfs are standing alongside her bed while one dwarf calls for a vote: 'All in favour of a gang bang, Say Hi Hi."
In conclusion, Van Rensburg (1995) further states that the fine principle of freedom of expression has become the "Trojan Horse" for smuggling destructive evils into our society. The following extract is a vivid example of where the freedom of expression principle can take a society:
In an interview with Tim O'Hara, editor of the Rene Guyon Society's Newsletter, he was asked what the major role of the society was. He answered: "Changing the sex laws to legalise the anal and vaginal penetration of children after four years of age if the child consents and a condom is used. In that way we are different from the North American Man Boy Love Association. They have no interest in promoting the use of contraceptives. We also feel that if children want to be masturbated by adults, then let them be masturbated. And we'd like to see oral sex with children (Van Rensburg, 1995).
4.16 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This chapter has highlighted the fact that traditional research literature has repeatedly focused on certain variables which have been perceived to be consistent with paedophilia, whereas what might be revealed when reviewing the narratives could in fact give a different picture.
Chapter Five will place social constructionism in the context of a research approach, and explore the merits of utilising this approach in terms of studying and exploring perpetrators of child sexual abuse.
109 CHAPTER FIVE
A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST RESEARCH APPROACH
Literacy is tied to authority, which leads to hierarchy, orality sets a more horizontal and inclusive tone... Literacy divides whereas orality connects (Hoffman, 1993a:148).
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Within the behavioural sciences, research has, in the past, conformed to the predominant scientific epistemology of the Western World. This epistemology is consistent with the Cartesian-Newtonian epistemology and creates a reality system that relies on mechanistic, atomistic and reductionistic research principles. These principles ensured that any phenomenon could be correctly described and reduced to its elements, and collated and attributed causal powers (Auerswald, 1987). Consistent with this idea is the belief that research must be objective in order to arrive at the truth, and the researcher must be free from observer bias. Quantitative research belongs to the tradition that is conceived with objectivity, measurement and outcome (Wassenaar, 1987).
There has been a wealth of research on perpetrators of sexual abuse, however most of this research has been consistent with the Cartesian- Newtonian philosophy, in which the researcher, from an objective point of view, is considered to be in the best position to describe the problem.
In order to be freed from this position, the researcher has had to make the shift to a world view of evolution as espoused by Bateson, namely a constructivist epistemology (Bateson, 1951). This research design had to
110 make the shift to an ecosystemic epistemology which would involve accepting new rules that define reality (Auerswald, 1987).
Qualitative research in turn provides a rich source of data. Goets and LeCompte (cited in Moon, Dillon & Sprenkle, 1990:359) describe social science research along four continua and characterise qualitative research as more "constructive", "generative", "inductive" and "subjective". In comparison, quantitative research is described as being "enumerative", "verificative" and "deductive". According to Moon et al. (1990:358), qualitative research encompasses the phenomenological perspective and researchers "attempt to understand the meaning of naturally occurring complex events, actions, and interactions in context, from the point of view of the participants involved".
This qualitative research design would obviate the need to choose between two opposing extremes and would allow the researcher to accommodate the "both/and" choices, thereby eliminating the need to prove the absolute truth and allowing the flexibility of the heuristic application of truth. The researcher could also include himself in the field of study and not be limited to the mechanistic field of study. This new method would develop a new language in order to accommodate the research material, and language had to accommodate process and context as well as social interaction that is patterned through time (Genot, 1985; Fasser, 1989). The research methodology used will apply the principles of therapy to research. These principles will guide the researcher to not only focus on the self of the participant but how the self is constructed. The researcher will aim to understand and accept the participants' narrative, attempt to read between the lines and decipher new elements of the story, and finally attend to what is not overtly stated or located in the participants' story. The researcher will facilitate the dialogue and co-construct the story with the participants.
According to Moon et al. (1990), the following characteristics of qualitative research design have been outlined:
111 Qualitative research is informed by theory. A specific epistemology guides the researcher, giving him a specific lens for looking at the world.
The purpose of research is clearly stated before the research project is commenced. Questions tend to be open-ended and discovery- oriented, and may change as the study proceeds. According to Stiles (1993), "what" questions give answers to material which clients have direct knowledge of.
The role of the researcher is more active and participatory and researchers develop close relationships with participants who also play a more active and egalitarian role and may even become co- researchers.
Sampling and selection: usually small samples are selected which fit the research aims. Researchers prefer to look intensively at a few cases which highlight individual differences.
Data collection: data is collected by using both interactive and non- interactive methods by means of interviews and observations, and can be in the form of field notes, video tapes and audio tapes, and is also usually visual or verbal rather than statistical.
Data analysis: data is analysed so that patterns can be discerned and patterns emerge from data rather than be imposed thereon.
Results: results are usually in the form of assertions, discovered theory, or taxonomies.
Reporting: is aimed at re-creating the reality studied.
Reliability and validity are conceptualised differently in quantitative research - in quantitative research, reliability refers to the reliability of
112 the measuring instrument, while validity refers to measuring what it intends to measure. In qualitative research on the other hand, reliability refers to the trustworthiness of interpretations or conclusions (Stiles, 1993).
In accordance with social constructionism, the aim of research is not seen as finding some objective truth and the researcher is not seen as separate from the research process but as a participant in the construction process.
5.2 JUSTIFICATION FOR DOING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
A qualitative research approach is consistent with a social constructionist approach in which co-constructed stories of the participants are told through the researcher's lens. This approach accepts that the meaning of any event is socially constructed, with different interpretations arising from differing points of view (McLeod & Balamoutsou, 1996). This runs counter to the assumption that all people share similar meaning systems and experience events in similar ways (Neuman, 1994). How a person constructs meaning is believed to be idiosyncratic to that particular person. Being informed by a social constructionist approach, allows the text to be re-interpreted by co- researchers in order to generate alternative interpretations and richness (Runyan, 1980). The aim of the qualitative research approach is to understand the subjective world of the participants. The researcher "enters an interpretative circle and must be faithful to the performance or subject, must be both apart from and be rooted to the context" (Crabtree & Miller, 1992:10).
Previous research has been dominated by empirical methods which has relied on predetermined theories of paedophilia. For this reason, the researcher has decided to use a qualitative research design in an attempt to shed new light on perpetrators of sexual abuse.
113 By using a qualitative method of research, the researcher hopes to capture unique experiences of the perpetrators' individual experiences and the meaning they attach to their offences.
5.3 SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST RESEARCH In accordance with the social constructionist model, the objective of the research is not seen as finding some objective truth, but refers to the process by which reality is created by the observer. Social constructionism speaks about an "invented reality" (Hoffman, 1990; Von Glasersfeld, 1984). This should not be confused with solipsism which implies the belief that "anything goes" (Fourie, 1994:13). The ideas shared need to fit with the ideas of both the researcher and the participants, and this frees the researcher from deciding whether the participants' reality is correct or false. The researcher will attempt to understand the participants' worlds from their frame of reference and share in their meanings. Hoffman (1990) suggests that realities are constructed linguistically, and that meanings can be de-constructed through language (Fourie, 1994). This new meaning may provide a different context around the one in which the problem was central.
5.4 RESEARCH DESIGN
Following social constructionist research projects by Kotze (1994) and Hamilton (1995), the principles of this particular study are as follows:
The research is process-focused. The aim is to construct an event, i.e. conversations about their offences with perpetrators of child sexual abuse. The reflexive dialogue shares the power between researcher and participant, and the emphasis is on "participant" in the study rather than "subject" of the study. The researcher is involved with the participants in the co-construction of sexually abusive behaviour.
114 The research does not rely on a predetermined theory of paedophilia, but reflects a process of shared meanings and interpretations of the behaviour of perpetrators of sexual abuse. The research consists of multiple conversations between the participants and the researcher. Attention is given to broader contextual issues, and this research is situated within the context of South African culture.
5.5 ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER
In keeping with the social constructionist approach, the researcher is included in the description of the system and is an active participant in the research. The researcher and participants are both active in the research process, and the researcher needs to be aware of how she thinks about things and what theories have contributed to her thinking. Both participant and researcher bring to the research his or her own "unique purposes, expectations, backgrounds, outlooks and personality organisation" (Bepp & Weeks, 1984:53) and the specific nature of their relationship is a product of the particular interaction of the two individuals. Researchers form a close relationship with their participants and trust develops over time. Researchers are like detectives trying to reach an understanding of the event (Fourie, 1994; Rapmund, 1996).
The researcher is seen as operating from a "not-knowing" position (Anderson & Goolishian, 1993). This echos the belief that the therapist does not have privileged information and can never fully understand another person (Anderson, 1993b), enabling and facilitating a context in which the participant can be explored and multiple realities accepted (Anderson & Goolishian, 1993). By using conversational questions, the researcher maintains "coherence with the client's view" (Anderson, 1993b:328).
115 As the researcher actively works in the field of sexual abuse, she has particular ideas about perpetrators of sexual abuse, and has not attempted to deny this. However, ideas formed by clinical practice and theory have not prevented the therapist from applying genuine interest in respect of each participant.
In this study, the researcher informed participants that she was conducting research on experiences of perpetrators of sexual abuse from their vantage point. It was added that knowledge in the past has been obtained mainly from results of tests administered to perpetrators of sexual abuse and that a gap existed because accounts by perpetrators themselves were not included. This study would therefore give them the opportunity to tell their stories about their worlds and share their input which was valuable in that they had first- hand experience.
5.6 POSITION OF THE PARTICIPANTS
Many types of sampling are possible, although researchers in qualitative enquiry typically focus in depth on relatively small samples. The researcher will select data sources which are "information-rich", which will challenge and enrich the researcher's understanding (Crabtree & Miller, 1992). Research participants are selected because they are able to provide "rich descriptions of their experiences" and furthermore should be willing to "articulate their experiences and be willing to give complete and sensitive accounts" (Wilson & Hutchinson, 1991:269).
The participants in this research project were twelve South African male perpetrators of sexual abuse. The majority were court-mandated perpetrators, referred to Childline for therapy and engaged in a treatment programme for offenders. All were voluntary participants in the research project and spoke English; their ages ranged from 25 years of age to 58
116 years, and were of different cultural groups, as membership to a particular culture was not made a criterion for participation in this study.
The researcher obtained the consent of the participants to tape record the sessions and to use the information solely for the purposes of research.
5.7 DATA COLLECTION
The semi-structured interview was the method used to obtain information and was selected to gain a detailed picture of the respondents' beliefs about the topic of perpetrators of sexual abuse. According to Smith, Harre and Langenhove (1995), this method gives the researcher and the participants more flexibility than the structured questionnaire. By using this approach, "an attempt is made to capture the richness of the themes emerging from the respondent's talk rather than to reduce the responses to quantitative categories" (Smith, et al., 1995:9). Questions tended to be open-ended and discovery-oriented. According to Stiles (1993), the focus should remain on "what" questions which elicit material about which clients have direct knowledge.
The researcher had a set of questions on an interview schedule which were used to initiate the conversations. These questions were selected from the topic of concern and at various stages of the interview, prompts were used to gain the respondents' views to more specific concerns.
A relationship was formed with the participants, and the more sensitive questions were left until later, enabling the respondent to feel more relaxed and comfortable. The interview was flexible and adapted to each individual's situation. Meanings were explored and in keeping with social constructionism, the researcher and her participants co-created meanings through the conversations.
117 The researcher interviewed the participants for approximately 1-2 hours. During these interviews several issues were discussed and examined, i.e. information on therapy, sentencing, the make-up of the perpetrator, the causes of sexual abuse as well as the respondents' thoughts, feelings and cognitions. The researcher offered alternative meanings in the course of the conversations which resulted in the co-creation of alternative realities.
Tape-recording rather than note-taking during the interview, allowed for a much fuller record of the sessions.
5.8 DATA ANALYSIS
Data analysis is the process whereby order, structure, and meaning is imposed on the mass of data that is collected in a qualitative research study. The assumption is that the researcher is interested in learning something about the participant's world. Meaning is central to understanding the content, and this involves the researcher engaging in an interpretive relationship with the transcript. An interpretive approach can be defined as: "The systematic analysis of socially meaningful action through the direct detailed observation of people in natural settings in order to arrive at understandings and interpretations of how people create and maintain their social world" (Neuman, 1994:62). Interpretation is not transparently available, but must be "obtained through a sustained engagement with the text and a process of interpretation" (Smith, et al., 1995:18).
An interpretive approach is related to hermeneutics which, ...emphasises the human experiences of understanding and interpretation and is presented as people's detailed stories which serve as exemplars and paradigm cases of everyday practices and lived experiences. These practices and experiences are identified, described, and interpreted within their given contexts (Wilson & Hutchinson, 1991:265).
118 Hermeneutics thus emphasises a detailed reading and examination of a text to uncover the meaning. Hermeneutics is the method of data analysis selected for this study, consistent with a social constructionist approach.
In this regard, Crabtree and Miller (1992) refer to what they called Shiva's circle, Shiva being the androgynous Hindu Lord of the Dance and of Death. "A constructivist inquirer enters an interpretive circle and must be faithful to the performance or subject, must be both apart from and part of the dance, and must always be rooted in context" (Crabtree & Miller, 1992:10).
The researcher used the following steps in conducting the analysis:
Step 1: The interviews were tape-recorded. Step 2: The taped interviews were transcribed. Step 3: The researcher read the transcripts a number of times and noted the significant themes which emerged and content that was deemed significant or interesting. Step 4: A consolidated list of themes for the group was compiled. Step 5: The themes were linked to text where examples of such themes could be found. Step 6: The researcher recounted the themes of the stories and translated the themes into a narrative account. Verbatim extracts were used to elucidate each theme. Step 7: The themes were presented together in one analysis section and a later chapter (chapter 7) focused on exploring the implication in relation to the existing literature. A comparative analysis was undertaken between the common themes associated with sexual offending behaviour.
119 5.9 CONCLUDING REMARKS
This chapter has attempted to outline the nature of qualitative research in comparison to that of quantitative research. Justification for the use of this method has been highlighted, together with the role and position of the researcher within such research.
Chapter Six moves on to focus on the narratives of the twelve individuals who participated in the research.
120 CHAPTER SIX
NARRATIVES OF PERPETRATORS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
6.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the major themes which emerged from the conversations between the researcher and the participants. The participants included twelve male perpetrators of sexual abuse who are engaged in a therapy programme at Childline Johannesburg and Childline Durban, and were selected according to their willingness to participate in the study. The average duration of therapy is two years and the length of time each participant has been engaged in therapy, varies from participant to participant. Names have been changed to protect the identity of participants.
6.2 INTRODUCING THE PARTICIPANTS
GEORGE George is in his fifties and has his own company. He is married and has a son and a daughter. His offences were extrafamilial and the children involved were all male.
JOHN John is in his sixties, has never married and is self-employed. He indecently assaulted both male and female children.
KEN Ken is in his mid-forties and has never married. He indecently assaulted several female children of his adult friends.
FRED Fred is in his late thirties and has never married. He indecently assaulted both male and female children.
121 BRUCE Bruce is in his forties and has been married and divorced three times. His offences were extrafamilial as well as incestuous and the offences were committed against male children.
PETER Peter is in his sixties and is divorced. All offences were of an extrafamilial nature, and against girls only.
TONY Tony is thirty years old and works for a security company. He offended against his wife's ten year old daughter.
DANIEL Daniel is in his late forties and was convicted of indecently assaulting his five year old daughter. His daughter has since been removed from his care and placed in State care. He is divorced from his wife.
JAN Jan is fifty-three years old and is self-employed. He indecently assaulted his niece. He is still married.
ANTON Anton is a twenty-six year old single male and was convicted of indecently assaulting several female children in his neighbourhood.
JEFF Jeff is thirty-three years old and committed his first offence four years ago against his six year old daughter. He is in the process of getting divorced
PATRICK Patrick is a twenty-four year old single male who is a part-time student and a pastor at his church. He indecently exposed himself to two young boys.
122 6.3 EMERGING THEMES
6.3.1 Childhood
Most participants commented on a generally unhappy childhood and negative experiences while growing up. In addition, it appears that parental relationships were strained, with most participants reporting lack of affection at home and a distant father figure who disciplined harshly.
Ken described his childhood as being "...generally unhappy. I was a fat little boy and an ugly child. I was teased right throughout my childhood and remember being called girls' names. I was constantly tormented by my brother who would scare me and pretend that burglars were coming to get me. I recall having a birthday party at the age of eight and none of the invited guests arriving."
He also commented that his mother was intrusive and interfering, and his father withdrawn and distant. "I often caught her going through my drawers. My father was withdrawn and a distant figure who spent most of his time locked away in his study."
John described himself as overconscientious and a worrier and suggested that he was overly responsible as a child. "Being the eldest of many children, I was expected to perform chores and run errands that a seventeen or eighteen year old would normally do. I never got the amount of affection that I needed. I never had time to be a child, as the responsibility came too soon."
Peter said that his father was "dictatorial". "My father used to say that kids should be seen and not heard. When his friends used to come over, I was told to buzz off and I was always told how stupid I am."
123 According to Bruce, his mother was a harsh disciplinarian. "She was very free with hidings. My father on the other hand, was a quiet man, but became the ultimate authority if pushed too far."
John described continual marital discord between his parents. "My parents always had bad rows. I would lie in bed and cry and want someone to hug me. At that stage, I was too big for a teddy bear. My younger brother was a great comfort and he would often run and dive into the bed next to me. This gave me some nurturance, comfort and affection which I desperately needed."
He further described his father as being "stand-offish" and suggested that he could never go to him with a problem. "My dad was a fastidious character who would scream, shout and punish for the slightest domestic accident, such as breaking a glass. My mother was passive and dependent, and relied on me to protect her from my father."
Fred pointed out that although his mother was over-protective and caring, she had a "violent temper". "There was a lot of physical abuse between my mother and my father. At the age of fifteen, my parents separated and my father literally abandoned us kids. He never bothered to make contact with us. Our home became extremely matriarchal and all my life I attempted to please my mother."
George described his family as being "authoritarian, punitive and dictatorial". He added: "My father would physically abuse us and put us down. I was constantly told that I could never do it or achieve my goal. My father was a violent man and as children we were terrified of him. His word was gospel."
124 He further recalls being told at the age of four that he was getting too old to sit on his father's lap. "That was the last time I remember being shown any affection or being touched by my dad." He added that punishment was severe and his father often threatened the children with imprisonment. "I recall being locked in my room on an occasion for a day and a night and being given a crust of bread and a bowl of water." George firmly believes that parenting styles are often what causes sexually offending behaviour and the "lack of touch and tactile deprivation" played a significant role in his offending behaviour. "I had an overwhelming need to hold the child that I was abusing, to sleep next to the child and nurture the child. I often saw myself in the child that I was abusing."
Patrick related a tense, unpredictable home environment. His father had many affairs and often beat his mother. "I remember trying to protect my mother and when sticking up for her, being beaten by my father." His father often threatened to leave the home and never return, and he eventually divorced his wife and left. "Since my dad left, which was when I was about 13 years of age, I have only seen him five times since then. He was never actively involved in the home either when he was there. He was always working and when he was at home, he was busy with his toy train hobby."
Jeff recalls always being beaten by his older sister. She was eight years older than him and he felt that she resented him being born. "My parents had an unhappy marriage and my father only came home on weekends. During the week he lived with his girlfriend and during the weekends came home to see the kids. I don't know why he bothered - because he would end up shouting at us and leaving on Sunday night in a bad mood. A few years later he met my eldest sister's friend at our house. They were 23 years old at the time. He started having an affair with her and today they are married."
