Sexual assault continues to undermine the safety of individuals in American society. Stakeholders such as the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM) recognize the need to address the motivations for sex offending. Over the years, sexual gratification has been perceived to be the major cause of sexual offenses. The main factors that motivate sex offenders to commit sexual assault are the desire to psychologically manipulate and control the victim and the need to seek violent revenge due to underlying mental problems.
Firstly, the primary factor that motivates sex predators is the desire for psychological control. Sex offenders have an immense desire to manipulate their victims to achieve dominance psychologically. For example, the main aim of power rapists is emotionally manipulate the victims through rape. Secondly, sex offenders are motivated by vengeance. Anger rapists commit sexual offenses since they have an underlying issue affecting their psychological welfare (CriminalJusticeSchoolInfo.com, 2022). The offenders hence seek violent revenge by committing acts of rape on innocent victims. In most cases, rapists have an underlying mental instability which makes them commit aggressive rape. The need to control their victims hence makes individuals commit sexual assault.
Substance abuse has a direct impact on acquaintance rape. Notably, individuals who are addicted to alcohol are likely to develop aggressive behavior and seek control over their domestic partners. Excessive consumption of alcohol changes cognitive perception hence leading to the development of violent behavior such as rape (Galbicsek, 2019). For example, partners who drink alcohol excessively are likely to commit acquaintance rape. Unlike individuals who do not take alcohol, binge drinkers develop an insatiable desire for control which can only be achieved through violence. Substance abuse thus contributes to acquaintance sexual assault.
One of the strategies that the stakeholders within the criminal justice system have undertaken to address sexual assault is sex offender registration. The policy states that collecting information about past and present sex offenders can help reduce sexual offenses. Despite the limitations of the sexual offender registration policy, it is an evidence-based policy that can prevent sexual crimes by profiling sexual offenders. According to Bierie (2016), the sex offender registry provides a viable source of information about persons accused of sexual crimes such as rape and child molestation. The policy further prevents recidivism since the sex criminals know that the law enforcement knows about their criminal history. The registry, although costly, can efficiently help in combating sexual crimes.
Interestingly, the policy also enables law enforcement agencies to coordinate action with other key stakeholders, such as the Center for Sex Offender Management (CSOM), through collecting and sharing intelligence about sex offenders in various regions within the United States (Bierie, 2016). One critical aspect of combating sexual assault is sexual offender profiling. When law enforcement agencies collect information about sex offenders, they can easily use advanced technological measures such as DNA profiling to arrest sex offenders. Therefore, the sex offender registration policy is a reasonable federal initiative that can efficiently curb sexual offenses.
In summary, various motivational issues contribute to sexual assault. In most cases, sex offenders are motivated by the desire to manipulate and control their victims psychologically. Such sex criminals achieve the desire by committing violent rape. Other sexual offenders are motivated by the desire to seek violent revenge over an underlying psychological issue, such as sex abuse during childhood. Other factors like drug and substance abuse also contribute to sexual crimes. The stakeholders should adopt effective countermeasures such as sex offender registration to prevent and reduce sexual crimes.
References
Bierie, D. M. (2016). The Utility of Sex Offender Registration: A Research Note. Journal of sexual aggression, 22(2), 263-273.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283787818_The_utility_of_sex_offender_registration_a_research_note
CriminalJusticeSchoolInfo.com (2022). Sex Crimes: Understanding the Motives & Types of Sex Criminals. Wiley University Services. http://www.criminaljusticeschoolinfo.com/sex-crimes/#motives
Galbicsek, C. (2019) Alcohol-related crimes. Alcohol Rehab Guide. https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/alcohol/crimes/
write