125 Anton does not remember his father, as he died when Anton was 3 years old. His mother moved in with her mother, and his grandmother took care of them. "My mom is schizophrenic and does not take her medication as she should. My mother has a violent temper and often beat me as a kid. She and my gran have also had several physical fights. When I turned 14 years, my gran sent me to boarding school as she could not cope with me."
Jan described his home life as a child as "ondraaglik". Both his parents were alcoholics as was his paternal grandfather. "There was little of anything in the home and I remember the electricity being cut off several times because bills were not paid. My younger sister was molested by my father, although this was never discussed in the home. I knew about it because I walked in on them one day."
Jan was certain that his mother knew because she often slept in the girls' bedroom and sent her other daughter to sleep in her bed. Jan was certain that the abuse continued during these times. There were often drunken brawls between his parents and he recalls welfare intervening at one point. "They threatened to take us kids away, but nothing ever happened and the situation at home never got any better."
Tony described his childhood as being neglectful and mentioned that alcohol abuse occurred at the end of each month when there was money at home. "My two sisters and I were taken away and put in a place of safety. We grew up in State care. My parents never made contact with us except on birthdays and at Christmas time." He described these years in State care as being worse than living in their parents home. There was an abundance of sexual abuse in the children's home, something which they were at least protected from while living with their parents.
In contrast with the other participants, Daniel described his family as being warm, loving and supportive. He suggested that his parents had a happy marriage and the children were well provided for. "My mom was tough and 126 often gave us hidings and we knew that she was not to be messed with. Dad was kind and gentle, but spent a lot of time away from home doing contract construction work."
With regards to sexual activity among their peer group, many of the participants described sexual activity between boys, or an early sexually exploitative relationship with an older person.
Ken recalled his first sexual experience with an older woman as being "humiliating". "She told me that when I grow up I might be able to satisfy her." This he believes was the start to his offending behaviour. "From then on, I was attracted to younger girls and sought consolation in physical relationships with younger girls who would not question my sexual ability."
Peter was also sexually abused as a child, but appeared unsure as to how this impacted on his later offences, "I cannot put any connection between the two, except that my pattern of re-offending was a repetition of how I was abused" and did not report having any angry feelings towards the offender, "I understood this experience as how I was being cared for. He taught me a lot - generally about coping in life. He was prepared to talk to me, listen to me and help me." Peter did not elaborate on any sexual activity with his peer group, but added that he had difficulty in getting along with his peers. He stated that they often "ganged up" against him.
For Bruce, his early years were flooded by confusion with regard to his sexuality. "I frequently questioned my masculinity." He felt that this question mark he held about his sexual identity could have stemmed from his own experience of sexual abuse. "At the time, I was not harshly affected, I just assumed that this was the way that things happened." This led to experimentation in homosexuality during adolescence, but he "soon realised that this was not for him."
John also experienced same-sex peer sexual encounters and pointed out that "experimenting with your male friends was the only way to learn about
127 sexuality." This involved mutual masturbation and seeing who could ejaculate the furthest."
Fred felt that he was alienated most of the time by his peer group. "They only became my friends in summer when they could swim in my swimming pool. In winter they ostracised me and became totally indifferent to me." He described having an attraction to younger children even during his own childhood. "To me, they were my peers and I had a gift in dealing with younger kids. They came to me with all sorts of problems." During adolescence he was schooled at an all boys private school and remembers being attracted to many of the younger boys. In addition to this, "..my peer group frequently congregated to masturbate and a few of us experimented sexually." He further commented that during these years he still preferred the company of younger boys and found himself getting an erection when playing with them.
In addition, Fred also spoke about a sexually abusive relationship with an older man. "He used to drive me around and came to sports days at school. He became the father I never had. We would eventually end up at his house and he would perform oral sex on me."
George too, commented on sexual activity within his male peer group. "I recall masturbating a friend until he reached orgasm."
Patrick started experimenting sexually with his male peers at the age of 13 years. "There were mainly three of us who used to do it and it usually involved jerking each other off and occasionally oral sex. I tried once to have anal sex with another friend, but never got it right."
Jeff never experimented sexually until the age of 21 years. "The first person I got sexual with was my wife. I had girlfriends when I was younger, but never had sex or touched them. My wife was my first sexual partner and I was very naive. She had to patiently teach me what to do."
128 Anton did not experiment sexually as a child, but recalls looking at and discussing pornographic books and photo's with his peer group. "I masturbated to the image of my first nude photo I saw and still find that image sexually stimulating."
Daniel did not experiment sexually with his peer group, but spoke about his relationship with his mother's brother who was living in a garden cottage on their property. Daniel was sexually abused for a period of 12 years but does not define the experience as abusive. "My uncle played an important role in teaching me about sex, and I enjoyed the experiences, it was a learning curve. I often used to go to the cottage and sleep there: My mom and dad never questioned this. I think dad was only too happy to have an adult male on the premises while he was away at work."
Tony stated that there was a lot of abuse in the children's home. Sex between the children was not uncommon and this included consensual sex between same-aged children as well as exploitative sex between the older children and the very young ones. "I was sodomised by an older boy who threatened to rape my sister if I told. For years I complied with this, in fear of my sister being hurt."
On the issue of school and relationships with teachers, most of the participants expressed negativity.
Peter's mother was a teacher and he was very often humiliated in front of the class by teachers asking him "if his mother did his homework". He described the teachers as being sadistic. "They would often pull your hair and derive pleasure from hurting you."
He developed gall stones which were undiagnosed for several months. "The headmaster and teachers believed that it was psychosomatic and that I was scamming. My parents were instructed to take me out of school because I didn't want to be there and they were told that I was wasting my time in school."
129 According to Bruce, the teachers frequently humiliated pupils, as young as pre-schoolers. An incident which he related was when he was caught kissing a girl while at kindergarten. "I was made to kiss all the girls in the class. I felt totally humiliated especially since some of the girls were really ugly."
John hated high school. "There was lots of corporal punishment. If you got an answer wrong, you were beaten severely and humiliated in front of the class. There were two teachers whose fondness of the cane bordered on being sadistic."
Patrick was schooled at a Catholic School which by virtue of the religion, frowned upon divorce. He felt ostracised by the children and teachers when his parents divorced. "I never had any close friends, except one who used me to buy him sweets at the tuckshop. I bought his friendship or else I would not have had any friends. The teachers singled me out and humiliated me. I was often told that I did not work hard enough and that I was lazy."
Jeff started school in South Africa, having left Portugal in Standard Three. He could not speak Afrikaans and he felt this isolated him from his peer group. "I had a good relationship with my teachers. It was a bit of a `shlep'. I used to volunteer to do almost anything for them, I suppose you can call it a kind of 'teacher's pet'. My peers disliked me and often used me as a punchbag. This lasted only until High School and then I made friends with some kids who remained my friends until matric."
Jan reported his school performance being poor and he was put in the "donkie klas". He was teased by other children and felt embarrassed about his academic inability. "The teachers used to hit us a lot and I was often in trouble. When I turned 15 years old, I started stealing and would often steal for no real
130 reason. I remember stealing toilet paper at school and getting away with it. This gave me a `kick'."
Daniel reported having a good relationship with his peers due to the fact that he played a great deal of team sport. He liked his teachers and never felt the need to challenge authority.
Tony felt that he had a good relationship with his peer group although he "mixed with a rough lot". "I was involved in a gang and we did drugs and alcohol from a young age. I never liked any of the teachers and they did not like me. I guess I was too cheeky and my school marks were never good."
6.3.2 Sex Education
Most participants reported a lack of sex education. They felt that their parents did not fulfil their role adequately and sex was often a taboo subject. Information pertaining to sexuality was obtained mostly from their peer group and in some instances from books lent to them by their peers.
Ken was told by his mother that masturbation was "evil". "I remember touching myself at a very young age, maybe five or six and being severely punished. I was told that I would go to hell and that my hand would drop off if I did that."
Peter added that the word 'masturbation' was never even mentioned in his home. "I received no input from my parents on sex and sexuality and learnt everything there was to learn from my friends."
Bruce commented that his parents also had very "puritanical views" with regard to sex. "There was a lot of talk about the penis being private and that it mustn't be touched." He recalled playing "doctor-doctor" with the girl next door and his mother finding out about this. "This was very traumatic for me as
131 I was harshly disciplined." He believes that his lack of sex education impacted on his offending behaviour. He stated that "... because I did not have any sexual knowledge, I was determined to find out."
John supported this notion too, by stating that his sex education occurred in the "bicycle shed" with his peer group. "My sex education certainly did not come from any adults. There were also no books to learn from. We learnt about sex by experimenting and not knowing if what a friend had told you was myth or fact." John also commented that he believes that enlightening young people from an early age may prevent offending. He suggests that an open, clear view makes sexuality more understandable.
In support of what John said, Fred suggested that imparting sexual information may in addition prevent children from being victims of abuse. "Sex education was absent in our home and I had to rely on my peer group to inform me. When I turned sixteen, an older man befriended me and I believed that our sexual encounters were normal. I thought that this was how you learn how to have sex."
George in turn also commented on the dearth of sex education in his early life and his family's puritanical views on sex. "I was never allowed to see my brother without clothes on and we were warned about the evils of masturbation."
He further recalled being given a book on sexuality by a friend and this book being discovered by his father. "My father summoned me into the kitchen and told me that I should not be reading such filth. My father then promptly burnt the book. My upbringing and the messages that I was receiving about sexuality conflicted with what my peers and society dictated. Parties were being arranged, however, I was never permitted to interact socially with girls."
132 He also suggested that condemnatory views were held about masturbation. "My father would creep up to my room at night and attempt to hear if I was masturbating." Most of George's sex education was gleaned from his peer group and included experimenting sexually with one another.
Patrick commented on the brief sex education which was covered at school. "They never told us much. I learnt from my friends. When I was about 13 years, we started experimenting on each other."
Jeff said that his mother was quite open about education regarding sexuality, and nudity was accepted within their home. However, he reported that he really learnt about sex when he met his wife.
Tony recalled a social worker doing education in their Children's Home on sexuality. "She told us about the birds and the bees without realising that the kids were all sexually active right under her nose."
6.3.3 Participants' Understanding of the Sexually Offending Behaviour
The participants reported various accounts of how they made sense of their offending behaviour. According to three of the participants, poor self-esteem was seen as having influenced their offending behaviour.
Ken commented that his low self-esteem was created by the ridicule he was often subjected to. He often believed that he was useless at everything. "The only time that I felt competent and in control was when one of my victims indicated that they were enjoying what I was doing. One of the girls that I molested used to encourage me to touch her and used to suggest to me that we should go to the room."
Peter reported having feelings of inferiority towards adults and this motivated his need for success in business. He suggested that he felt more comfortable with children and stated, "I could often relax and let down my guard when the kids were playing around me."
133 George felt that his damaging childhood affected his self-esteem and he never believed that he would achieve sexual intercourse with a woman. He stated the following: "I was so used to being told that I would never realise my goals and that I knew nothing."
He felt that interaction with children was easier due to their less developed self-esteem. "Failure is easier with an adult. With children there is less rejection and more acceptance - what joy it is to have a child throw himself at you that you can just hug. It is an uphill struggle to form a relationship with an adult." '
Many of the participants highlighted another facet of the sexually offending behaviour in that they felt they were attending to the emotional needs of the child.
Peter suggested the following: "I got 'love' defined wrongly - the kids that I offended against were kids that needed love. That's how I ended up getting involved. I was showing them what love is because, after all, in the media love is eroticised."
He added that he would show the children affection and slowly the affection became sexualised but that the abuse was not sexually motivated and that he got his sexual gratification while he was married.
John stated that the times during which the abuse occurred were happy times. "We would be walking or going fishing. You'd be together, feeling warm, feeling accepted and feeling very welcome. The affection you showed each other was great and made the idea of going further not seem serious."
134 Fred did not see his offences as being entirely damaging to the children. The children whom he molested were needy and he was providing them with something which they were unable to obtain from their family. He said: "If I had a son and an older man had to befriend him, my reaction would depend on how I saw the relationship. If he was being hurt or threatened, I would intervene - as this would not prove to be in his best interest".
George also felt that his offending behaviour related to the child's emotional needs as well as his own. He suggested the following: "I do not believe that sexual abuse causes the victim to become an offender. Sexual abuse gratifies needs other than sexual ones. These needs arise out of poor or ineffective parenting styles and very often relate to emotional needs."
He commented further that he never had an erection while abusing a child and never encouraged the child to touch him sexually. "The offences involved fondling and giving the child pleasure. Showing the child what pleasure their bodies could give them."
Bruce reported that a lack of his own sexual education as a child could have led to his offences. "I saw my role as an educator rather than the abuse fulfilling a need for sex." He commented that he never went out to entice young children into sex, but rather to find out what they knew about sex, where they stand and to relax them in that situation.
Bruce further justified his behaviour to himself by telling himself that "... we were just finding out what they've done before and what they know about sex."
He added that his offences which were all committed against male children, could have resulted from punitive measures taken by his parents when playing 'doctor-doctor' with the girl next door and from the humiliation by a
135 teacher when he kissed a girl in kindergarten. He commented that "I have always had an elevated respect for women and have put women on a pedestal. My parents taught me that sex was for after marriage. I developed the perception that the women who would sleep with me, I would never marry and those I would like to sleep with, would never sleep with me outside marriage."
Four participants indicated they did not know that their behaviour was a criminal activity.
Peter reported knowing that fondling a child was wrong but he was not aware that he could be prosecuted and have a criminal record. "It was all very misleading and I was unaware that I could be charged criminally."
Bruce stated the following: "I have always been against child abuse and never realised that my behaviour could be termed sexual abuse. When Childline first started, I realised to my horror that this was abuse and it bothered me considerably."
George, however, who started offending in early adolescence, only realised the implications of his behaviour in later adolescence. " I committed my first offence at the age of 10 years and it was only at the age of 16 years that I realised that it was wrong."
Anton, like Bruce, did not realise that what he was doing was a crime. "I fell in love with this girl even though she was only 12 years old. I was showing her how much I cared - it was almost as if she was my own age."
Anton did not comment on his relationship with the other children whom he abused and kept referring to this child with whom he had "a close relationship."
Patrick understands his offences in relation to the lack of a father figure who should have imparted information about sex to him but he also appears to
136 have seen himself as an educator which spilled over into inappropriate behaviour. "These young boys saw me as a father figure and often relied on me to inform them about sex as well as questions they had about relationships. I got aroused while talking to them about masturbation and the next thing I knew .... I was doing it in front of them."
Jeff referred to his wife having had an affair which sparked off his offending behaviour. "I moved out of the house when I found out that she was having this affair. My girls used to spend weekends with me. I missed my wife so much and often lay in bed hugging my eldest daughter. I suppose I missed the affection and intimacy, and this caused me to touch her in a way that I should never have. I was also kind of getting back at her (his wife) for hurting me."
Jan seemed to contradict himself when asked about how he understood his offending behaviour. He admitted that it was a mistake and that his "hand just slipped" and then suggested that seeing his father abuse his sister could have played a role. "I got an erection when I walked into the room that day when my father was sleeping with my sister, and often masturbated to thoughts of me having sex with her."
Daniel did not define his behaviour as abusive. He seemed to be of the opinion that only if he had initiated the sexual interaction, could it be defined as abuse. "My daughter has always had a curious mind and I had no control over her spontaneous reactions while in the bath with her. My wife laid a charge of sexual abuse against me when she walked into the bathroom and saw my daughter sucking my penis."
137 Daniel believes that the timing was unfortunate and that it seemed worse than it actually was. "She grabbed my penis and started licking it - before I could stop her - my wife had already walked in."
Tony does not understand what prompted him to touch his step-daughter on her breasts and attempt to touch her genitals. "I came to my senses straight away and apologised. I then told my wife, who phoned Childline. I can't understand my behaviour, because I know what it is like to be abused and I would never like to put a child through that."
6.3.4 Selection of Children
The participants gave varying accounts of how they selected the various children they abused.
Ken never married but he developed several long-standing friendships with women who were single parents. "I met Pam at a pottery class and got to know her really well. She had survived an abusive marriage and frequently discussed her marital relationship with me. She had two daughters from her previous marriage and I often baby-sat when she worked late. This was the start of the abuse with her children."
He also made reference to the availability of children as a result of teaching art privately after school hours. "I met several parents, a few of whom were single mothers. It wasn't too hard building friendships, as these people trusted me and I was assisting their children to develop their artistic talents."
Fred also commented on the availability of children. He enrolled at Teacher's Training College in the belief that working with children would provide him with the happiness and fulfilment he needed.
138 The most common response to victim selection was the choice of a child who showed a willingness to engage in the sexual activity.
Ken commented that he never let any of his victims see his penis. He engaged in the offending behaviour by fondling his victims. He stated the following: "After I had engaged the child in this way and the child had shown a willingness to get involved, I would masturbate privately to these fantasies."
According to Peter, the children involved all showed an interest in the activity. "I never went out and looked for kids - most of the kids came to me - they sensed that I loved kids. I've never had the desire to offend against my own kids or grandkids - they don't interest me at all - sexually."
He further highlighted the perception that the children were willing participants by stating that: "If a child said 'no', I would have stopped. It would have meant that this is something that they don't want. However, none did - they were all keen and willing participants."
Bruce also suggested that the child had to show a willingness. "I don't see myself as hitting on someone. There needs to be a curiosity and a willingness on the part of the child."
George reframed the 'willing participant' and referred to 'positivity' and 'negativity' in children. He suggested that he would proceed with children who reacted positively to comments or jokes. "I would initiate my contact by stating something risky or cracking a dirty joke. I could easily edit out the children who would be unsafe targets, due to their negativity in response to my jokes. I refined the skill to the point where I could assess the victim by the dilation in the size of his pupils."
Bruce saw his role as being an 'educator' and in describing his role with the children, stressed that the children who appeared to be struggling with a conflict over sexual identity became his target. He related the following: "With
139 the one young boy, he was sensitive and enjoyed interior decorating. I sensed a conflict with regard to his sexual identity and my involvement with him was to pursuade him that he wasn't gay."
Bruce's involvement with another child was also related to identity confusion. "I got involved with this boy to find out if he had gay tendencies. I tried to get him to accept that this was the way that you make your choice - as I had done. I assumed that at the age of 12 years he was having this conflict and projected a lot of my own stuff onto him. He was sensitive and artistic like I was."
Both John and Fred emphasised that a trusting relationship, based on friendship, was the way in which they secured their victims. John stated that he had known all the children since infancy. "We were all very familiar and close. We played and wrestled together. They were comfortable with me and totally at ease. I guess there was a sense of bonding between us."
Fred recalled establishing a relationship with a young girl at a public swimming pool. "I befriended her and we could discuss many things. We had a common interest in music and this resulted in me inviting her home with me. We began a long and close friendship. I admit that I did not have a strong sexual attraction to her and my orgasms were not as intense as the experiences I had with boys."
Finally, another common theme among the participants was that of targeting children who came from broken homes and children who displayed signs of emotional neediness.
Peter admitted that not all the children appealed to him sexually. "There wasn't a strong attraction to many of the kids I abused. Normally they were kids whose parents treated them badly - the 'broken wing syndrome', I call it. I selected these children as they were needy and vulnerable."
140 Bruce related that one child in particular, came from an unstable family life. "He would cling to me and saw me as a father figure. I was very fond of him. I also thought that this boy could have gay tendencies, and I justified my involvement with him through this. I believed that this was the therapeutic treatment he needed."
According to Fred, many of his victims were children who came from broken homes. "Jay was 11 years at the time and demanded a lot of attention. He came from a broken home. I took him under my wing and he frequently spent weekends at my place." Fred added that he abused both girls and boys but those who attracted him and were attracted to him were children who came from unhappy homes. "These children had a great need for love and affection and they gravitated toward me, rather than me having to single them out."
Finally, Fred pointed out that even though he was more attracted to boys, the opportunities with girls were in any case fewer. He stated that: "There is more suspicion surrounding interactions with young girls." He concluded in addition that it was easy to secure a child from a broken home through buying them gifts. "I used to pay the children well, depending on what they needed, I bought it for them. It gave me a great amount of pleasure seeing the pleasure on the children's face, and this sealed the contact with me. This enabled me to develop my relationship with them."
Fred also pointed out that his attraction to young boys outweighed his attraction to adults. "I would often find myself in the company of an adult woman, trying to be sexual with her but mentally I would be with one of the young boys".
As mentioned previously, Patrick saw his role as educator and imparting information to children on matters of sexuality.
141 "The children selected me more than me selecting the children. They saw me as an older father-like figure whom they could talk to. I gave them a lot of attention; however, it was just when they spoke about sex, that things got out of hand."
Anton lived in an underprivileged neighbourhood and he was one of the few residents who had a car. "Many parents in the area relied on me to run errands for them and asked me to take their kids to school activities or shopping, etc. I guess they were needy kids who thought I was someone great because I had a car. It was these children that I developed a friendship with and particularly the one who I believed I fell in love with."
None of the other respondents reported actively selecting their victims. Jeff stated that the inappropriate behaviour occurred on the spur of the moment when he felt extremely vulnerable.
Jan explained his behaviour as a mistake and denied actively selecting children to offend against. As previously reported, he suggested that his "hand slipped". He was, however, charged with three separate counts of indecent assault, but was acquitted on two counts and only found guilty on one charge.
In Daniel's case, he believes that he played no part in abuse as he did not initiate anything.
6.3.5 Perception of the Effects of the Offending Behaviour on the Victim
The responses relating to the impact of the offending behaviour on the victim varied, with some participants saying that they felt the sexual abuse did impact negatively on the victims.
142 John indicated that the abuse must have affected the children negatively, otherwise they would not have reported the incidents. He stated the following: "The offences must impinge on the lives of the children and this negative impact probably resulted in them reporting the abuse."
John stated that Dr. Paul who hosts a radio talk show said that these children can learn to live normal sexual lives as adults, however, "the memory does linger on."
Ken said that: "Even though the children were willing participants, it certainly did affect their lives. I was aware of a drop in school marks and an obsessive interest in boys, particularly in the case of Jean who was thirteen years old at the time."
Patrick was not too certain what the impact would be, but stated that it "...must have some harm. The one boy looked extremely shocked and embarrassed at the sight of me masturbating, and the older child immediately told his mother about it."
Peter felt ambivalent about the effects of the abuse. He indicated that the effects of violent abuse and rape were possibly more damaging than other forms of sexual abuse. He added that: "...the damage done to children is largely due to society's reaction or the parent's reaction to the abuse. Each child is, however, an individual and each individual will be affected differently. I know that some of the kids I fondled have been damaged as a result of it - others not. What was damaging was that some mothers kept on telling the children how wonderful I am - that seemed to hurt them. They knew that this wonderful person had done something really bad to them and they couldn't get this settled in their own minds."
Anton also felt ambivalent about the effects of the abuse, stating that his one victim often initiated the sexual interaction. He described this as a "mutual
143 thing between us." He felt that if the sex was not desired, the child would not have initiated it.
Jeff also expressed ambivalent feelings, stating: "My wife owned a sex shop and often had a lot of stuff lying around the house. I wonder if this isn't more damaging than one or two isolated incidents of touching."
Tony felt very strongly about the effects of abuse on the lives of children. "I know what I went through and as an adult I'm still struggling to get over it. I hope that by apologising to my step-daughter and explaining to her that I was wrong, will prevent her from being harmed."
The remaining five participants did not feel that the sexual abuse had a negative effect on the children. Some attributed the harm done to society's reaction which, according to George, was an over-reaction. He further related that: "A healthy child can integrate this behaviour well, as long as the abuse is not repeated over long periods of time. A little incident tucked away will not affect the child in later life. Parents who have been outrageously condemnatory have unresolved issues of their own. It is the parents' hysterical over-reaction that causes the damage."
He indicated further that he has abused several children of the adults whom he had abused when they were minors. He believes this to have been possible because he has a good relationship with their parents. "If the abuse was damaging and they had bitter feelings towards me, they would never have allowed me access to their children. I have also asked several of them how they felt about me and they have stated quite emphatically that they have no anger or bitterness."
George concluded his comments by stating: "I don't know where all the damaged people are today - I've yet to meet a victim that says that this is what I am because of you."
144 Bruce felt that society's expectations of how a child should react after abuse, is more damaging than the abuse itself. "My step-son got really angry, however this was more due to being confronted by his mother than due to the abuse itself. He had to get angry - if he didn't, he would create the impression that he was accepting the abuse".
Fred believes that sexual abuse and its effects are overrated. "Because sex is a taboo subject, sex offenders 'get it worse' than offenders who have physically abused or neglected their children. The consequences for emotional abuse are often far worse than those of an affectionate, non-hurtful, sexual encounter."
Jan does not view the abuse he perpetrated as being damaging because it only occurred on one occasion. He felt that if it were to be an ongoing occurrence, it would affect the child. He cites his sister as an example: "My sister was abused for years and it has damaged her badly. My sister has a drinking problem and she has been married and divorced four times."
Daniel felt that due to his daughter defining the occurrence as a game in the bath - it would not affect her. "She was having fun and did not understand that what she was doing was wrong - so why should it affect her?"
6.3.6 Perceptions of the Judicial System and the Effects of the Offending Behaviour on the Perpetrator
Each participant felt that the offending behaviour impacted negatively in some way on his own life.
Fred stated: "I now have a criminal record and therefore cannot enter the United States and other countries due to this. I have family who I haven't seen for years who are living abroad. I cannot obtain a visa with a criminal
145 record and therefore cannot visit them unless they come to South Africa."
George expressed similar sentiments, stating that he has family in Australia whom he is prevented from seeing due to his criminal record. He further said that "... the judicial procedures have perverted the course of justice. I was subjected to intense harassment and was not allowed any legal representation. The case was remanded ten times in twelve months. I was constantly called down to the Child Protection Unit for handwriting analysis, mug shots and received up to ten blank phone calls every day for months."
He believes that the course of justice equates all paedophiles with the likes of Gert van Rooyen. "He, in my opinion, is not your average paedophile, but a person with psychopathic tendencies. This unfortunately is the perception that society has of offenders which is grossly inaccurate."
Peter also felt that his offending behaviour resulted in his being classified in the same category as Gert van Rooyen. "I don't see myself as a paedophile and I don't rape and I don't murder. The courts don't know enough about paedophilia and sexual offences." Peter did however feel that his sentence (three years' house arrest) helped him curtail his behaviour.
Bruce felt that sentencing should be as lenient as possible on offenders who admit guilt. "The harsh treatment should be reserved for those who subject children to gross physical abuse, emotional abuse and for psychopaths." He added that the behaviour did impact negatively on his life and resulted in his second divorce but stated that "...I am lucky that this did not become public knowledge, considering the high profile which I have in the community. It therefore hasn't affected my life to the extent that it has others' lives."
John felt strongly about the effects that his offending behaviour has had on his life. "I always have this great fear, this black cloud hanging over my head. 146 There is this constant fear, this nagging fear which is always there." John relates his fears to the criminal prosecution which may occur at any time. None of the victims was willing to make a statement and therefore, John has avoided the judicial process. However, he lives in fear that one of the children may change their minds. This fear may have been brought on by the sentencing of a group member who received 20 years imprisonment without parole for his offences.
Ken spoke about the devastation on his life. "I was prevented from teaching art to children as I was considered a threat to their safety. This took a chunk out of my income away and I am finding it really hard to supplement my income. It is not only the financial part, but I really enjoyed working with kids. It gave me great pleasure seeing them develop their artistic talents and express themselves through their creative arts."
Patrick said that the results of his offending behaviour impacted greatly on his life. "I was very active in the children's ministry at our church, and now I've been prevented from contact with these children. The congregation know of the offence due to the one child's disclosure." He added that his mother has no knowledge of this and if she were to find out, it would "....be the end of her." He has not been through the judicial system as no charge was made with regard to the offence. He was therefore unable to comment on his perception of the judicial process.
Anton expressed shame and humiliation resulting from the situation becoming public in his surrounding neighbourhood. "I have been branded a paedophile and my church has asked my mother, gran and I to leave. I can no longer attend youth group." He also expressed concern about his employer finding out about the offence. "I have told him that I will be appearing in court soon, on assault charges, however, did not tell him the full details. I am afraid that if he finds out, I may lose my job."
147 Jeff expressed similar sentiments to Anton, saying that: "I fear that my boss will find out. I am well-liked and respected at work and I am so scared that people at work will find out. It is enough that my personal life is in tatters. My wife won't speak to me and wants a divorce, and my youngest daughter who wasn't affected by any of this, refuses to speak to me. I can understand Gwen's anger and her reluctance to trust me again, but not her sister."
Jan revealed a totally different picture of how his behaviour has affected his life. "My wife and I have become closer and she has given me support during this. We are attending marital counselling and are working through some problems. I don't, however, have a relationship with my brother anymore, and this is a big problem because we are partners in the same business."
Daniel blames his wife for his children having been taken away from them and placed in a children's home. "She left me and took the kids with her. Welfare got involved and found her to be an unfit mother. None of this would have happened if she didn't over-react and stir the pot. Now my children have to live in a 'home' when they have their own home which they could grow up in."
Finally, Tony commented that the way in which this incident affected him was through the fear of repeating his behaviour. "I don't understand what led me to do this and I'm afraid that those urges will creep up on me again. I feel vulnerable." He expressed appreciation that his wife was willing to phone Childline for assistance and said that "...she could have turned her back on me and walked out on me."
148 6.3.7 Impact of Pornography, Alcohol and Drugs on their Behaviour
When enquiring whether or not alcohol, drugs or pornography played a role, the overwhelming majority of participants reported that those variables had not played a role in shaping their behaviour.
John stated that he would have a social drink but never drank prior to committing an offence. "I was never intoxicated when molesting any of the children."
Ken, George, Bruce and Peter expressed similar sentiments, stating that they had never indulged in alcohol or pornography when abusing their victims.
Fred, however, reported differently and suggested that he frequently used pornography. "I was given my first porn magazine when I was sixteen years old, and continued to buy pornographic movies and magazines throughout adulthood. I would often leave the material lying around and judge the reaction I got from the children."
He related an incident with a young boy whom he taught in Standard Four: "The Hustler excited this young boy and it wouldn't take long before we had our clothes off and we were masturbating each other."
Jan reported having a few drinks prior to committing his offence and stated the following: "I never drink much, but every now and then have one too many. I had been drinking before I went to my brother's house and this could have influenced me in some way."
6.3.8 Value of Therapy and Control over Offending Behaviour
Fred generally felt negatively about therapy, despite the few positive elements which he identified, for example finding support in a group of men
149 who are similar to himself. He added that "...therapy can be damaging in that it is a constant reminder about the awful deeds that were committed. There comes a time in your life when you need to put the shame behind you and therapy continues to remind you how bad you really are."
John's feelings were completely the opposite. "Therapy is helpful in that you are constantly repeating themes and topics of importance. It is this that highlights how your past has shaped your offending behaviour."
George felt it was not only therapy for his offences which has been valuable, but also the 'life skills training' which he has recently attended. "I never rule out the possibility that I could re-offend, however, I strongly doubt that I ever will. I believe that I am able to exert some control, as I have never molested my own children, and this was a pact that I made with myself when they were born."
He then related an incident which occurred a few weeks prior to the interview. "I was walking through a shopping mall and saw a young Indian boy. I was overcome by the beauty of this child - it was like an electric shock through my system. I believe that the ability to recognise beauty in children is a special trait, however, I need to control myself and not allow the recognition of this beauty to spill over into a sexual interaction."
Peter found comfort in the group but felt irritated at times when topics were being repeated to accommodate new members. "Topics which do not have much relevance to my life are often spoken about and rediscussed several times. This I find quite irritating and a waste of time." Peter felt certain that he would never offend again, saying that "..my sentence which was three years' house arrest has taught me to control my behaviour."
Bruce felt that the way in which group therapy was conducted, was tremendous but he felt that the gender of the therapist was a problem. "Female therapists let their maternal instincts take over and they take our
150 offences personally. Males may be a little more objective." Bruce felt without doubt that he would never offend again. "I have no contact with children and do not get involved with projects concerning children."
Ken felt that therapy had assisted him in understanding his behaviour. "I have some understanding of how my childhood experiences may have caused me to abuse children. However, I do still feel vulnerable and I am not sure if I will ever stop being attracted to children."
Patrick suggested that therapy was his only hope. "I hope that in therapy they teach you about your flaws and how these negative parts of you make you do these things. Therapy so far, has been really hard and has touched on areas of my life that have 'hit a nerve'. I believe that therapy can help and I will continue with it."
Daniel felt negatively about the value of therapy in his particular case. "If I did something wrong, I would understand the need for therapy, but I don't see that what happened was wrong. I'm not some rapist who goes around hurting children."
The remaining participants were unsure of the value of therapy which could be attributed to the fact that most of them have only recently been engaged in some form of therapy.
6.4 Concluding Remarks
The information drawn upon in this chapter helps us to understand the subjective experience of participants. In accordance with social constructionist thinking however, the ideas should not be seen as absolute. What is depicted instead are common conversations of particular people in a particular society. These ideas constitute one of many ideas or conversations regarding paedophilia.
151 In the following chapter, the researcher will conduct a comparative analysis between participants' stories and those found in the traditional research literature.
152 CHAPTER SEVEN
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
7.1 INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, the researcher will take the traditional research literature and attempt to compare and discuss it with what she gleaned from her conversations with the participants. Whilst the themes which were articulated in this study share similarities with those found in the traditional research literature, there are also some differences, and the researcher has included her own discourse and reflections in relation to the narratives and the literature review.
7.2 SOCIAL INTERACTIONAL SKILLS
The respective early history of those who participated in the study, reveals that in many respects the participants were not able to develop secure attachment bonds in childhood. According to Rada (1978), an absence of secure bonding in childhood fails to equip the person with the necessary skills to establish intimate adult relationships.
Participants suggested that parenting styles played a significant role in their subsequent offending behaviour. For example, one participant recalled being prevented from sitting on his father's lap after the age of four years, and that he wasn't shown any affection which resulted in him having an exaggerated need for nurturance.
Another participant described his father as being "stand-offish" and as a person who punished the children severely for the slightest reason. This punishment was endured together with an unpredictable home environment
153 where family violence was a regular occurrence as was the presence of alcohol abuse.
Thornman (1983) states that most offenders long for warmth and intimacy because they did not experience this in their own childhood. Weiss (1982) suggests that sexual contact reinforces the attachment bond because the perceived intimacy is present; affection is thus expressed in a sexual manner.
Many participants felt that their offending behaviour was related to their own emotional needs and that consolation was sought with children because that kind of interaction provided them with warmth, nurturance and acceptance.
According to Prendergast (1991), these men seldom become intimate with anyone and when they do relate to someone, it is on a superficial level. They prefer to maintain a distance in most relationships in an effort to avoid the risk of rejection. As for social anxiety, Hayashino et al. (1995) believe this may stem from the fear of being negatively evaluated.
One participant reported having had a humiliating sexual experience with an adult woman and because of that, he sought consolation with children who would not question his ability. Another participant in turn reported that what he perceived as his own inferiority when relating to adults, resulted in his offending against children where he could "... let his guard down...", and he concluded that this was a more comfortable context for him. Participants reported that they found children to be less threatening due to their less developed self-esteem and also that they were more accepting.
Many participants experienced themselves as being isolated from their family and peers, and also that their parents were isolated from each other. According to Gilgun and Connor (1990), isolation from same-aged males was a form of self-protection, which produces self-doubt and shame (Erickson, 1959), and creates an inability to negotiate sexual relationships with adults which is why many offenders may become sexually exploitative of children.
154 The theme of isolation and its implications was confirmed by various participants who reported that they felt ostracised by their peer group in many ways.
Low self-esteem has been cited as one of the causes of the offending behaviour, and Peters (1976) reported that paedophiles turn emotional problems into physical ones, which reflects their low self-esteem. Prendergast (1991) suggests that low self-esteem causes the offender to block out parts of reality that do not conform to his needs to measure upward or favourably to his peer group. Several participants confirmed these feelings of low self-esteem and related this to the ridicule experienced as children which often left them with feelings of inferiority as adults.
Many researchers have in addition pointed to a social skill deficit in offenders, and it is suggested that the sexual assaulter lacks the normal sexual and social relationship skills required in order to form relationships with adults (Abel et al., 1978; Clark & Lewis, 1977; Grier, 1988; Laws et al., 1984; Segal & Marshall, 1985). As children tend to be more compliant, men with social skill deficits turn to them in an effort to fulfil their under-developed sexual and social relationship needs.
It would appear that this inability to became intimately involved with adult women, may be likened to animals who fail to succeed in the herd's sexual pecking order and seek substitute activity with immature females or males. This researcher is of the view that although considerable research has pointed to social skill deficit and all its implications, reservations need to be expressed, given that a few participants reported being married and several were able to infiltrate single parent families or develop trusting relationships with the parents of these children, suggesting that their social skills were not under-developed to the point of being completely dysfunctional. The researcher would recommend that therapy for these offenders should possibly focus on developing maps to intimacy rather than on developing and building social skills.
155 7.3 EMPATHY
Loar (1994) defines empathy as the ability to look beyond oneself and recognise the impact one has on others. Various researchers have highlighted a deficit of empathy in perpetrators of sexual abuse, and state that these perpetrators have an inability to empathise with the child's experience (Finkelhor, 1984; Gilgun & Connor, 1989; Peters, 1976).
These research findings in the traditional literature were corroborated through the discussions with the participants, in that only two participants out of a total of twelve felt that abuse did impact negatively on children. In this researcher's opinion, even in these two instances, this may not necessarily reflect a true capacity for empathy, and instead may merely be remorse at being uncovered. The researcher is of the opinion that if a true capacity for empathy did exist, the perpetrator would not carry out sexual acts with children while sensing the trauma and discomfort being caused to the child.
Of the remaining ten participants, some were ambivalent and unsure of the effects of abuse on children, while others felt very strongly that sexual abuse did not in fact have a negative impact on the children. Participants felt that rape and violent abuse were more damaging than indecent assault, and that whatever damage was caused to the children was largely due to society's reaction to the abuse and not necessarily the abuse itself. One participant suggested that by virtue of the fact that the child itself had initiated the sexual contact, it could therefore not be harmful, while another felt that a healthy child could integrate such behaviour into his life and furthermore that sexual abuse would not affect the child later in life - it was suggested that sexual abuse and its effects are over-rated.
While most participants reflected a great deal of remorse, this was directly related only to the impact of the behaviour on their own lives and not that of the child's. Participants revealed varying accounts of how their offending behaviour had affected their lives; for example, having a criminal record was
156 viewed as something which placed severe restrictions on their lives and the process of the judicial procedure was described as being traumatic: one participant related several episodes of harassment during the judicial procedures; two felt that they had been unfairly classified within the same category as people like Gert van Rooyen, and they felt that being equated with such a person placed them in a disadvantaged position. Several other participants referred to negative consequences which included the trauma of divorce as a result of the abuse; being prevented from continuing their occupations (i.e. teaching art and working in the children's ministry); being ostracised from their community and church, and the removal of their children into state care. One participant spoke about a continual fear of prosecution as no charges had as yet been made by the children; other fears were of an employer finding out and the family finding out. Only one participant reported a positive effect on his life, stating that his behaviour had resulted in he and his wife attending marital therapy which has brought the two of them closer together.
In the researcher's view, it came across quite strongly that most of the participants in fact consider themselves to be victims rather than the child, and it may be their cognitive distortions which allow them to minimise the harm they do to children and instead see themselves as victims.
7.4 SEXUALITY AND SEXUAL PATHOLOGY
The majority of participants reported a lack of sex education in their homes - they felt that their parents did not fulfil their role adequately in this area and that sex was often a taboo subject; various participants recall being told that masturbation was evil, and that their parents held puritanical views about sex. These findings are consistent with the research literature which states that most offenders were raised in sexually restrictive homes (Simkins, 1993; Swift, 1979). Also, the literature points out that many offenders themselves hold puritanical views towards women and sex (Baxter et al., 1984), however, the opposite came through in this researcher's study, in that none of the participants indicated that they too held these views. It appears though that 157 sex education was primarily obtained from their peer group, which is consistent with the research literature which states that sexual knowledge is mainly acquired from contemporaries and friends (Ford & Linney, 1995)
A further suggestion which emerged from the empirical research data is that all sexual crimes begin with fantasy and that the person who molests children will use children as his sexual fantasy while masturbating. In this way, the deviant fantasy becomes increasingly arousing through repeated masturbation (Hazelwood et al., 1992; Howells, 1981). In addition, several other researchers have made reference to a strong aversion to adult females as well as lack of interest in them as sexual partners (Baxter et al., 1984; Langevin, 1983). However, Paitich et al. (1977) suggest that it is possible for persons to function "satisfactorily" in heterosexual relationships while experiencing aversive responses to their partners
One participant in the study conducted by this researcher alluded to this latter suggestion by stating that while he was having sex with an adult woman, mentally he would be with one of the young boys. As regards fantasies, none of the participants referred to the content of their fantasies during masturbation and did not respond to prompts by the researcher. On the subject of an aversion to adult females, none of the participants reported having an aversion to adult partners, and indeed several participants were married and had a long-term intimate relationship with their wives.
The findings on the issue of consenting and non-consenting sex suggest that many offenders show greater arousal to non-consenting sex and lower arousal to consenting sexual relations (Hall et al., 1988; Marshall et al., 1986). In contrast to these findings, none of the participants in this researcher's study showed a preference for non-consenting sexual relations, while many referred favourably to the interest and willingness shown by the children, as well as a trusting friendship between them which existed before molestation occurred.
158 In terms of the offences committed by the participants, none was penetrative in nature and all included various forms of indecent assault. The researcher is of the view that certain participants may be fearful of adult forms of sexuality and instead seek childish forms of sexual gratification by appearing to prefer fondling and masturbation.
7.5 SUBSTANCE ABUSE
There are conflicting reports on the role that alcohol played in the offending behaviour. Research varies, and suggests that alcohol plays a causal role in the offending behaviour or that no relationship exists between alcohol and offending behaviour.
McCarty (1986) cites alcohol as a common characteristic in incestuous abuse and according to Mrazek and Kempe (1987), nearly twenty-five per cent of men in their sample, who were imprisoned for sexual abuse, were alcoholics.
Marshall et al. (1990) state that whereas alcohol may not be causal, it may serve to lower inhibitions in those who are predisposed to abuse. Various researchers believe that substance abuse may be used as an explanatory factor to minimise responsibility (Scully & Marolla, 1984).
What emerged as a result of the study conducted by this researcher is that the overwhelming majority of participants reported that alcohol did not play a role in shaping their behaviour. One participant acknowledged having had a few drinks prior to committing his offence, but stated that his drinking was not habitual.
In view of the research findings and the results of the current study, it could be concluded that studies of this nature would need to be conducted on offenders who are not incarcerated, as existing research on the influences of alcohol have been conducted only on incarcerated offenders, and may not reflect appropriate representative samples.
159 7.6 ABUSED-ABUSER HYPOTHESIS
The hypothesis most frequently posed is that sex offenders were themselves sexually victimised in childhood. According to Herman (1990) the sexual offence is then understood as a re-enactment of the trauma. Various versions of this notion exist, one being that sexual abuse in childhood causes paedophilia while another suggests that childhood sexual abuse renders a man prone to abusing sexually (Freund & Kuban, 1994). All the participants in the current study reported sexually abusive experiences in their childhood; however, only one participant reported that the abuse was negatively experienced and traumatic. Another participant was not able to make a connection between his own experience of childhood sexual abuse and his offences in later years, except that his pattern of offending was a repetition of abuse suffered in childhood. Behaviourists explain this pattern in terms of learning and conditioning theories where molestation is associated with arousal through the conditioning process (Wenet et al., 1981). Abuse in childhood was rationalised by another participant as being the way in which he was cared for and shown love. Marshall (1989) suggests that a child who experiences ineffective parenting may find the molestation attractive, since it involves intimacy. One participant described his experience of abuse as traumatic and having to live with the threat of his sister being raped if he did not comply. According to Bagley et al. (1994), this may result in an attachment to the male who sexually exploited him and result in an internalisation of the role of the abuser, which may combat feelings of powerlessness (Groth et al., 1982), and help the offender deal with the confusion generated by his own childhood abuse. Another participant reported that his sexual abuse resulted in his questioning his sexual identity for most of his life. His offences were committed on boys whom he perceived as questioning their own sexual identity. In Finkelhor's (1984) terms this may be described as arrested emotional development.
According to Freund et al. (1990), however, many offenders may falsely claim to have been abused, thereby rendering the molestation theory
160 untenable. In addition, related research has shown that a significant number of perpetrators have a family member with sexual deviancy and/or paedophilia - one may then speculate about how paedophilia occurs inter- generationally in families.
The majority of participants reported that their childhood sexual abuse was committed by a person outside of the family which is consistent with the literature which states' that rapists of adult women were more likely to be molested by a family member, whereas child molesters were more often assaulted by a non-family member (Seghorn et al., 1987).
What this researcher found interesting is that the majority of offenders who were themselves abused, did not define their experience as abusive. This being the case, or more accurately, with the perception of their experience as not having been abusive, can we therefore expect offenders to experience empathy for their victims when in their reality they themselves were not victims and therefore neither are the children they molest? There is a discrepancy between paedophiles' views and those of mainstream society, and it needs to be examined critically. The ethical dilemma faced by clinicians is this: do we take the viewpoint of mainstream society as correct and that of paedophiles as suspect, or do we allow paedophiles to manifest their reality and in doing so, do we therefore collude with the view that abuse per se does not exist?
. 7.7 EARLY LIFE
Several participants reported a neglectful childhood as well as a lack of affection from parents.
This is consistent with the empirical research literature which states that offenders were often exposed to neglect, lack of affection and rejecting parents (Davis & Leitenberg, 1987; Lakey, 1994).
161 As mentioned under 7.2, one participant described his father as 'stand-offish' and the type of person who would scream and shout for the slightest reason. Another participant recalled the lack of affection in his home and being told that he was too old for affection at the age of four years. Parental neglect appeared to be a common issue. One other participant described his childhood as being dominated by the alcohol abuse which took place in his home at the end of each month when wages were paid and the family had money; his parents allegedly spent the family money on alcohol instead of groceries. Also, after being placed in state care, his parents seldom made contact with him and his siblings.
A review of further literature revealed that disturbed parental relationships and mistreatment pervaded the early life of the offenders (Williams & Finkelhor, 1990). In agreeing with these findings, participants reported the presence of marital discord including physical abuse between their parents. Parents, especially fathers, were referred to as authoritarian, punitive and dictatorial. An unpredictable home environment was described in which family life was transient. According to Lakey (1994), this lack of stability and consistency often causes a sense of powerlessness which could result in sexual offending. Alcohol abuse by parents appeared to be a common factor in the early lives of the participants who reported 'drunken brawls' and childhood neglect as a result of money being spent on liquor. Only one participant described his family as being supportive, warm and loving, and that his parents had a happy marriage.
The literature emphasises that most offenders started their abnormal pattern of offending in adolescence and committed their first offence as teenagers. The literature further states that when adult pathology is explicitly sexual in nature, it is reasonable to suggest that the origin of this pathology could be found in early sexual experiences (Bischof et al., 1995; Seghorn et al., 1987). In contrast, none of the participants in the study reported having committed their first offence during adolescence and instead that all offences were committed in adulthood. In the researcher's experience, it is not often that offenders will reveal any information regarding other victims in fear of further 162 prosecution. The extent of their offences will therefore never be known entirely. However, the vast majority reported sexual activity within their own peer group which was exploratory in nature and appears to have consisted of mutual masturbation and the sharing of pornographic material, while several other participants reported sexually exploitive relationships with an older person. The majority of participants who reported being sexually abused, did not harbour any negative feelings about the experience and their sexual abuse was understood as "the way things happen", while most reported "not being affected by the abuse". One participant, however, described his abuse as negative, an experience in which he felt humiliated and threatened.
Most of the participants described negative experiences with regard to peer relationships and relations with teachers. Three participants reported frequent episodes of humiliation by teachers and several participants felt ostracised and isolated from their peer group. These results are consistent with the empirical literature which suggests that life-long isolation of the offender begins in adolescence (Gilgun & Connor, 1990) and that offenders tended to be loners who had little skill in establishing meaningful relationships (Groth, 1977). Seidman et al. (1994) attribute the disruptive childhood of offenders to the perceived damage caused by the lack of attachment bond which results in their being unable to establish or maintain intimate relationships. In contrast to the majority of responses as well as the empirical literature, two participants reported having had good relations with their peers, but only one reported "getting along with and liking" his teachers.
As mentioned previously, what stands out for this researcher is the overwhelming consensus on traumatic experiences in childhood, particularly pertaining to parental hostility, indifference and rejection, which could prompt us to speculate about these experiences causing an aversion to the prospect of approaching sexually mature people.
163 7.8 UNDERSTANDING THE SEXUALLY OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
One issue commonly associated with the sex offender, is the cognitive distortions used in order to deny, minimise, excuse or rationalise the abuse.
Several participants reported varying accounts of the abuse and explained their behaviour by citing their poor self-esteem which they believe stemmed from their "damaging childhood". Feelings of inferiority, punitive parenting styles and exposure to incest as children, were also cited as excuses or reasons for the abuse.
According to Hayashino et al. (1995), these excuses allow child molesters to maintain their deviant behaviour.
One way for the offender to justify his own behaviour is to construe the behaviour of the victims in a particular way (Howitt, 1995). Several participants reflected these findings in that they justified their behaviour by saying they were attending to the emotional neediness of the children or as an act which served to inform the children about sexual matters (i.e. sex education). Various other participants justified the abuse by attributing the act to a particular situation in which they found themselves. One participant described the rapport which had been established between the victims and himself, and attributed the abuse to the closeness of the relationship, while another participant attributed the abuse to the fact that his wife had had an affair
Rationalisations and minimising the extent of the abuse was also common among the participants. One participant rationalised his actions by stating that his "hand slipped". According to Barbaree (1991), minimisation in the mind of the offender can take on the form of minimising the harm to the victim, minimising the extent of the offence or minimising his responsibility in the offence. All three forms were also evident in the participants' responses, and are illustrated by the following examples: "I got love defined wrongly"; "My daughter has always had a curious mind and I had no control over her 164 spontaneous reaction while in the bath with her"; "... the damage done to children is largely due to society's reaction;" "A healthy child can integrate this behaviour"; "My hand just slipped."
Denial is another common cognitive distortion listed in the literature. Barbaree (1991) suggests that denial could take the form of complete denial that anything took place, admission of sexual relations but denial that it was an offence, or admission of physical contact, but denial of any sexual element. Participants demonstrated this cognitive distortion in that one acknowledged that sexual contact had taken place, but denied that the situation was abusive or an offence, while another admitted to physical contact, but denied that the contact was sexual in nature.
Marshall (1994) states that offenders frequently shift the responsibility of the abuse to persons or factors outside of themselves. Participants' responses reinforced this - various factors outside themselves were listed as reasons for the abuse, such as a lack of sex education, extramarital affair, punitive parenting styles and exposure to incest in their childhood.
In this researcher's view, distortions may manifest in very subtle ways, for example, the choice of words by the offender (e.g. "we had oral sex," may imply mutual consent rather than stating that he put his penis in her mouth). Cognitive distortions may partially explain the fact that paedophiles typically minimise the impact of abuse, and various studies also indicate that cognitive distortions are an important factor in the aetiology of criminal behaviour. However, in this researcher's view, while it is feasible that cognitive distortions may maintain abhorrent behaviour, to assume etiology from the presence of distortions would appear to be spurious.
7.9 SOCIO-CULTURAL CRITIQUE OF PAEDOPHILIA
According to Brownmiller (1975), literature is replete with examples of women's masochistic wishes to be raped, and according to Stermac et al. 165 (1990), the theme of the seductive child is frequently portrayed. An example of such writings can be seen in Lolita. Implicit in such writings are testimonials of children viewing these sexual encounters as beneficial or non-harmful. Several participants reflected these views by commenting on the willingness of the child to engage in the sexual act. The researcher is of the view that these beliefs are promoted in the South African judicial system, where the child's complicity in the sexual assault is questioned, as well as the veracity of the child's statements relating to non-participation and attempts at resisting the abuse. It would appear that certain participants interpreted the children's behaviour as seductive when they stated that the children actively selected them rather than they being the ones pursuing the children. In addition, as previously mentioned, participants reported that they too had been abused in childhood, however only one participant defined the experience as traumatic and negative. One could therefore assume that they would not define their offending behaviour as harmful.
The professional literature has also been found to support the notion of unharmful sexual contact between adults and children (Brongersma, 1984). In support of this notion, one participant asked the question, "Where are all the damaged people? I am yet to meet one who says ... This is what I am because of you." Within a socio-cultural perspective, females are characterised by a lack of power (Parker, 1984). The researcher is of the opinion that this is true for females and that the perspective should also include children. Both male and female children are abused, and children can therefore be seen to posses similar characteristics to adult women, i.e. a lack of power and control.
As a result of rapid social, economic and political change, many aspects of the traditional male sex role have been rendered increasingly dysfunctional and obsolete, and this has led to a destabilisation in traditional gender roles prompting a "wounding of masculinity". A man in crisis seeking a victim to abuse will find a woman or a child to be a safer target than another man. According to Russel (1984), the quest for power and control may hold special prominence among factors which contribute to child molestation. When their 166 position of entitlement is challenged, men may feel a significant loss in their role as husband or being the one in control and this may result in their perceiving themselves as being inadequate. According to the researcher, when viewing the rapid changes occurring in society in which men perceive a loss in their role as husband, for example, the question arises as to whether it is in fact true to say that masculinity is in a crisis or if there is indeed a true sense of being wounded. Within this context, men still possess powers of unquestioned domination, be it physically, socially or economically. White heterosexual men for example are still quite privileged in the prevailing social structure. What was revealed in the current study, however, is that none of the participants commented on issues of power and control but from one participant's story, one could speculate about his need to resume control: this participant referred to his wife's affair and how this resulted in his abusing his daughter to get back at his wife. One could speculate that due to his not having control over his wife, he regained control by possessing his daughter.
Several participants reported feelings of inferiority in relation to adults and to being able to let their guard down with children. Pothast and Allen (1994) suggested that in order to overcome such feelings of inadequacy, males may sexually exploit children, as the childhood arena is safer and virtually ensures their winning, because children are taught to submit to adult authority.
Participants reflected on their relationships with children and reported long- standing, supportive and affectionate relationships which were characterised by fun-filled activities such as going fishing, wrestling together, buying gifts, and acting as a counsellor for their problems. In support of this, Prendergast (1991) suggests that paedophiles may control the victim by making the child dependent on them for gifts, love and affection. Howitt (1995) suggests that control may manifest in getting the child to initiate sex. Various participants did report that the child initiated the activities and actively pursued them rather than them taking control, which in itself could be viewed as a form of control. Finally, the secrecy of sexual abuse is also a strategy which retains power and control.
167 7.10 SPECIAL APPEAL OF CHILDREN
Gilgun (1994) states that molestation could be seen as the need for power, control and masculinity; however, only one participant indicated that through sexually abusing his daughter was he able to gain control by getting back at his wife for hurting him. This need for power or control did not appear to be an overwhelming need for any of the other participants. Peters (1976) suggested that molestation could reflect a need to withdraw from a dominant spouse and exercise control over a child through molestation. Once again this could be seen in the above participant's response where he withdrew from his unfaithful wife over whom he had no control and molested his daughter which could have restored in him the perceived/necessary control.
It is suggested that paedophiles develop relationships with children as if they were romantic love (Howitt, 1995) and they often substitute sex for the closeness, touch and affection that they crave (Salter, 1988). This becomes evident when the molester insists that he loves the children (Segal & Marshall, 1985). Two participants referred to "loving the children" or having "fallen in love with the child". Several participants also revealed that the relationship gave them a feeling of closeness. According to Revitch and Weiss (1962), paedophiles are characterised by loneliness and the children provide the closeness and warmth that they are lacking.
As mentioned previously, participants reported that children are easier to relate to, and that they can relax and let down their guard in front of children. Interaction with children was also described as being easier due to their less developed self-esteem. The literature supports this by stating that the loneliness experienced by paedophiles is what causes them to actively seek children as easier individuals to relate to (Hammer, 1957). Due to the nature of the relationship and the ease with which they relate to children, many participants described how they entered into peer relationships with the children. This, according to Gudjonsson (1986), highlights their desire to remain in childhood. One participant described his relationship in which he
168 took part in activities with the child that the peer group would normally fulfil. He described the relationship as warm and accepting. Other participants emphasised the trusting element of their relationship and pointed out that their activities included wrestling, which one would normally associate with children and their peer group.
Taylor (1990) stated that the perpetrator feels grounded and accepted when the child responds to his advances and this provides him with the symbiotic bonding he yearns for. Li (1990) suggests that paedophilia is not a need for sex but a need to be wanted. The majority of participants responded in support of this and stated that victim selection was primarily based on the willingness of the child to engage in the sexual activity. The participants highlighted the importance of the child being willing and showing a curiosity and that if negativity or resistance was expressed, they immediately withdrew from the situation. Li (1990) further suggests that sex offenders can often identify certain characteristics in children which they find attractive, varying from personality traits such as warmth, gentleness, affection, etc., to physical characteristics such as short skirts and pretty children (Elliot et al., 1995).
None of the participants commented on any characteristics that they found attractive, except one participant who stated that the male gender was more appealing than the female gender.
The literature points to a minimum difference in perceived age of child and the emotional age of the offender. It is suggested that the offender's developmental experiences influence the selection of victims and that an over-identification with the child will often lead the offender to abuse children who are the same gender as himself. If power and control are underlying needs, the offender will most likely abuse a child of the opposite sex (Selkin, 1991). Five participants abused children of the same gender as their own, and it appeared from their narratives that a narcissistic identification with the children took place. It became evident that the participants projected onto the children their own issues they were grappling with at a certain age. One participant reported that he had struggled with his own sexual identity as a 169 child and assumed that the 12 year old whom he abused was having similar difficulties. By engaging sexually with the child, the participant believed that this process would enable him to overcome his sexual identity problems. Another participant indicated that his parents never imparted any information pertaining to sexuality and as an adult, he saw himself as the "father-figure" imparting the necessary information to children whom he perceived as being in the same predicament he was once in. Two participants reported a lack of touch and nurturance in their homes. One stated that as an adult he never encouraged the children to engage sexually with him, but felt the need to touch them and fondle them, showing them the pleasure they could derive from their bodies. The other participant emphasised the need to nurture and comfort the children as a result of what was lacking in his home when he was a child. The last participant identified children who came from broken homes - which reflected the truth of his past. He identified strongly with these children as he had also come from a broken home.
The remaining participants offended against female children which the literature suggests could be an underlying need for power and control. When relating incidents from their past and from their childhood, there appears to be a common theme of lack of control over their environment. One participant reported having had a dictatorial father, another reported growing up in state care where he had to submit to his own sexual abuse in fear of them raping his sister instead, while another elaborated on an unpredictable family life, where marital discord and alcohol abuse were common occurrences. Situations in adult life may once again trigger these feelings of helplessness and lack of control which result in the offender interacting inappropriately with children which offers an ideal way to reduce stress and regain feelings of control, power and potency.
Research reflects a pattern of attraction among child molesters. Groff and Hubble (1984) identifies three sub-patterns, i.e. an attraction to children in general, an attraction to both children and adults, and an exclusive interest in children within the family. The pattern of attraction to children within the family appeared to reflect the most common pattern among the participants, while 170 two offenders indicated a general interest in children. These two participants appeared to show an interest in adults, but that this was a masked interest to gain access to the children who were the primary interest. These patterns of interaction according to Naerssen (1990) serve four fundamental purposes, the first being "fun and games" in which the interaction allows for sexual pleasure in a playful context. Two participants reported that their sexual interaction with the children was based on a trusting relationship characterised by friendship. The one participant elaborated on how he "played and wrestled" with the children emphasising the "fun and games" context in which the abuse occurred. The second purpose of interaction is that of an "affective purpose". Many participants highlighted the fact that they were attending to the affective and emotional needs of the children. The abuse was not sexually motivated according to several participants, but rather motivated by their own emotional needs and the perceived emotional needs of the child. This affective purpose offered them love, affection and friendship.
The third purpose was that of an "economic function"; however, none of the participants reported that a financial agreement regulated their sexual interactions with the children. Finally, the fourth function is that of "sexual identity formation", in which the person can explore what sexuality means to him. One participant stated that his early years were flooded by confusion related to his sexual identity and that his subsequent sexual interactions with children afforded these children an opportunity to explore their sexual identity. Participants also revealed a consistent choice of gender, with the exception of two participants who appeared to select their victims based on a chance factor. This is consistent with the research which confirms that choice of gender is consistent and the majority of offenders show a consistent preference for either male or female children.
Finally, it was reported by a few participants that victim selection was an active process on the part of the child, i.e the child actively seeking them out, rather than them searching for kids. In contrast, none of the research indicated evidence of this. 171 7.11 PERSONALITY CORRELATES OF PAEDOPHILES
A narrative methodology would not include putting a person in a category and it would be virtually impossible to determine psychopathology from the narratives of the participants. Extensive empirical and quantitative research focuses on classifying the offender according to a framework of psychopathology which makes it difficult to reconcile the two approaches. However, this researcher has had long-term therapeutic contact with the majority of the participants and inferences can be drawn about participants' personality from the clinical impressions and interactive analysis applied in therapy sessions.
The traditional research literature presents conflicting findings. Certain researchers have found their samples of paedophiles to reflect psychiatric and/or psychotic disorders such as bizarre, confused and paranoid traits (Bolton et al., 1989; Langevin et al., 1975), whereas others reflect personality disorders such as narcissism, passive-aggressive personality, antisocial personality and dependent personality disorders (Ames & Houston, 1990; Erickson et al., 1987; Herman, 1990; Howells, 1981; Morral, 1988). Several other researchers have commented on various personality traits such as shyness, timidity, submissiveness, sensitivity, dependence, withdrawal, neurosis, passivity, and introversion (Ames and Houston, 1990; Chantry & Craig, 1994; Levin & Stava, 1987; Okami & Goldberg, 1992; Panton, 1978).
As mentioned previously, this researcher has not classified participants or categorised them, but inferences will be made about the observed patterns of cognitive, affective and overt behavioural traits which emerged in therapy.
Several participants presented with a clinical picture indicative of the narcissistic personality. These participants repeatedly needed reinforcement and stroking; direct challenges in therapy resulted in frequent attempts to terminate. Direct confrontation was experienced as punitive and in reaction to this, sparked off behaviour which was conceited and arrogant. 172 The researcher found these participants to be challenging and experienced difficulty in variously balancing their need for nurturing, stroking and empathy, with the need to hold the adult responsible for his actions, and to challenge and confront various distortions.
Another observed common trait was that of the dependent personality. A few participants presented as pitifully helpless, obsequious and as having a constant need for nurturance, containment and support. They tended to lack self-assertion in the group and appeared to follow the lead of the more confident, assertive group member, seldom challenging comments, behaviours and distortions.
Various other observed traits were schizoid traits, where participants remained detached and in the background of group activities, paranoid traits where mistrust, defensiveness and vigilant behaviour was displayed, and finally anti-social traits characterised by little remorse, inability to empathise with the victim, difficulty maintaining intimate relationships and a controlling, domineering nature. The researcher did not observe any psychotic disorders.
7.12 GROOMING PROCESS
The traditional research literature talks about the "grooming process" or "schooling process" which occurs prior to the sexual abuse of children. This process is characterised by the courting behaviour and psychosocial socialisation of the child into the sexually abusive relationship. However, this process is defined differently by the participants. None of the responses indicated an awareness of the grooming process, but rather that of a special though ordinary relationship between adult and child. The researcher has drawn her own inferences about their descriptions and concludes that their behaviour does in fact support the traditional research literature.
173 According to Grauerholz and Koralewski (1991), the initial approach of the molester may occur in the context of what appears to be a normal, supportive relationship. This is evident in the narrative of three participants who suggest that they started off showing the children affection and slowly this affection became sexualised. Initial contact was also characterised by doing "fun activities" such as fishing, and the affection shown would increase the bonding and "would make the idea of going further not seem serious". This initial behaviour is indistinguishable from "sexual grooming" as a result of the ordinary social affection normally directed towards children. Taylor (1990) indicates that many perpetrators engage a child by becoming his friend before abusing him. Several participants reflected this in their conversations and spoke about walking with and chatting to victims, going fishing, wrestling together, befriending the child, and establishing topics of mutual interest.
One of the consistently documented findings is the high rate of abuse by trusted adults who are known to the child (Christiansen & Blake, 1990). This is reflected by participants, all of whom were known to the child with whom they had a good, trusting relationship. In addition to this, the majority of participants had an established friendship with the parents of the children and were well liked and trusted by them. In a study conducted by Elliot et al. (1995), research subjects revealed that they had used more than one strategy to engage the child. Once again this can be seen in the conversations with participants. These strategies included teaching children privately after school hours, purchasing gifts for the children, offering lifts to and from school, extramural activities, finding out about problems the child was experiencing, taking on the role of counsellor, favouring the children and treating them as special. According to Campagna and Paffenberger (1985), a paedophile may join child-oriented groups and once his reputation has been established, he may then gradually introduce sex to the child. A possible example of this could be seen in two participants' reflections which described developing friendships with single parent families or working in a child- oriented field such as teaching where direct exposure to children was possible. Elliot et al. (1995) reported that the majority of offenders carefully test the child's reaction to sex by bringing up sexual matters. One participant 174 described how he would "crack a dirty joke" and in doing so, test the child's responsiveness. Another participant reported leaving pornographic material lying around to test children's reactions.
In this researcher's experience, offenders generally insist that their behaviour was unplanned and that they did not pre-meditate their actions. However, if one carefully reconstructs the events precipitating the abuse, it appears quite clear that preparations were in fact made. Many of their descriptions seem accidental or incidental to the offence, but in fact, the offender is making deliberate choices that lead to the offences. Finally, subtle boundary violations (which are difficult to recognise in retrospective conversations) may also increase and contribute towards the grooming process.
7.13 PORNOGRAPHY
An overwhelming amount of research indicates that not only child pornography, but adult pornography has a cause-effect relationship with sexual abuse. Van Rensburg (1995:13) states:
As our censorship laws are liberalised, we're having to confront the debate about the connection between pornography and the sexual abuse of children. It won't help to convince ourselves that drawing the line at child porn and bestiality will keep abuse at bay: adult porn is being used to procure victims for paedophiles.
According to Lanning (in Tate, 1990), the situational child molester is not an automatic collector of pornography; in contrast, however, the preferential child molester is certain to possess a significant quantity of child pornography.
The participants' views on the above reflected a very different picture. Only one participant reported using adult pornography to entice children. The remaining participants disagreed with documented research, stating that they
175 had never used pornography privately on their own or with children. The significant difference between participants' responses and that of the research literature may reflect a difference in category of offender. The majority of participants represent the category of situational offenders, but two of the participants may be considered to be preferential child molesters. However, they too denied the use of pornography.
7.14 VALUE OF THERAPY AND CONTROL OVER OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
Participants reflected mixed views about the value of therapy. The belief in the value of therapy included the fact that group therapy offered a support group and the repetition of themes was helpful in understanding how their past shaped their subsequent offending behaviour. The negative view of therapy was described as being a constant reminder of the acts committed, irritation with the repetition of topics, dealing with topics pertinent to others' lives and not their own unique situation, and the fact that group therapy is facilitated by a female therapist who by virtue of her gender may prevent her from being objective.
One participant reflected an all-round negative view of therapy in that he felt that he was not a rapist and did not classify his behaviour as being wrong.
Views with regard to re-offending were also mixed. Certain participants felt ambivalent about their ability to control their behaviour due to their attraction to children. Certain other participants felt quite confident that they would never re-offend due to either their sentence which "taught them to control their behaviour" or due to the fact that they no longer have contact with children.
The researcher believes very firmly in the value of therapy and that the therapeutic process is the only effective means available to society which would go a long way in breaking the cycle of offending, because the majority of offenders can be treated and could gain the insight necessary to manage their offending behaviour. The researcher uses the analogy of an alcoholic in order to understand offending behaviour: alcoholics do not drink because 176 they are thirsty; they drink to alleviate or to deal with a variety of emotional and psychological problems. In a similar way, sexual offenders commit offences because of emotional and psychological problems. If these offenders could gain insight into the reason for their behaviour and learn to identify their core emotional issues, we could hope to interrupt the cycle of offending. The researcher does not see therapy as being a total cure, but rather a means for teaching behaviour management and control mechanisms. In the same way that an alcoholic could relapse and would need to manage his lifestyle and behaviour, so would a paedophile.
A final point is that it would be valuable for a therapist to be able to work with a co-therapist, preferably one being male and the other female. This is not always possible however, due to a lack of resources but this could possibly overcome the feeling which participants have of the female therapist being subjectively biased because of her gender. Two therapists (one of each gender) could also afford the participants an opportunity to observe the manner in which people of opposite gender interact, and in this way acquire socialisation skills through direct observation.
7.15 PERCEPTIONS OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM
The researcher did not find any relevant empirical literature pertaining to perpetrators' perceptions of the judicial system but felt it would be necessary to include her own reflections in response to the narratives of the participants.
One participant experienced the judicial process as blatant harassment and elaborated on his ordeal and position within this process. The researcher believes that this harassment, ignorance and inappropriate handling of sexual abuse cases by the South African judicial system, not only victimises the accused, but also causes secondary trauma to the victim and his/her family.
Another participant alluded to society's perception of paedophiles as being similar and equal to "Gert van Rooyen". The researcher believes that the 177 sentencing procedures and the courts' view of offenders facilitated this perception. Legislation was recently passed in South Africa making provision for mandatory sentencing of 15 years incarceration in all instances of indecent assault, and life imprisonment for rape. The researcher believes that flexibility in sentencing proforma should be applied to first time offenders; for example, the use of house arrest, community service or periodic imprisonment should be applied where, after thorough assessment, it is felt that the person could benefit from community-based treatment. In the researcher's view, incarceration entrenches deviant cycles of offending, and the limited resources of prisons in South Africa result in very few offenders having access to therapy.
A third participant felt that the courts do not know enough about paedophilia but that his sentence of house arrest enabled him to curtail his behaviour. The researcher agrees that magistrates have limited knowledge concerning sexual offenders and believes that it is vital for them to undergo further specialised training before qualifying to preside over regional courts. Training should equip magistrates with a decision matrix on when to recommend community based treatment and when incarceration would be more appropriate.
Another participant suggested that a harsher sentence should be imposed on offenders who commit gross physical and emotional abuse. The researcher feels that society (both the lay person and professionals) often measure trauma in relation to the specific act that was committed. Very often though, gross physical abuse or violent rape would not necessarily traumatise a victim as much as a long-standing, gentle incestuous relationship between a father and his daughter would, for example. One needs to take into account the relationship between perpetrator and victim, age of onset, duration, the nature of the act and the presence of support systems in the life of the victim in order to determine trauma, and taking all this into account, impose an appropriate sentence.
178 One participant who abused his eldest daughter expressed his inability to understand his youngest daughter's anger towards him as she herself was not abused. Families often lack insight into the secondary trauma which siblings nevertheless experience even though they were not abused but have often had to endure the upheaval in the family. It is often only the victim who is sent for therapy and the "unaffected sibling" is often overlooked, does not receive counselling and is left with unresolved feelings and fears of his/her own.
Finally, all participants felt that in some way, the offending behaviour impacted negatively on their lives. The researcher believes that this negative impact is specifically related to their having being caught rather than their viewing their behaviour as negative. This is evident from their accounts of how they believed their behaviour impacted on the child, in which only a few of the participants felt that their behaviour had in fact damaged the children or had a negative impact.
7.16 UNSPOKEN THEMES
From the themes articulated by participants, it is clear that participants arrange their experiences into a sequence of organisation in order to understand and articulate their account of themselves and the world around them. However, in taking a closer look at what was not overtly expressed in the participants' narratives, the researcher became aware of two aspects that appeared to be absent from the stories told.
The abused-abuser story was not articulated or punctuated in such a way which would allow the participants to integrate these experiences and understand the impact of this on their offending behaviour. Whereas participants did express various accounts of neglect and emotional abuse in their childhoods, eleven of the twelve participants failed to define their sexual experiences in childhood as abusive. Although not directly verbalised, what was evident from their narratives was that they were drawn to see themselves 179 in their child victims. Within a narcissistic framework, perpetrators' child love- objects appear to be projected aspects of themselves. A new narrative is therefore required in which there is a recognition of the need to nurture or attend to their own inner child rather than turning to children to indirectly nurture themselves in an inappropriate manner.
The other aspect which appeared to be absent is the recognition of the dominant cultural discourse about masculinity, femininity and power. Society has storied men into a position of dominance, that is, physically, socially and economically. What was related in the narratives of participants, is a lack of awareness of how they have been storied. In order for participants to curb their behaviour when their quest for power, control or entitlement is challenged, a new narrative is necessary to challenge society's dominant narrative that "men should be masculine" or that "men can possess women and children".
By owning these experiences and developing a sense of personal agency with these aspects, the participants would be able to describe their relationship with the problem and assume responsibility for new choices. In doing this, it would allow them the opportunity to challenge society's dominant discourses and develop a new relationship with the problem.
7.17 CONCLUDING REMARKS
Having now gone through the comparative analysis, one can see the differences as well as the similarities between the traditional research literature and participants' narratives. Of particular note is that a great deal of the participants' narratives conflicted with the traditional research literature. This observation pertains particularly to the following: use of alcohol as a causal role in offending; the belief that most offenders are themselves abused; the notion that most offenders begin their aberrant offending in adolescence; that none of the participants reported being sexually attracted to the children, and finally that the overwhelming majority of participants 180 stated they did not use pornography prior to the molestation or during the grooming process to entice their victims.
Similarities between participants' stories and the traditional research literature point to a consensus with regards to a disruptive childhood, replete with parental hostility and rejection, a lack of empathy, sophisticated rationalisations to explain their behaviour, a lack of sex education, and the presence of low self-esteem.
To 'conclude this thesis, we move on to the final chapter, Chapter Eight, in which the researcher will focus on the study as a whole, discussing the strengths and limitations of the study and making recommendations for future research. The researcher's personal insights will conclude the thesis under the heading "Final Comments".
181 CHAPTER EIGHT
CONCLUSION
The present writing is but one further iteration of its completion. In principle, the spiral knows no boundaries with socially reflexive research, one need never say goodbye (Gergen & Gergen, 1991:93).
8.1 DISCUSSION
The aim of this study was to consider the narratives of a certain number of paedophiles (in this case twelve) regarding their early life as children, peer group experiences, experiences as adults, and various other factors which shaped their offending behaviour. Conversations were based on a few broadly stated questions, which were used merely as a guideline to prompt the participants into speaking about various aspects of their lives.
This research was conducted within the context of a social constructionist perspective, giving participants an opportunity to relate their views of their own experience and in doing so, afford the reader the privilege of being able to view paedophiles from the vantage point of those who have committed the offences.
8.2 STRENGTHS OF THE STUDY
This methodology provided a humble approach to understanding research participants and provided a view on paedophilia rather than claiming to provide the truth thereof. Multiple realities do exist which enrich our knowledge and are something to be aware of.
182 Participants were allowed the space to voice their opinion, and a narrative methodology enabled participants to co-create a unique perspective based on their unique experiences.
Perpetrators usually come into therapy, or a research interview, needing to defend themselves, whereas in this methodology, they were able to unhook themselves from taking a defensive position and in telling their narrative, it placed them in a better position to take responsibility for their lives and their subsequent narrative.
The participants had all experienced therapy of varying duration and had already developed some insight into their past and current experience, and how this impacted on their offending behaviour. In this study, the researcher formed a close and respectful relationship with participants, rendering this methodology vastly different to impersonal, objective research.
Narrative research is useful in exploring ideas which are inaccessible to empirical research; for example, empirical research is useful in identifying variables associated with paedophilia, but pays little attention to the ways in which paedophiles articulate their thoughts about these variables.
This research enabled the researcher to join the process with participants, rather than standing apart from the participants, and in this way facilitated a process whereby the researcher was able to co-create the narratives, and reflect on thoughts which continually emerged for the researcher herself.
This methodology created a shift for the researcher who was able to adopt a more flexible, open and empathic approach.
A final strength in this study is that it does not only rely on victims, mental health clinicians or criminal justice officials to tell us why offending occurs, but
183 it focuses on an ontological basis and thereby does not distort what may be occurring for offenders.
8.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Diverse meanings have been articulated — however, they are not the only meanings which could exist, and therefore this methodology prevents the study from being generalised to the broader population.
Qualitative research of this nature is extremely time-consuming and labour- intensive. It is therefore not possible to use a larger sample, but rather a few participants whose stories can be explored in depth. The current research climate however still prefers traditional empirical research and qualitative research is still regarded as inferior.
Another point of note is that the participants were depended upon as reliable sources of information, and the researcher had to accept their testimonials as being valid.
This methodology presents an ethical dilemma for the researcher — having given the participants a voice and a forum in which to present their personal experiences and in accepting their testimonials as valid, there could be a mis- perception that the researcher is colluding with the participants.
Finally, qualitative, in-depth research on men who commit sex crimes against children is, and will probably remain, a marginal area of study in the psychology of deviant behaviour. This subject matter is too unsettling and repugnant for most people to want to spend a significant portion of their lives collecting, analysing and writing about.
184 8.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
Eleven of the twelve participants were white, while the twelfth was Asian — a similar study focusing on offenders from all race groups in this country could yield interesting results when compared to each other. Another study which could be conducted would be on incarcerated offenders, as the present study only considered offenders who were suited to community-based treatment. In addition, it would be useful to include the narratives of professionals who come into contact with paedophiles and to compare the differences and similarities in their discourse.
The researcher found this methodology useful in understanding the research participants, thereby gaining further insight into their experiences and would recommend this methodology to other researchers. It may be useful to include this methodology in the field of social work and psychology training in order to enable students to develop a flexible and non-judgemental frame of reference when dealing therapeutically with clients who in the normal course of events evoke strong negative feelings.
8.5 FINAL COMMENTS
In conclusion, the researcher would like to share with the reader some final thoughts that emerged for the researcher while reflecting on the nature and content of this research project.
Upon embarking on this research, the researcher initially felt excited about the prospect of studying a topic which would help people to become more familiar with offenders and their aberrant patterns of behaviour. The researcher believed this would be effective . in helping society protect its children. The researcher also felt excited about attempting to give "voices" to people, to talk with and listen to those whom few others were willing to approach. The researcher saw the study as an impelling undertaking which
185 would move through unexplored territory and introduce a new approach to sex crimes, something which was a theoretical necessity.
As the project unfolded and began to develop, however, the researcher's perspective began to change. It became difficult to remain value-neutral and the coded data frequently evoked a lot of anger juxtaposed by a deep sense of sadness. The researcher often wondered whether the narratives were too graphic for people to read and whether colleagues perceived the researcher to be perverse with bizarre interests.
Over time, the researcher has recognised that child sexual abuse cannot be studied with complete detachment; however, throughout this investigation an attempt was made to remain open to exploring the reality of men who committed sexual violations against children. The researcher's mission was to present to the reader the stories of respondents in the way in which they were told and organised in terms of the major recurring themes. Opening oneself emotionally and intellectually to the data was an on-going process and frequently required the researcher to take a break from the project and put it down for a few weeks. The researcher's advice to other researchers studying such sensitive topics would be to do the same. Most important, however, is not to be shocked by stigmatising reactions and indeed to expect them. Friends and colleagues may view you as though you are contaminated or tainted in some way through your work/research.
The researcher believes that a fundamental trait which therapists would need in order to work in this field would be to feel comfortable with their own sexuality and that of others. The nature of the work, the language sometimes used and descriptions of the paedophiles' behaviour, may shock an untrained therapist, and for this reason it is vital to have supervision and support from an experienced therapist, and at the same time know when to ask for help. Working with these men is a painful task. Listening day in and day out to abhorrent details of sexual abuse, working in an emotionally-charged
186 environment and dealing with encounters with people who have suffered at levels never imagined, can affect the emotional quality of the therapist's life and that of her partner's. Having to remain neutral on such an emotionally charged subject requires on-going self-monitoring.
This research project has brought to light the fact that multi-degrees on their own do not in fact qualify the therapist to work in this field, nor does it render success automatic. Very often one needs to throw away traditional concepts and techniques and become a pragmatist.
---o0o---
187 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abel, G.G, Blanchard, E. & Becker, J.V. (1978). An integrated treatment program for rapists. In: R. Rada (Ed.). Clinical Aspects of the Rapist. New York: Grune & Stratton. Abel, G.G., Edward, M.D., Blanchard, E., & Jackson, M. (1974). The role of fantasy in the treatment of sexual deviation. Achives of General Psychiatry, 30 467- 475. Abel, G.G. (1994). Commentary. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32(5), 529-531. Abel, G.G., Becker, J.V., & Cunningham-Rathner, J. (1984). Complications, consent, and cognitions in sex between children and adults. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 7, 89-103. Abel, G.G., Becker, J.V., Cunningham-Rathner, J., Mittleman, M.S & Rouleau, J.L. (1988). Multiple paraphilic diagnoses among sex offenders. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 16, 153-168. Abel, G.G., Mittleman, M.S. & Becker, J.V. (1985). Sexual offenders: Results of assessment and recommendations for treatment. In: M.H. Ben-Aron, S.J. Huckle & C.D. Webster (Eds.). Clinical Criminology. The Assessment and Treatment of Criminal Behaviour. Toronto: M & M. Graphic. Alexander, P.C. & Schaeffer, C.M. (1994). A typology of incestuous families. Journal of Family Psychology, 8(4), 458-470. American Psychiatric Association (1987). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3'd edition, revised). Washington: The American Psychiatric Association. American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edition, revised). Washington: The American Psychiatric Association. Ames, M.A. & Houston, D.A. (1990). Legal, social, and biological definitions of pedophilia. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 19(4), 333-342. Amir, M. (1971). Patterns in Forcible Rape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
188 Anderson, H. & Goolishian, H.A. (1988). Human systems as linguistic systems: Preliminary and evolving ideas about the implications for clinical theory. Family Process, 27, 371-393. Anderson, H. & Goolishian, H.A (1993). The client is the expert: A not-knowing approach to therapy. In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Anderson, T. (1987). The reflecting team: Dialogue and meta-dialogue in clinical work. Family Process, 26 415-428. Anderson, T. (1993a). See, hear and be seen and heard. In S. Friedman (Ed.). The New Language of Change. Constructive Collaboration in Psychotherapy. New York: Guilford. Anderson, T. (1993b). Reflecting on reflecting with families. In S. McNamee and K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Araji, S. & Finkelhor, D. (1986). Explanations of pedophilia: A four-factor model. Journal of Sex Research, 22, 145-161. Auerswald, E.H. (1985). Thinking about thinking in family therapy. Family Process, .11), 1-12. Auerswald, E.H. (1987). Epistemological confusion in family therapy and research. Family Process, 26, 317-330. Awad, G.A. & Saunders, E.B. (1991). Male adolescent sexual assaulters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6(4), 446-460. Bagley, C., Wood, M. & Young, L. (1994). Victim to abuser: Mental health and behavioural sequels of child sexual abuse in a community survey of young adult males. Child Abuse and Neglect, 18(8), 683-697. Bagley, M. & King, W. (1990a). Social skill deficits in sexual offenders. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32(2), 125-133. Bagley, M. & King, W. (1990b). Child sexual abuse. The search for healing. London: Tavistock, Routledge. Baker, D. (1985). Father-daughter Incest: A Study of the Father. Dissertation Abstracts International, 46(3), 951B.
189 Ballard, D.T., Blair, G.D., Devereaux, S., Valentino, L.K., Horton, A.L., & Johnson, B.L. (1990). A comparative profile of the incest perpetrator: Background characteristics, abuse history, and use of social skills. In: A.L. Horton, B.L. Johnson, L.M. Roundy and D. Williams (Eds.). The Incest Perpetrator- A Family Member No One Wants To Treat. London: Sage. Barbaree, H.E. (1991). Denial and minimization among sex offenders: Assessment and treatment outcomes. Forum on Corrections Research, 3, 30-32. Barbaree, H.E., Marshall, W.L. & Lanthier, R.D. (1979). Deviant sexual arousal in rapists. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 215-222. Bateson, G. (1951). Information and codification. In J. Ruesch and G. Bateson (Eds.). Communication: The Social Matrix of Psychiatry. New York: Norton. Bateson, G. (1971). The cybernetics of self: A theory of alcoholism. Psychiatry, 34, 1-18. Bateson, G. (1972). Steps to an Ecology of Mind. New York: Ballantine Books. Bateson, G. (1979). Mind and Nature. A Necessary Unity. Glasgow: Flamingo. Baxter, D.J., Marshall, W.L., Barbaree, H.E., Davidson, P.R. & Malcolm, P.B. (1984). Deviant sexual behaviour. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 11, 477-501. Becker, J.V., Hunter, J.A., Stein, R.M. & Kaplan, M. (1989). Factors associated with erection in adolescent sex offenders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioural Assessment, 11(4), 353-362. Becker, J.V., Kaplan, M.S., Cunningham-Rathner, J. & Kavoussi, R. (1986). Characteristics of adolescent incest sexual perpetrators: Preliminary findings. Journal of Family Violence, 1, 85-97. Becker, J.V., Rathner, J.C. & Kaplan, M. (1987). Adolescent sexual offenders: Demographics, criminal and sexual histories, and recommendations for reducing future offenses. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1, 431-445. Becvar, D.S. & Becvar, R.J. (1993). Family Therapy: A Systemic Integration (2nd ed.). Needham Heights. M.A.: Allyn & Bacon. Bepp, M.J & Weeks, G.R. (1984). Dialectical metatheory in family therapy. Family Process, 23, 49-61. Berger, D.M. (1989). Developing the story in psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 43(2), 248-259.
190 Berger, P.L. & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Berkowitz, A.R. (1983). Incest as Related to Feelings of Inadequacy, Impaired Empathy, and Early Childhood Memories. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California: Los Angeles. Bischof, G.P., Stith, S.M. & Whitney, M.L. (1995). Family environments of adolescent sex offenders and other juvenile delinquents. Adolescence, 30(117), 157-170. Blackburn, R. (1974). Personality and the classification of psychopathic disorders. Special Hospitals Research Report, No. 10, England, Rampton Hospital. Blaske, D.M., Borduin, C.M., Henggeler, S.W., & Mann, B.J. (1989). Individual, family and peer characteristics of adolescent sex offenders and assaultive offenders. Developmental Psychology, 25, 846-855. Bolton, F.G., Morris, L.A. & MacEachron, A.E. (1989). Males at Risk: The Other Side of Child Sexual Abuse. London: Sage. Bourchard, M.A. & Guerette, L. (1991). Psychotherapy as a hermeneutical experience. Psychotherapy, 28(3), 385-394. Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and Loss. (Vol. 3). Loss, Sadness and Depression. New York: Basic Books. Bradbury, M. and MacFarlane, J. (1976). The name and nature of modernism. In M. Bradbury & J. MacFarlane (Eds.). Modernism, 1890-1930. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Brongersma, E. (1984). Aggression against pedophiles. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 7, 79-87. Brownmiller, S. (1975). Against our Will: Men, Women and Rape. New York: Simon and Schuster Bruner, E.M. (1986). Experience and its expressions. In: V.W. Turner & E.M. Bruner (Eds.). The Anthropology of Experience. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Bruner, J. (1991).The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18, 1-21. Bullough, V.L. (1964). The History of Prostitution. New York: University Books, New Hyde Park.
191 Bullough, V.L. (1990). History in adult human sexual behaviour with children and adolescents in Western Society. In: J.R. Feierman (Ed.). Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions. New York: Springer-Verlag. Burchell, J. & Milton, J. (1991). Principles of Criminal Law. Cape Town: Juta. Burgess, A.W. & Holmstrom, L.L. (1974). Rape: Victims of Crisis. Maryland: Brady. Burgess, A.W., Hazelwood, R.R., Rokous, F.E., Hartman, C.R. & Burgess, A.G. (1988).Serial rapists and their victims: Reenactment and repetition. In: R.A. Prentky & V.L. Quinsey (Eds.) Human Sexual Aggression: Current Perspectives. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 528(12), 277-295. Butler, S. (1985). The Trauma of Incest. New York: Bantam Books. Caffaro, J.V. (1991). A room full of fathers. Journal of Family Psychotherapy, 2(4), 27-40. Campagna, D.S. & Poffenberger, D.L. (1985). The Sexual Trafficking in Children. Dover, Massachusetts: Auburn House. Carnes, D. (1983). The Sexual Addiction. Minneapolis: Compcare. Carter, D.L., Prentky, R.A., Knight, R.A., Van der Veer, P.L. & Boucher, R.J. (1987). Use of pornography in the criminal and developmental histories of sexual offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 196-211. Chaffin, M. (1994). Research in action: Assessment and treatment of child sexual abusers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 224-237. Chantry, K. & Craig, R.J. (1994). Psychological screening of sexually violent offenders with the MCMI. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50(3), 430-435. Child Protection Unit. (1996). Personal Papers. Johannesburg. Christiansen, J.R. & Blake, R.H. (1990). The grooming process in father-daughter incest. In: A.L. Horton, B.L. Johnson, L.M. Roundy, & D. Williams (1990). The Incest Perpetrator: A Family Member No One Wants To Treat. London: Sage. Clark, L. & Lewis, D.J. (1977). Rape: The Price of Coercive Sexuality. Toronto: Canadian Women's Educational Press. Coale, H.W. (1992). The constructivist emphasis on language: A critical conversation. Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies, 11(1), 12-26. Cole, W. (1992). Incest perpetrators, their assessment and treatment. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 15(3), 689-701.
192 Collier's Encyclopedia (1968). Canada: Crowell-Collier Educational. Condy, S.R., Templer, D.I., Brown, R. & Veaco, L. (1987). Parameters of sexual contact of boys with women. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 16, 379-394. Conte, J.R. (1985). Clinical dimensions of adult sexual abuse of children. Behavioural Sciences and the Law, 3(4), 341-344. Conte, J.R., Wolf, S. & Smith, T. (1989). What sexual offenders tell us about prevention strategies. Child Abuse and Neglect, 13, 293-301. Cook, R. & Rosen, R. (1970). In M.K. Condron & D.E. Nutter (1988). A preliminary examination of the pornography experience of sex offenders, paraphiliacs, sexual dysfunction patients and controls based on Meese Commission Recommendations. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 14(4), 285-298. Coyne, J.C. (1985). Towards a theory of frames and reframing: The social nature of frames. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 11, 337-344. Crabtree, B.F & Miller, W.L. (1992). Doing Qualitative Research. London: Sage. Crosby, J.F. (1991). Cybernetics of cybernetics in assessment of marital quality. Contemporary Family Therapy, 13(1), 3-15. Curan, J.P. (1978). Pandora's box reopened? The assessment of social skills. Journal of Behavioural Assessment, 1, 55-71. Danziger, K. (1990). Constructing the Subject Historical Origins of Psychological Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Darke, J.L. (1990). Sexual aggression: Achieving power through humiliation. In: W.L. Marshall, D.R. Laws & H.E. Barbaree (Eds.). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Davis, G.E. & Leitenberg H. (1987). Adolescent sex offenders. Psychological Bulletin, 101(3), 417-427. Davis, K.E. & Braught, G.N. (1973). Exposure to pornography, character, and sexual deviance: A retrospective survey. Journal of Social Issues, 29(3), 183-296. De Amarim, A. & Cavalcante, F.G. (1992). Narratives of the self: Video production in a marginalized subculture. In: S. McNamee & K. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. De Sade, M. (1966). 120 Days of Sodom. New York: Grove Press De Young, M. (1982). The Sexual Victimization of Children. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. 193 Degenaar, J. (1989). Writing as revolutionary activity. In R. Breitenbach (Ed.). Transitions: A Collection of Lectures to the Standard Bank National Arts Festival Winter School. Grahamstown: 1820 Foundation. Dell, P.F. (1985). Understanding Bateson and Maturana: Towards a biological foundation for the social sciences. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 11 1-20. Dell, P.F. (1986). In defence of lineal causality. Family Process, 25(4), 513-521. Dobash, R.E. & Dobash, R. (1979). Violence Against Wives: A Case Against Patriarchy. New York: The Free Press. Doherty, W.J. (1991). Family therapy goes Postmodern. Family Therapy Networker, 15(5), 37-42. Driver, E. (1990). Introduction. In E. Driver and A. Droisen (Eds.). Child Sexual Abuse: Feminist Perspectives. London: MacMillan Education. Dworkin, A. (1981). Pornography. Great Britain: The Women's Press. Efran, J.S. (1991). Constructivism in the inner city. Family Therapy Networker, 15(5), 51-52. Efran, J.S. & Clarfield, L.E. (1993). Constructionist Therapy: Sense and nonsense. In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Efran, J.S., Lukens, R.J. & Lukens, M.D. (1988). Constructivism: What's in it for you? Family Therapy Networker, 12, 27-35. Elliot, M., Browne, K. & Kilcoyne, J. (1995). Child sexual abuse prevention: What offenders tell us. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(5), 579-594. Epston, D., White, M. & Murray, K. (1992). A proposal for a Re-authoring Therapy: Rose's revisioning of her life and a commentary. In: S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Erickson, E. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. Psychological Issues, 1(1). Erickson, W.B., Luxenberg, M. & Walbek, N. (1987). Frequency of MMPI two-point code types among sex offenders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 566-570. Fairbain, W.R.O. (1954). An Object-Relations Theory of the Personality. New York: Basic Books. Faller, K.C. (1988). Child Sexual Abuse: An Interdisciplinary Manual for Diagnosis, Case Management and Treatment. U.S.A. University Press. 194 Fasser, R.L. (1989). A Constructivist Approach to Incest. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Femina (July, 1995). Adult porn and pedophilia - The link. Finkelhor, D. (1979). Sexually Victimized Children. London: McMillan. Finkelhor, D. (1980). What's wrong with sex between adults and children? Ethics and the problem of sexual abuse. In: J.W. Cook. & R.T. Howells (Eds.). Child Abuse: Commission and Omission.Toronto: Butterworths. Finkelhor, D. (1984). Child Sexual Abuse: New Theory and Research. New York: Free Press. Finkelhor, D. & Araji, S. (1986). Explanations of pedophilia: A four factor model. Journal of Sex Research, 22, 145-161. Fiquia, N.A., Lang, R.A., Plutchik, R. & Holden, R. (1987). Personality differences between sex and violent offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 31, 211-226. Fischer, C.J. (1990). Personality and assessment. In L. Vogelman (Ed.). The Sexual Face of Violence: Rapists on Rape. Johannesburg: Raven Press. Fitch, J.H. (1962). Men convicted of sexual offences against children. British Journal of Criminology, 3, 18-37. Ford, M.E. & Linney, J.A. (1995). Comparative analysis of juvenile sexual offenders, violent nonsexual offenders, and status offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 56-70. Forward, S. & Buck, C. (1978). Betrayal of Innocence: Incest and its Devastation. London: Penguin. Foucault, M. (1977). Language, Counter-Memory, Practice. Selected Essays and Interviews. Oxford: Blackwell. Fourie, D.P. (1994). The research/practice "gap" in psychotherapy: From discovering reality to making sense. Reports from the Psychology Department, 31, 1-22. Frank, J.D. (1987). Psychotherapy, rhetoric and hermeneutics: Implications for practice and research. Psychotherapy, 24(3), 293-302. Freeman, M. (1993). Rewriting the Self. London: Routledge.
195 Freeman-Longo, R. & Bays, L. (1988). Who Am I, and Why Am I in Treatment? A Guided Workbook for Clients in Evaluation and Beginning Treatment. Orwell, VT: Safer Society. Freud, S. (1953). Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. London: Hogarth Press. Freund, K. (1987). Erotic preference in pedophilia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 5, 339-348. Freund, K. & Blanchard, R. (1989). Phallametric diagnosis of pedophilia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57,(1), 100-105. Freund, K. & Kuban, M. (1994). The basis of the abused abuser theory of pedophilia: A further elaboration on an earlier study. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 23, 553-563. Freund, K., Watson, R.J., & Dicky, R. (1990). Does sexual abuse in childhood cause pedophilia? An exploratory study. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 19(6), 557-568. Friedman, S. (1991). Outpatient Treatment of Child Molesters. Sarasota, Fla. Professional Resource Exchange. Frude, N. (1982). The sexual nature of sexual abuse: A review of the literature. Child Abuse and Neglect, 6, 211-223. Fruggeri, L. (1993). Therapeutic process as the social construction of change. In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Gaffney, G.R., Lurie, S.F. & Berlin, F.S. (1984). Is there familial transmission of pedophilia? The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorder, 172, 546-548. Ganzarain, R. (1992). Narcissistic and borderline personality disorders in cases of incest. Annuals of Psychoanalysis, 25(4), 491-494. Garland, R.J. & Dougher, M.J. (1990). The abused/abuser hypothesis of child sexual abuse: A critical review of theory and research. In J.R. Feierman (Ed.). Pedophilia: Biosocial Dimensions. New York: Springer-Verlag. Gebhard, P.H., Gagnon, J.H., Pomeroy, W.B. & Christensen, C.V. (1965). Sex offenders: An Analysis of Types. New York: Harper & Row. Geertz, C. (1986). Making experiences, authoring selves. In: V.W. Turner & E.M. Bruner (Eds.). The Anthropology of Experience. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
196 Genot, S. (1985). An Exploration of the Functioning of Families with Autistic Members. Unpublished MA Dissertation, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Gentry, C. (1978). Incestuous abuse of children: The need for an objective view. Child Welfare, 57, 355-364. Gergen, K.J. (1982). Towards Transformation in Social Knowledge. New York: Springer-Verlag. Gergen, K.J. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modern psychology. American Psychologist, 40(3), 266-275. Gergen, K.J. (1992a). The postmodern adventure. Family Therapy Networker, 16(6), 52-57. Gergen, K.J. (1992b). Towards a postmodern psychology. In S. Kvale (Ed.). Psychology and Postmodemism. London: Sage. Gergen, K.J. & Davis, K.E. (1985). The Social Construction of the Person. New ' York: Springer-Verlag. Gergen, K.J. & Gergen, M. (1991). Towards reflexive methodologies. In: F. Steir, (Ed.). Research and Reflexivity. London: Sage. Gergen, K.J. & Kaye, J. (1993). Beyond narrative in the negotiation of therapeutic meaning. In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Gibbens, T.C.N. & Prince, J. (1963). Child Victims of Sex Offences. London: Institute for the Study and Treatment of Delinquency. Gibbens, T.C.N., Soothill, K.L., & Way, C.K. (1978). Sibling and parent-child incest offenders. British Journal of Criminology, 18, 40-52. Gilgun, J.F. & Connor, T.M. (1989). How perpetrators view child sexual abuse. Social Work, 34, 249-251. Gilgun, J.F. & Connor, T.M. (1990). Isolation and the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse: Clinical concerns. In: A.L. Horton, B.L. Johnson, L.M. Roundy & D. Williams (Eds.). The Incest Perpetrator. A Family Member No One Wants To Treat. London: Sage. Gilgun, J.F. (1988). Self-centredness and the adult male perpetrator of child sexual abuse. Contemporary Family Therapy, 10, 216-234. Gilgun, J.F. (1994). Avengers, conquerors, playmates, and lovers: Roles played by child sexual abuse perpetrators. Families in Society, 75(8), 467-479. Glaser, D. & Frosh, S. (1988). Child Sexual Abuse. London: MacMillan Education. 197 Goldstein, M.J., Kant, H., Judd, L., Rice, C. & Green, F.R. (1971). Experience with pornography: Rapists, pedophiles, homosexuals, transsexuals, and controls. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 1, 1-15. Goldstein, M.J., Kant, H., Judd, L., Rice. C., & Green, F.R. In M.K. Condron & D.E. Nutter (1988). A preliminary examination of the pornography experience of sex offenders, paraphiliacs, sexual dysfunction patients and controls based on Meese Commission Recommendations. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 14(4), 285-298. Goodrich, M. (1976). Sodomy in medieval secular law. Journal of Homosexuality, 1, 295-302. Gore, D.K. (1988). Cognitive Distortions of Child Molesters and the Cognition Scale: Reliability, Validity, Treatment Effects, and Prediction of Recidivism. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Georgia State University, Atlanta. Gorenstein, E.E. & Neuman, J.P. (1980). Disinhibitory psychopathology: A new perspective and model for research. Psychological Review, 87, 301-315. Graham, J.R. (1987). The MMPI: A Practical Guide (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Grauerholz, E. & Koralewski, M.A. (1991). Sexual Coercion: A Sourcebook on its Nature, Causes, and Prevention. Massachusetts: Lexington Books. Greenberg, D.M., Bradford, T.M.W. & Curry, C. (1993). A comparison of sexual victimization in the childhoods of pedophiles and hebophiles. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 58(2), 432-436. Grier, P.E. (1988). Cognitive problem-solving skills in antisocial rapists. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 15, 501-514. Griffith, J.L., Griffith, M.E. & Slovik, L.S. (1990). Mind-body problems in family therapy. Contrasting first and second order cybernetics approaches. Family Process, 29(1), 13-28. Groff, M.G. & Hubble, L.M. (1984). A comparison of father-daughter and step-father, step-daughter incest. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 11 461-475. Groth, N. (1977). The adolescent sex offender and his prey. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 21, 249-254.
198 Groth, N. (1978). Guidelines for assessment and management of the offender. In: A.W. Burgess (Ed.). Sexual Assault of Children and Adolescents. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books. Groth, N. (1979a). Sexual trauma in the life histories of rapists and child molesters. Victimology, 4, 10-16. Groth, N. (1979b). Men Who Rape: The Psychology of the Offenders. New York: Plenum Press. Groth, N. (1982). The incest offender. In S.M. Sgroi (Ed.). Handbook of Clinical Intervention in Child Sexual Abuse. Toronto: Lexington Books. Groth, N. & Birnbaum, H.J. (1978). Adult sexual orientation and attraction to underage persons. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 7, 175-181. Groth, N. & Burgess, A.W. (1977). Motivational intent in the sexual assault of children. Criminal Justice Behaviour, 4, 253-264. Groth, N. & Hobson, W. (1983). The dynamics of sexual assault. In: L.B. Schlesinger & E. Revitch (Eds.). Sexual Dynamics of Anti-Social Behaviour. Springfield: Thomas. Groth, N., Hobson, W. & Gary, T. (1982). The Child Molester: Clinical Observations. New York: Haworth Press. Gudjonsson, G.H. (1986). Sexual variations: Assessment and treatment in clinical practice. Sexual and Marital Therapy, 1, 191-214. Hall, G.C., Proctor, W.C., & Nelson, G.M. (1988). Validity of physiological measures of pedophilic sexual arousal in a sexual offender population. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(1), 118-122. Hamilton, C.R. (1995). The Narratives of Gay Men Regarding Testing for the Human lmmuno-Deficiency Virus: A Social Constructionist Perspective. Unpublished M.A Dissertation, Rand Afrikaans University, Johannesburg. Hammer, E. (1957). Psychodynamic patterns of sex offenders. Psychiatric Quarterly, 31, 325-345. Hammerman, S. (1961). Masturbation and character. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 9, 287-311. Hansen, R.K., Gizzarelli, R. & Scott, H. (1994). The attitudes of incest offenders: Sexual entitlement and acceptance of sex with children. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 21, 187-202.
199 Hansen, R.K. & Slater, S. (1988). Sexual victimization in the history of sexual abusers: A review. Annals of Sex Research, 1, 485-499. Hanson, R.F., Lipovsky, J.A. & Saunders, B.E. (1994). Characteristics of fathers in incest families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 155-169. Haut, R. (1985). The language game of self-ascription. In: K.J. Gergen & K.E. David (Eds.). The Social Construction of the Person. New York: Springer- Verlag. Harry, B., Pierson, T.R., & Kuznetson, A. (1993). Corrrelates of sex offender and offense traits by victim age. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 38(5), 1068-1074. Haugaard, J.J. & Reppucci, N.D. (1988). The Sexual Abuse of Children: A Comprehensive Guide to Current Knowledge and Intervention Strategies. California: Jossey Bass. Hayashino, D.S., Wurtle, S.K. & Klebe, K.J. (1995). Child molesters: An examination of cognitive factors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 10, 106-116. Haywood, T.W., & Grossman, L.S. (1994). Denial of deviant sexual arousal and psychopathology in child molesters. Behaviour Therapy, 25, 327-340. Haywood, T.W., Grossman, L.S., Kravitz, H.M. & Wasyliw, 0.E. (1994). Profiling psychological distortion in alleged child molester. Psychological Reports, 75 915-927. Hazelwood, R.R., Dietz, P.E. & Warren, J. (1992). The criminal sexual sadist. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 61, 12-20. Hearn, J. (1990). Taking Child Abuse Seriously: Contemporary Issues in Child Protection, Theory and Practice. London: Academic Division, Unwin Hymen. Held, B.S. (1990). What's in a name? Some confusions and concerns about constructivism. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 16(2), 179-186. Herman, J. (1981). Father-daughter Incest. Cambridge, M.A.: Harvard University Press. Herman, J.L. (1990). Sex offenders: A feminist perspective. In: W.L. Marshall, H.E. Barbaree & D.R. Laws (Eds.). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Herman, J. (1990). Treatment of victims of incest: Disruption of the self. in: J.W. Taylor (1990). Incest scenarios and object-relations strivings: A conceptual framework. Families in Society, 71, 422-428.
200 Hewstone, M. & Jaspars, J. (1982). Intergroup relations and attribution processes. In: H. Tafjel (Ed.). Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hillbrand, M., Foster, H. & Hirt, M. (1990). Rapists and child molesters: Psychometric comparisons. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 19(1), 65-71. Hindman, J. (1988). Research disputes: Assumptions about child molesters. NDAA Bulletin, 7, 1-3. Hindmarsh, J.H. (1993). Alternative family therapy discourses: It is time to reflect (critically). Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 5(2), 5-27. Hobson, W.F., Boland, C. & Jamieson, D. (1985). Dangerous sexual offenders. Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality, 19(2), 104-119. Hoffman, L. (1981). Foundations of Family Therapy. New York: Basic Books. Hoffman, L. (1988). A constructivist position for family therapy. Irish Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 110-129. Hoffman, L. (1990). Constructing realities: An art of lenses. Family Process, 29, 1-12. Hoffman, L. (1993a). Exchanging Voices: A Collaborative Approach to Family Therapy. London: Karnac Books. Hoffman, L. (1993b). A reflexive stance for family therapy. In S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage Hollender, M.H. (1963). Women's fantasies during sexual intercourse. Archives of General Psychiatry, 8, 102-106. Hollin, C.R. & Howells, K. (1991). Clinical Approaches to Sex Offenders and Their Victims. New York: Wiley. Holmes, R.M. (1983). The Sex Offender and the Criminal Justice System. Springfield: Thomas. Horley, J. (1988). Cognitions of child sex abusers. The Journal of Sex Research, 25, 542-545. Horley, J. & Quinsey, V.L. (1994). Assessing cognitions of child molesters: Use of the semantic differential with incarcerated offenders. Journal of Sex Research, 31(3), 171-178. Horton A.L., Johnson, B.L., Roundy, L.M. & Williams, D. (1990). The Incest Perpetrator: A Family Member No One Wants To Treat. London: Sage.
201 Howard, G.S. (1991). Culture tales: A narrative approach to thinking, cross-cultural psychology, and psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 46(3), 187-197. Howells, K. (1981). Theories of Etiology. In: M. Cook and K. Howells. Adult Sexual Interest in Children. London: Academic Press. Howitt, D. (1995). Pedophiles and Sexual Offenses Against Children. New York: Wiley. Hunter, J.A., Goodwin, D.W., & Becker, J.V. (1994). The relationship between phallometrically measured deviant sexual arousal and clinical characteristics in juvenile sexual offenders. Behaviour Research Therapy, 32(5), 533-538. Janoski, M.L. (1984). The ecosystemic perspective in clinical assessment and intervention. In W.A. O'Connor & B. Lubin (Eds.). Ecological Approaches to Clinical and Community Psychology. New York: Wiley. Jones, E. & Nisbett, R. (1972). The actor and observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behaviour. In: E. Jones and B. Weiner (Eds.). Attribution: Perceiving the Causes of Behaviour. Morristown: General Learning Press. Justice, B. & Justice, R. (1979). The Broken Taboo: Sex in the Family. New York: Human Sciences Press. Kalichman, S.C. (1991). Psychopathology and personality characteristics of criminal sexual offenders as a function of victim age. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20, 7-197. Kaschak, E. (1992). Engendered Lives: A New Psychology of Women's Experience. New York: Basic Books. Katz, S. & Mazur, M.A. (1979). Understanding the Rape Victim - A Synthesis of Research Findings. New York: Wiley. Kavoussi, R.J., Kaplan, M. & Becker, J.V. (1988). Psychiatric diagnoses in adolescent sex offenders. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 27(1), 241-243. Kearney, R. (1987). Ethics and the postmodern imagination. Thought. 62, 39-58. Keeney, B. (1983). The Aesthetics of Change. New York: Guilford Press. Kennedy, H.G. & Grubin, D.H. (1992). Patterns of denial in sex offenders. Psychological Medicine, 22(1), 191-196. Kernberg, 0. (1975). Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism. New York: Janson Aronson.
202 Kirkland, K. & Bauer, C. (1982). MMPI traits of incestuous fathers. Journal of Criminal Psychopathology, 38, 645-649. Kitzinger, C. (1990). The rhetoric of pseudoscience. In C. Parker and J. Shotter (Eds.). Deconstructing Social Psychology. London: Routledge. Knapp, F.H. (1982). Remedial Intervention in Adolescent Sex Offenses: Nine Program Descriptions. Orwell, VT: Safer Society Press. Knapp, F.H. (1984). Retraining Adult Sex Offenders: Methods and Models. Syracuse, NY: Safer Society Press. Kotze, E. (1994). A Social Construction of a Training Programme for Family Therapy. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein. Kriel, H.K. (1991). A Socio-Pedagogical Perspective on Incestuous Abuse of Children. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Port Elizabeth. Kruglanski, A.W. (1988). Psychological constructivism in therapy and counselling: Some unresolved issues. The Counselling Psychologist, 16(2), 245-248. Kutchinsky, B. (1979). The effect of easy availability of pornography on the incidence of sex crimes: The Danish experience. Journal of Social Issues, 29(3), 163-181. Kvale, S. (1992). Postmodern psychology: A contradiction in terms? In S. Kvale (Ed.). Psychology and Postmodernism. London: Sage. Lakey, J.F. (1994). The profile and treatment of male adolescent sex offenders. Adolescence, 29(113), 755-761. Landis, J. (1956). Experiences of 500 children with adult sexual deviation. Psychiatric Quarterly, 30, 92-109. Langevin, R. (1983). Sexual Strands: Understanding and Treating Sexual Anomalies in Men. Hillsdale, New York: Erlbaum. Langevin, R. (1985). Erotic Preference, Gender Identity and Aggression in Men: New Research Studies. Hillsdale, New York: Erlbaum. Langevin, R. (1988), Defensiveness in sex offenders. In: R. Rogers (Ed.). Clinical Assessment of Malingering and Deception. New York: Guilford. Langevin, R., Handy, L., Day, D. & Russon, A. (1985). Are incestuous fathers pedophilic, aggressive and alcoholic? In: R. Langevin (Ed.). Erotic Preference, Gender Identity and Aggression. Hillsdale, New York: Erlbaum.
203 Langevin, R. & Lang, R.A. (1985). Psychological treatment of paedophiles. Behavioural Sciences and the Law, 3, 403-419. Langevin, R., Paitich, D. & Freeman, R. (1978). Personality characteristics and sexual anomalies in males. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 10, 222-238. Lanyon, R.I. (1986). Theory and treatment in child molestations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 176. Lanyon, R.I., Dannenbaum, S.E., Wolf, L.L. & Brown, A. (1989). Dimensions of deceptive responding in criminal offenders. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1, 300-304. Laws, D. (1984). The assessment of dangerous sexual behaviour. Medicine and the Law, 3, 127-140. Lax, W.D. (1992). Postmodern thinking in a clinical practice. In: S. McNamee & K.J. Gergen (Eds.). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. Lee, R.N. (1982). Analysis of the Characteristics of Incestuous Fathers. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Texas. Levant, M.D. & Bass, B.A. (1991). Parental identification of rapists and pedophiles. Psychological Reports, 69, 463-466. Levett, A. (1989). Psychological Trauma: Discourses of Child Sexual Abuse. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Cape Town. Levett, A. (1991). Contradictions and confusions in child sexual abuse. South African Journal of Criminal Justice, 4, 9-20. Levin, S.M. & Stava, L. (1987). Personality characteristics of sex offenders: A review. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 16, 57-79. Levine, S.B., Risen, C.B., & Althof, S.E. (1990). Essays on the diagnosis and nature of paraphilia. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 16(2), 89-102. Lewis, D.O., Shankok, S.S. & Pincus, J.H. (1979). Juvenile male sexual assaulters. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 1194-1196. Li, C.K. (1990). The main thing is being wanted: Some case studies on adult sexual experiences with children. Journal of Homosexuality, 20(1-2), 129-143. Lips, H.M. (1981). Women, Men, and the Psychology of Power. Englewood Cliffs NY: Prentice-Hall. Lisak, D. (1991). Sexual aggression, masculinity and fathers. Signs, 16, 238-262.
204 Loftus, E.F. (1992). In: H.G. Kennedy & D.H. Grubin. Patterns of denial in sex offenders. Psychological Medicine, 22(1), 191-196. Luborsky, L., Barber, J.P. & Diguer, L. (1992). The meanings of narratives told during psychotherapy: The fruits of a new observational unit. Psychotherapy Research, 2, 277-270. Lukianowicz, N. (1972). Incest. British Journal of Psychiatry, 120, 301-313. MacFarlan, K. & Bulkey, J. (1982). Treating Child Sexual Abuse, Social Work and Child Abuse. New York: Haworth Press. MacLeod, L. (1987). Battered But Not Beaten: Preventing Wife Battering in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Maddi, C. (1980). Protection, paradox and pretending. Family Process, 19, 73-85. Mair, K.J. (1993). The nature of the act: A neglected dimension in the classification of sex offenders. British Journal of Criminology, 33, 267-275 Mair, M. (1989a). Kelly, Bannister and a story-telling psychology. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 2, 1-14. Mair, M. (1989b). Between Psychology and Psychotherapy. London: Routledge. Mair, M. (1990). Telling psychological tales. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 3, 121-135. Malamuth, N., Sockloskie, R., Koss, M. & Tanaka, J. (1991). Characteristics of aggressors against women: Testing of college students. Journal of consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 670-682. Mandel, M.D. (1986). An Object-Relations Study of Sexually Abusive Fathers. Doctoral Dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego. Mark, V.H. & Ervin, F.R. (1970). Violence and the Brain. New York: Harper and Row. Marshall, W. & Eccles, A. (1991). Issues in clinical practice with sex offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6(1), 68-93. Marshall, W.L. (1988). The use of sexually explicit stimuli by rapists, child molesters, and non-offenders. Journal of Sex Research, 25, 267-288. Marshall, W.L. (1989). Intimacy, loneliness and sexual offenders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 491-503. Marshall, W.L. (1994). Treatment effects on denial and minimization in incarcerated sex offenders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 559-564. 205 Marshall, W.L., Barbaree, H.E. & Butt, J. (1985). Sexual offenders against male children: Sexual preferences. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 26(5), 353- 391 Marshall, W.L., Barbaree, H.E. & Laws, D.R. (1990). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Marshall, W.M., Barbaree, H.E. & Christopher, D. (1986). Sexual offenders against female children: Sexual preference for age of victims and type of behaviour. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 18, 424-439. Maturana, H.R. & Varela, F.J. (1980). Autopoiesa's and Cognition. Dordrecht, Holland: Reidel. Maturana, H.R. & Varela, F.J. (1987). The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Understanding. Boston: New Science Library. McAdams, D.P. (1985). Power, Intimacy and the Life Story. New York: Dorsey Press. McCarty, L.M. (1986). Mother-child incest: Characteristics of the offender. Child Welfare, 65(5), 447-459. McCormack, A. & Selvaggio, M. (1989). Screening for pedophiles in youth orientated communities. Social casework. The Journal of Contemporary Social Work, 39, 37-42. McGoldrick, M. & Carter, E.A. (1980). Forming a remarried family. In: E.A. Carter & M. McGoldrick. The Family Life Cycle: A Framework for Family Therapy (Eds.). New York: Gardner Press. McHale, B. (1992). Constructing Postmodernism. London: Routledge. McIntosh, M. (1988). Introduction to an issue: family secrets as public drama. Feminist Review, 28, 6-15. McKibben, A., Proulx, J. & Lusignan, R. (1994). Relationships between conflict, affect and deviant sexual behaviours in rapists and pedophiles. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32(5), 571-575. McLeod, J. & Balamoutsou, S. (1996). Representing narrative process in therapy: Qualitative analysis of a single case. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 9(1), 61-76, McNamee, S. & Gergen, K.J. (1993). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage.
206 Meiselman, K.C. (1979). Incest: A Psychological Study of Causes and Effects with Treatment Recommendations. San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Middleton, A.J. (1991). A critical evaluation of legal procedures to prevent family violence. South African Journal of Criminal Justice, 4, 2-20. Miller, P.A. & Eisenberg, N. (1988). The relation of empathy to aggressive and externalizing/antisocial behaviour. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 324-344. Milne, A.A. (1989). Winnie the Pooh. U.K.: Struiker. Minuchin, S. (1991). The seductions of constructivism. Family Therapy Networker, 15(5), 47-50. Moon, S.M, Dillon, D.R & Sprenkle, D.H. (1990). Family therapy and qualitative research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 16(4), 357-373. Morral, L. (1988). Cross-Generational Incest: A Critical Review of the Literature. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Mrazek, P.B. & Kempe, C.H. (1987). Sexually Abused Children and their Families. England: Pergamon Press. Murphy, W.D. (1990). Assessment and modification of cognitive distortions in sex offenders. In: W.L. Marshall, H.E. Barbaree, & D.R. Laws (Eds.). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Muster, N.J. (1992). Treating the adolescent victim-turned-offender. Adolescence, 27(105), 441-450. Naerssen, A. (1990). Man-boy lovers: Assessment, counselling and psychotherapy. Journal of Homosexuality, 20, (1-2), 175-187. Nelson, C., Miner, M., Marques, J., Russel, K. & Achterkirchen, J. (1985). Relapse prevention: A cognitive-behavioral model for treatment of the rapist and child molester. Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality, 7, 125-143. Neubeck, G. (1974). The myriad motives for sex. In: L. Gross (Ed.). Sexual Behaviour, Current Issues, Flushing. New York: Spectrum. Neuman, W.L. (1994). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. O'Brien, S. (1986). Why They Did It: Stories of Eight Convicted Child Molesters. Springfield: Thomas. O'Hanlon, W.H. (1993). Commentary. In: S. Gilligan & R. Price (Eds.). Therapeutic Conversations. New York: Norton. 207 O'Hara, M. & Anderson, W.T. (1991). Welcome to the postmodern world. Family Therapy Networker, 15(5), 9-25. Okami, P. & Goldberg, A. (1992). Personality correlates of pedophilia: Are they reliable indicators? Journal of Sex Research, 29(3), 297-328. Olson, D.H. (1986). Circumplex model VII: Validation studies and FACES III. Family Process, 25 337-351. Overholzer, C. & Beck, S. (1986). Multimethod assessment of rapists, child molesters, and three control groups on behaviour and psychological measures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54(5), 682-687. Paitich, D., Langevin, R., Freeman, R., Mann, K., & Handy, L. (1977). The Clarke SHQ: A clinical sex history questionnaire for males. Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 6, 421-436. Panton, J. (1978). Personality differences between rapists of children, adults and non-violent sexual molesters of children. Research Communications in Psychology, Psychiatry and Behavior, 3(4), 385-393. Parker, H. (1984). Intrafamilial sexual child abuse: A study of the abusive father. Dissertation Abstracts International, 45(12), 3757A. Parker, H. & Parker, S. (1986). Father-daughter sexual abuse: An emerging perspective. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 531-549. Parks, C.M. & Stevenson-Hinde, J. (1982). The Place of Attachment in Human Behaviour. London: Tavistock. Parry, A. (1991). A universe of stories. Family Process, 30, 37-54. Pelto, V.L. (1981). Male incest offenders and non-offenders. A comparison of early sexual history. Dissertation Abstracts International, 42(3), 1154. Perlman, D. & Fehr, B. (1987). The development of intimate relationships. In: D. Perlman & S. Duck. Intimate Relationships: Development, Dynamics and Deterioration. California: Sage. Person, E.S. (1993). Male sexuality and power. In: R.A. Glick and S.P. Roose (Eds.). Rage, Power and Aggression. New Haven: Yale University Press. Peters, J.J. (1976). Children who are victims of sexual assault and the psychology of offenders. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 30(3), 398-421. Peters, M.J. & Murphy, W.D. (1992). Profiling child sexual abusers. Criminal Justice Behaviour, 19, 38-53.
208 Pierce, L.H. & Pierce, R. (1987). Incestuous victimization by juvenile sex offenders. Journal of Family Violence, 2, 351-364. Pierce, R. & Pierce, L.H. (1985). The sexually abused child: a comparison of male and female victims. Child Abuse and Neglect, 9(2), 191-199. Pithers, W.D. (1994). Process evaluation of a group therapy component designed to enhance sex offenders' empathy for sexual abuse survivors. Behaviour Research Therapy, 32(5), 565-570. Pithers, W.D., Kashima, K.M., Cumming, G.F., Beal, L.S. & Buell, M.M. (1988). Relapse prevention of sexual aggression. In: R.A. Prentky & V.L. Quinsey. (Eds.). Human Sexual Aggression: Current Perspectives. New York: New York Academy of Sciences. Pothast, H.L. & Allen, C.M. (1994). Masculinity and femininity in male and female perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 18(9), 763-767. Potter, J. & Wetherell, M. (1987). Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour. London: Sage. Prendergast, W.E. (1991). Treating Sex Offenders in Correctional Institutions and Outpatient Clinics: A Guide to Clinical Practice. New York: Haworth Press. Prendergast, W.E. (1993). The Merry-Go-Round of Sexual Abuse: Identifying and Treating Survivors. New York: Haworth Press. Prentky, R.A. & Knight, R.A. (1986). Impulsivity in the lifestyle and criminal behaviours of sexual offenders. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 13, 141-164. Quinsey, V.L. (1984). Sexual aggression: Studies of offenders against women. In: D. Weisstub (Ed.). Law and Mental Health: International Perspectives. New York: Pergamon. Rada, R. (1978). Clinical Aspects of the Rapist. New York: Grune and Stratton. Rada, R., Kellner, R., Laws, D. & Winslow, W. (1979). Drinking, alcoholism, and the mentally disordered sex offender. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 6, 296-300. Rapmund, V.J. (1996). Social Support and Depression in Women: A Constructivist Approach. Unpublished M.A Dissertation, University of South Africa, Pretoria. Rauch, H.J. (1992). Multidisciplinary Intervention in Respect of Sexually Abused Children in Port Elizabeth. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation, University of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth.
209 Rauch, H.J. (1992). Multidisciplinary Intervention in Respect of Sexually Abused Children in Port Elizabeth. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation, University of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth. Real, T. (1990). The therapist use of self in constructionist/systemic therapy. Family Process, 29, 255-272. Reich, A. (1951). A discussion of 1912 on masturbantion and our present day views. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 6, 80-94. Revitch, E. & Weiss, R.G. (1962). The pedophile offender. Diseases of the Nervous System, 23, 73-78. Rice, M.E., Harris, G.T. & Quinsey, V.L. (1990). A follow-up of rapists assessed in a maximum security psychiatric facility. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 435-448. Robinson, J.A. & Hawpe, L. (1986). Narrative thinking as a heuristic process. In: T.R. Sarbin (Ed.). Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct. New York: Praeger. Rosenthal, G. (1993). Reconstruction of life stories: Principles of selection in generating stories for narrative biographical interviews. In: R. Josselson & A. Lieblich (Eds.). The Narrative Study of Lives. London: Sage. Runyan, W.M. (1980). Alternative accounts of lives: An argument for epistemological relativism. Biography, 3, 209-224. Russel, D. (1984). Sexual Exploitation. Beverley Hills: Sage. Russel, D. (1986). The Secret Trauma. New York: Basic Books. Ryan, R. (1982). Poststructuralism: Deconstructing Derrida. In R. Ryan and S. van Zyl (Eds,). An Introduction to Contemporary Literary Theory. Johannesburg: Donker. Salter, A.C. (1988). Treating Child Sex Offenders and Victims. London: Sage. Sarbin, T.R. (Ed.) (1986). Narrative Psychology: The Storied Nature of Human Conduct. New York: Praeger. Sarup, M. (1988). An Introductory Guide to Post-Structuralism and Postmodernism. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Schecter, M. & Roberge, L. (1976). Child Sexual Abuse. In: R. Hefter and C. Kempe (Eds.). Child Abuse and Neglect: The Family and the Community. Massachusetts: Bollinger Publishing.
210 Scully, D. & Marolla, J. (1984). Convicted rapists' vocabulary of motive: Excuses and justifications. Social Problems, 31 530-544. Sears, R.R. (1957). Identification as a form of behavioural development. In D.B. Harris (Ed.). The Concept of Development. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Segal, Z.V. & Marshall, W.L. (1985). Heterosexual social skills in a population of rapists and child molesters. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 55-63. Segal, Z.V. & Stermac, L.E. (1990). The role of cognition in sexual assault. In: W.L. Marshall, H.E. Barbaree & D.R. Laws. Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum. Seghorn, T.K., Prentky, R.A. & Boucher, R.J. (1987). Childhood sexual abuse in the lives of sexually aggressive offenders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26(1), 262-267. Seidman, B.T., Marshall, W.L., Hudson, S.M. & Robertson, P.J. (1994). An examination of intimacy and loneliness in sex offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 518-534. Selden, R. (1989). A Reader's Guide to Contemporary Literary Theory. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, Selkin, J. (1991). The Child Sexual Abuse Case in the Courtroom. Denver, Colorado: Selkin. Shelton, W.R. (1975). A study of incest. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 19, 139-153. Shotter, J. (1984). Social Accountability and Selfhood. Oxford: Blackwell. Shotter, J. (1993). Conversational Realities: Constructing Life Through Language. London: Sage. Simkins, L. (1993). Characteristics of sexually repressed child molesters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8(1), 3-17. Sive, T.R. (1993). Incest Approached from a Systemic Perspective. Unpublished Masters Dissertation, Rand Afrikaans University. Johannesburg. Sluzki, C.A. (1985). A minimal map of cybernetics. The Family Therapy Networker, 9, 26. Sluzki, C.A. (1988). Case commentary II. Family Therapy Networker, 12(5), 79-81.
211 Sluzki, C.A. (1985). A minimal map of cybernetics. The Family Therapy Networker, 9, 26. Sluzki, C.A. (1988). Case commentary II. Family Therapy Networker, 12(5), 79-81. Sluzki, C.A. (1992). Transformations: A blueprint for narrative changes in therapy. Family Process, 31, 217-230. Smith, H. & Israel, E. (1987). Sibling incest: A study of the dynamics of 25 cases. Child Abuse and Neglect, 11, 101-108. Smith, J.A. Harre, R & Van Langenhove, L. (1995). Rethinking Methods in Psychology. London: Sage. Squire, C. (1990). Crisis what crisis? Discourses and narratives of the 'Social' in social psychology. In: J. Parker & J. Shotter (Eds.). Deconstructing Social Psychology. London: Routledge. Sterling, C.D. (1990). Accounting for Child Sexual Abuse: Male Discourses. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation, University of Cape Town. Stermac, L.E. & Quinsey, V.L. (1985). Social competence among rapists. Behavioural Assessment, 8, 171-185. Stermac, L.E. & Segal, Z.V. (1990). Adult sexual contact with children: An examination of cognitive factors. Behavioural Assessment, 8, 171-185. Stermac, L.E., Segal, Z.V. & Gillis, R. (1990). Social and cultural factors in sexual
assault. In: W.L. Marshall , H.E. Barbaree & D.R. Laws (Eds.). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Stiles, W.B. (1993). Quality control in qualitative research. Clinical Psychology Review, 13(6), 593-618. Strand, V. (1986). Parents in incest families: A study in differences. Dissertation Abstracts International, 47(8), 3191A. Sundberg, N.D., Taplin, J.R. & Tyler, L.E. (1983). Introduction to Clinical Psychology: Perspectives, Issues and Contributions to Human Service. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Sussman, N. (1976). Sex and sexuality in history. In: B.J. Sadock, H.I. Kaplan and A.M. Freedman. The Sexual Experience. Baltimore: The Williams & Wilkens Company. Swift, C. (1979). The prevention of sexual abuse: Focus on the perpetrator. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 8, 133-136. 212 Taylor, J.W. (1990). Incest scenarios and object-relations strivings: A conceptual framework. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 71, 422-428. Thornman, G. (1983). Incestuous Families. Illinois: Thomas. Tingle, D., Barnard, G.W., Robbins, L., Newman, G. & Hutchinson, D. (1986). Childhood and adolescent characteristics of paedophiles and rapists. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 9, 103-116. Tjersland, O.A. (1990). From universe to multiverse - and back again. Family Process, 2a(4), 385-397. Tomkinson, M. (1982). The Pombrokers. Virginia Books: London. Travin, S., Bluestone, H., Coleman, E., Cullen, K. & Melella, J. (1985). Pedophilia: An update on theory and practice. Psychiatric Quarterly, 57(2), 89-103. Trembach, R. (1977). London's sodomites: Homosexual behaviour and western culture in the eighteenth century. Journal of Social History, 11 17-22. Trowell, J. (1985). Working with families where incest is actual or feared. Health Visitor, 58, 189-191. Ungaretti, J. (1978). Pederasty, heroism and the family in classical Greece. Journal of Homosexuality, 3, 291-300. Unger, R.K. (1979). Female and Male Psychological Perspectives. New York: Harper and Row. Urquiza, A.J. & Capra, M. (1990). The impact of sexual abuse: Initial and long-term effects. In: M. Hunter (Ed.). The Sexually Abused Male: Prevalence, Impact and Treatment. Lexington, M.A.: Lexington Books. Van Rensburg, H. (1995). Submission by Horace van Rensburg on behalf of Stop Pornography. Personal Paper. Vangaard, T. (1972). Phallos: A symbol and its history: The Male World. London: Cape. Varela, F.J. (1979). Principles of Biological Autonomy. New York: Elsevier-North Holland. Vaupel, S. & Gocke, J. (1994). Incest perpetrator MMPI profiles and the variable of offense admission status. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 38, 69-77. Vogelman, L. (1990). The Sexual Face of Violence: Rapists on Rape. Johannesburg: Raven Press. 213 Von Foerster, H. (1984). Observing Systems. Seaside: Intersystem Publications Von Glasersfeld, E. (1984). An introduction to radical constructivism. In P. Watzlawick (Ed.). The Invented Reality. New York: Norton. Von Glasersfeld, E. (1987). The Construction of Knowledge: Contributions to Conceptual Semantics. Seaside: Intersystem Publications. Von Glasersfeld, E. (1988). The reluctance to change a way of thinking. Irish Journal of Psychology, 9(1), 83-90. Warner-Kearney, D. (1987). The Nature of the Grooming Behaviour Used by Sexual Offenders in Father-Daughter Incest. Paper presented at the Western Criminology Association, Las Vegas, NV. Wash, G. & Knudson-Martin, C. (1994). Gender identity and family relationships: Perspectives from incestuous fathers. Contemporary Family Therapy International Journal, 16(5), 393-410. Wassenaar, D.R. (1987). Researching family therapy. South African Journal of Psychology, 17(1), 25-29. Waterman, J. (1986). Family dynamics of incest with young children. In: K. MacFarlane & J. Waterman (Eds.) Sexual Abuse of Young Children. New York: Guilford. Watzlawick, P. (1984). The Invented Reality. New York: Norton. Weiner, J. (1962) Father-daughter incest: A clinical report. Psychiatric Quarterly, 36, 607. Weiss, R.S. (1982). Attachment in Adult Life. New York: Basic Books. Wenet, G.A., Clark, T.R. & Hunner, R.J. (1981). Perspectives of the juvenile sex offender. In: R.J. Hunner and Y.E. Walker. Exploring the Relationship Between Child Abuse and Delinquency. Montclair: Osmur. White, M. (1986). Negative explanation, restraint and double description: A template for family therapy. Family Process, 25 169-184. White, M. (1991). Deconstruction and therapy. Dulwich Centre Newsletter, 3, 21-40 White, M. (1992). Family therapy training and supervision in a world of experience and narrative. In: M. White & D. Epston (Eds.). Experience, Contradiction, Narrative and Imagination: Selected Papers of David Epston and Michael White, 1989-1991. Adelaide, Dulwich Centre. White, M. (1995). Re-authoring Lives: Interviews and Essays. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre. 214 White, M. (1992). Family therapy training and supervision in a world of experience and narrative. In: M. White & D. Epston (Eds.). Experience, Contradiction, Narrative and Imagination: Selected Papers of David Epston and Michael White, 1989-1991. Adelaide, Dulwich Centre. White, M. (1995). Re-authoring Lives: Interviews and Essays. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre. White, M. & Epston, D. (1989). Literate Means to Therapeutic Ends. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre. White, M. & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. New York: Norton. Widdershoven, G.A.M. (1993). The story of life. Hermeneutic perspectives on the relationship between narrative and life history. In R. Josselson & A. Lieblich (Eds.). The Narrative Study of Lives. London, Sage. Williams. L.M. & Finkelhor, D. (1990). The characteristics of incestuous fathers. In: W.L. Marshall, H.E. Barbaree & D.R. Laws (Eds.). Handbook of Sexual Assault: Issues, Theories and Treatment of the Offender. New York: Plenum Press. Wilson, B. & Epston, D. (1989). Self-specialization. In: M. White and D. Epston (Eds.). Experience, Contradiction, Narrative and Imagination: Selected Papers of David Epston and Michael White, 1989-1991. Adelaide: Dulwich Centre. Wilson, H.S & Hutchinson, S.A. (1991). Triangulation of qualitative methods: Heideggerian hermeneutics and grounded theory. Qualitative Health Research, 1(2), 263-276. Wolman, B.B. (1989). Dictionary of Behavioural Science (2nd ed.). New York: Academic Press. Worling, J.R. (1995). Adolescent sibling-incest offenders: Differences in family and individual functioning when compared to adolescent non-sibling sex offenders. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(5), 633-643. Wyre, R. (1987). Working with Sex Offenders. Oxford: Perry. Wyre. R. (1990). Women, Men and Rape. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
215